The Chicago Steampunk Exposition has dropped its 2027 theme and, look, I just want to say: someone in Schaumburg, Illinois is doing the Lord’s work. The 2027 Expo is going full Victorian space travel, drawing its inspiration from H.G. Wells, Georges Méliès, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and anyone else who ever looked at a steam-powered boiler and thought, “yes, but what if we aimed it at Mars.” The convention channels the spirit of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair with a retro-futuristic twist, and this year the twist is: the Moon, Mars, and boldly going where no chap (or lady) has gone before. Mark your calendar: June 11–13, 2027, Schaumburg, IL.

This is the Omega7Red Formulae operating at peak efficiency, people. You take Victorian ambition (the kind that built the Ferris Wheel and called it a modest achievement), you point it at the void of space, and you get something that makes NASA look like it’s still loading on dial-up. Méliès shot a rocket into the Moon’s eye in 1902 as a film trick. The Victorians would have called that a proof of concept and started laying track. Three days of panels, costumes, vendors, entertainment, and presumably at least one argument about whether aetheric propulsion counts as hard science. Free parking. Fully air conditioned. The Doctor approves.

Get your goggles calibrated, fire up the brass orrery, and start planning your kit now. Twelve months is barely enough time to properly weather an authentic Lunar Expedition ensemble. chicagosteampunkexpo.com — wait, no. chicagosteampunkexpo.com for all the details. Nothing can beat old age and betrayal, but a steam-powered rocket to the Moon is a solid second place. High-5.

The Chicago Steampunk Exposition is back, and this year they pulled off something that earns them a genuine high-5 from the Doctor: they got Gail Carriger on the guest roster. If that name doesn’t ring your brass bells, fix that immediately. Carriger is the archaeologist-turned-novelist behind the Parasol Protectorate series, the Finishing School books, and roughly a dozen other reasons to cancel your weekend plans. Victorian werewolves, dirigibles, parasols as weapons, tea as a survival mechanism. The Omega7Red Formulae practically wrote those books itself.

The Expo is doing its usual trick of cracking open interdimensional time portals back to the 1893 World’s Fair, because apparently just having a steampunk convention isn’t dramatic enough and they deserve full credit for committing to the bit. If you are anywhere near the Chicago metro and not already planning attendance, I cannot help you. Some people are beyond the reach of the Formulae. The rest of you: find your best waistcoat, oil your goggles, and go meet the woman who made Victorian etiquette into a contact sport.

Via: Chicago Steampunk Exposition