This week: Scenes from Jewelry City Steampunk Festival; The Year in Music; Golden Teacup Awards; Edwardian Ball preview; New Sunday Driver album; New fiction; Kickstarter updates.
The Jewelry City Steampunk Festival returned to Attleboro, Massachusetts on Jan. 25 with a program featuring talks, music, dance, circus performances, teapot racing, and lots of cosplay.
The day began with an official proclamation by Attleboro Mayor Cathleen DeSimone, who described the festival as “probably the coolest event in the city.” She also presented the key to the city to the Jewelry City mayor, who happens to be a cat.
Musical guests included Frenchy and the Punk and Nathaniel Johnstone Band. Bruce Rosenbaum, aka the “Steampunk Guru,” was on hand to discuss steampunk art.
Photographer Kit Catlett was also there and allowed us to post a gallery of her photos.
See the gallery: Scenes from Jewelry City
Continuing our Year in Review series, we’ve posted a story on notable music happenings in 2024. Many acts that cater to steampunk fans released albums, among them: Frenchy and the Punk, Steam Powered Giraffe, Abney Park, Professor Elemental, Madam Misfit, Valentine Wolfe, Tom B. Wild, Neovenator, Unwoman, Victor Sierra, and Escape the Clouds.
We also gave a shoutout to Captain of the Lost Waves for his album Beautiful Ugly, which he created while recovering from a serious car accident. It came out in September but flew under our radar.
Read the story: 2024: The Year in Music
Madame Askew and the Grand Arbiter will present their Third Annual Tippy Golden Teacup Awards on Friday, Jan. 31, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Pacific time, live from their virtual tea parlour on Zoom. They’ll be joined by guest presenter Eve Riot.
The awards recognize steampunk luminaries in categories such as The Grand Macaroni (sartorial elegance), The Textile Transformer (costuming), The Brass Forge (maker), and Dynamic Duos (partnerships).
The ceremony will also be available on their YouTube channel. They will post a link to the tea parlour on the day of the event. See the event page for more info.
The Edwardian Ball returns this weekend to San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom, combining elements of a music festival, circus, art exhibition, and masquerade, all in tribute to writer and illustrator Edward Gorey. A major happening on the local steampunk calendar, it takes place over two nights, Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1.
This year’s ball is dubbed “Pop Up! Edition,” in honor of Gorey’s sole pop-up book, The Dwindling Party. On Saturday night, circus performers from the Vau de Vire Society will act out the story while the Jazz Mafia Experience provides musical accompaniment.
The event includes a Vendor Bazaar that will also be open for free daytime shopping on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.
We’ve posted a story with additional details, or you can check out the website.
Read the story: The Edwardian Ball Returns with “Grimly Mysterious” Gorey Tale
Author Brey Willows plans a Feb. 1 release for Ship of Dreams, described as “a sapphic steampunk pirate adventure with elements of Norse myth.” Set in 1898, it tells the story of a ship’s captain who forms an uneasy alliance with a pirate after her quest for an ancient artifact goes wrong.
The book is available from Amazon. See the author’s website for more info.
U.K. band Sunday Driver is in the midst of a self-hosted crowdfunding campaign as they prepare to release their fourth album, Silk & Filth. Their music combines Eastern and Western influences, and they describe the story as the next chapter in a “Spaghetti Eastern” series that began with the 2021 album Sun God.
The campaign is seeking US$7,802 to cover production costs for a vinyl pressing as well as a video and other expenses. Backers can support the group by pre-ordering vinyl editions, CDs, digital downloads, or T-shirts. They’re running the campaign through their in-house label, Trapped Animal.
The album itself is set for a March 7 release. Learn more on the Trapped Animal and Sunday Driver websites.
See our website for comprehensive event listings, including steampunk events and regional fandom events in Canada, the U.K., Australia/New Zealand, and the New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, South Central, Mountain, and Pacific regions of the U.S.
Crowdfunding
Ongoing Campaigns
Sky Guy and The Altitude Adjustors – Issue No. 1 of a “cozy” steampunk comic book series featuring “mutants and perhaps a little bit of magic.” The campaign has reached 50 percent of its US$2,500 funding goal. It runs through Feb. 27.
Rivets and Revolution – A new steampunk novella by Jessica Lucci, set in the days leading up to the American Revolutionary War. It has reached 37 percent of its US$2,500 funding goal. It runs through Feb. 13.
Elsewhere in the Aether
ModVic Adds Rube Goldberg Novelty to a Secret Passage Doorway at a Historic British Estate (ModVic)
Museum stop: Steampunk HQ (Radio New Zealand)
Colorized Footage Captures Massive Snowball Fight From 1897 (Mental Floss)
This Murdoch Mysteries prop master makes incredible inventions from household items (CBC)
Steampunk helicopter on its way to Christchurch Fantasizers Festival (The Press)
As Monstress Celebrates 10 Years, Is This Image Comics’ Secret Weapon? (Bleeding Cool)
Nosferatu’s Robert Eggers Reveals How Batman Returns Inspired the Film (Nerdist)
‘Lies of P’ Made Gamers Rage Quit After 1 Boss Fight but That Was the Point (Fandom Wire)
Ohio: Steampunk is theme of upcoming Springfield Symphony Orchestra fundraiser (Springfield News Sun)
Exhibit inspired by “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” comes to Philadelphia museum (Philly Voice)
California Historical Society permanently closed, transfers collections to Stanford University (KTLA-TV)
S.F.’s California Historical Society to close permanently, transfer vast holdings to Stanford (SF Chronicle)
12 Rare Old Words for Monsters (Mental Floss)
Groundbreaking Exhibition Shows the Vast Geographic Scope of Slavery (Smithsonian Magazine)
See 15 Winning Images From the Close-Up Photographer of the Year Competition (Smithsonian Magazine)
