Saturday night (4/13/24), following the Fashion Parade on the Main Stage, the Sapphire Pavilion marquee will host the annual Goblin King’s masquerade to which he has invited three Vampire Courts as honored guests . . . the Black Court, the Red Court, and the White Court. A mixture of fae, vampires, humans, and other creatures will congregate in the giant Sapphire Pavilion marquee tent to dance the night away to the enchantingly haunted playlists of DJ Scary Lady Sarah and DJ Zophiel.
Rumors, however, abound in the shadows is that one of the three Vampire Courts is plotting to assassinate the Goblin King. Why? Which court? When? All of these questions remain a mystery. To protect the King, we invite all doppelgängers, mimics, and cosplayers to compete in a Jareth look-alike contest and serve as decoys to the would-be assassins.
The Goblin King Costume Contest
Can the Goblin King can create mirror image illusions of himself? Can he simply turn invisible? Will decoys be summoned to protect the monarch? Will a Jareth decoy seize the throne?
Midway through the masquerade we will feature delegates from the three Vampire Courts in a costume contest and choose ambassadors from each before moving on to parade Goblin King decoys and vote for a winner.
Further details about contest conditions coming soon.
PRIZES – The winning ambassadors of the Black, Red, and White Courts, and the Goblin King will win weekend passes to the 2025 Chicago Steampunk Exposition.
The Masquerade DJs
For your dancing pleasure we have two amazing DJs with playlists that will fill you with “dance magic.”
Scary Lady Sarah passionately enjoys & promotes good, new, dark alternative music. Since 1988 she has been a nightclub DJ, also booking bands and producing club events. Her main event is NOCTURNA, an 18+ dark alternative dance night held once every 6 – 8 weeks in Chicago at the venerated establishment Metro, and is the longest running goth event in North America.
Zophiel has over 20 years’ experience as a DJ, particularly for Goth, hafla, and 80s-loving audiences. He has presented music for dances at such events as Convergence, Dragon Con, Unconvention, and COGS. His sets have been heard in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Las Vegas – to name just a few cities. A stage play in development makes mention of Zophiel’s practice of using every song in a set to tell a story, so even if you don’t dance there may be something in it for you.
The LARP Plot Thickens
For those playing our Steam & Sorcery LARP game to immerse themselves further into the weekend’s story, there will be additional clues and intrigues to found at the Masquerade . . .
Rules & Restrictions
- Entry to the Goblin Court Masquerade is included with all Weekend and Saturday badges.
- For 2024, all Jareth cosplayers may attend the Masquerade for free!
- ID will be required for the Masquerade Bar for the purchase of alcohol (soda will also be available).
- Any person under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
See the Current Program
Buy Your Discount Exposition Tickets
