Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Home of one of the bloodiest battles in American history, a hotel restaurant literally called the 1863, and, apparently, the East Coast’s best excuse to put on goggles and argue about airship propulsion. The Key City Steampunk Convention wrapped its 2026 run August 7-9, and this year’s theme was Worlds of Tomorrow: Metropolis, The Rocketeer, gleaming art-deco skylines, and ships that soar above all of it. That’s not just SteamPunk territory, that’s AtomicPunk’s glamorous older cousin showing up in a jetpack and a zoot suit.
The convention delivered what it always does: makers, panels, live entertainment, cosplay, tea dueling (yes, that’s a thing, and yes, it is exactly as magnificent as it sounds), and a merchants’ village stuffed with automata. The Steampunk Explorer noted the 2026 lineup included the first-ever U.S. appearance by British electro-swing performer Madam Misfit. Electro-swing. At a steampunk con. In Gettysburg. The Doctor approves of this timeline.
If you missed it, mark your calendar now and don’t make the same mistake twice. Nothing can beat old age and betrayal, but showing up unprepared for Key City runs a close third.