World Steam Expo Review
Thursday I went off with a friend on a journey across the wilds of America from Atlanta Georgia to Dearborn Michigan for the first World Steam Expo.
Friday morning found us reaching Dearborn - finding the hotel was not a problem, finding the road to GET to the hotel... well that was another story. The Expo was located at the Hyatt Regency. A very nice atrium styled hotel. Registration already had a line but we found that it would not open until 12 noon instead of 11am, as we had been advised. But, there was already a line of people waiting who presented a nice variety of costumes. And watching the process was a green statue of Cthulu.
This was World Steam Expo’s first year, with over 1000 people registering for the convention. It was a genre specific con – Steampunk! There were Steampunk bands including Abney Park, Tartanic, Men Who Would Not Be Blamed, and The Extraordinary Contraptions. There were dealers, gaming, authors, panels and costumes.
Saturday was the day to show off your costume. There were automatons, bicyclers, adventurers, Mad Scientists, Celtic bards, Airship pirates, engineers, pilots and everything in between. And, for many Steampunk is a lifestyle choice. The panels were interesting even though programming switches created some confusion. Topics ranged from Costuming, to debates on Egomania. There was a video game room, board game room, a concert hall and diverse dealer’s room in which you could find everything from radio tubes and gears to Girl Genius items. Penny Dreadful Productions, in association with Whitestone Motion Pictures, aired the movie “Heartless: The Story of the Tinman”. And, in the evening, courtesy of Aegis Consulting, was a boarding party. This was a live action, nerf gun, sword and shield, army battle!
Sunday started off with the Mad Scientist fair. The “latest” and “future inventions” of the steampunk world were on display. There were more panels and concerts. Girl Genius had several readings as well as a Radio Play performance from the series. And, of course, more costumes.
On Monday, we packed up for the drive back to Atlanta. The convention was a success! The hotel was ideal. Staff was pleasant and helpful. For a first year convention, there were very few glitches besides: the time mix-up on when registration opened and the programming changes that were not noted. Almost every panel and event started on time and ended when it should. If there is a second year in 2011 for World Steam Expo, I will be there.
