Monday, October 3, 2011

The Great New England Steampunk Exhibition

Ok so I know I haven't written in a while, but that's due to the fact that I've been busy. The latest news is though that a couple of weeks ago I went to The Great New England Steampunk Exhibition.
For those of you who don't know what steampunk is here is your crash course. Its basically as if society had stopped evolving around the Victorian Era. The most reliable form of energy is steam (hence the steam in steampunk). The greatest way I have ever heard anyone describe it is, "I don't really know what it's about, all I know is it involves a lot of brown and goggles."
Some of the events that happened were a concert by Abney Park, a GLBT rally, and a ton of panels. I do have to preface this by saying I did not get there until the second day due to work.
The concert was epic, if not controversial. The opening band, Army of Broken Toys had awesome music and burlesque. Some con-goers were offended by the burlesque, which is understandable because there was no warning. I personally think if the band goes on stage and says, "Hey mother fuckers lets put the punk back in steampunk!" that should be ample warning. Abney Park was great as always playing a ton of crowd favorites.
The GLBT rally was another big highlight of the weekend. It was hosted by Steampunk Emma Goldman. It was just a rally to try to make the steampunk world into one that accepts all forms of love and identity. It was really low key which was nice, some rallies can ruin their cause by being too in your face and this one wasn't at all.
Honestly I didn't go to all the panels that I would have like to, I was too busy shopping. Most of the panels that I did go to I really enjoyed. Most of the ones that I liked were run by Everett Soares. Everett Soares writes one of the greatest Steampunk comics of all time: Sky Pirates of Valendor. Mr. Soares is a really nice guy that will probably hug you if you mention his comic, non-huggers you have been warned. The other thing about him is he's really open to talking about the comic book world and the trials and triumphs of making it in that world. I highly suggest you read his comic and if you see him at a convention give him some love.
Now to the bad news...the hotel. The biggest issue I faced was the non-working ATMs, and non the hotel shops or food venues were able to give cash back. Normally this would not be an issue, but due to the fact that the hotel was surrounded by highways, instead of a city it was impossible to get cash. Apparently there were some other issues with the hotel that I dont know the full details of. All I do know is that Abney Park was kicked out of their room and the con was nearly shut down on the second day. Bottom line if you are planing an event don't use the Coco Keys Marriott in Fitchburg, MA.
Overall it was a great con and I can't wait to vollenteer for next year. If you want to know more about next year's event in Connecticut Convention Center, just follow this link down the rabbit hole: http://thegreatnewenglandsteampunkexhibition.com/

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