Steampunk Convention

San Diego had its annual Steampunk Convention May 3rd through May 5, at the Town and Country Hotel.  Gail had been looking forward to attending for many months, so took advantage of all three days.  I joined her for the Friday evening concert.  Steampunk has been around as an art and literary form for about 30 years.  It is part science fiction, Victorian era, and Wild West, rolled into one.  Gears, flying machines, time travel machines, meticulous costumes, and of course steam power are all a part of it.  Jules Verne's works provide much of the inspiration for the movement.

Friday morning, and Gail is ready to hop on her steam powered dragonfly and head on down.  Many of her clothing items were from her grandmother in Rhode Island.

We met up before the concert for a little tailgate Chinese food.

The first band was Steam Powered Giraffe - a local band with a pleasing sound.  They were robotic, with silly banter between songs.  We enjoyed them more than the headliner Lee Presson and the Nails.

 

Saturday, Gail is ready to head back.  That star is a genuine Cheyenne police badge!

 



Gail took some photos to bring home and share.  Note this woman's wings!

This elaborate machine was built to shrink parts of the world into miniature replicas.  The steampunk folks at the convention take everything seriously.  It is no haphazard costume party!

There  were many workshops on making accessories, metalwork, clothing, and literature.

Gail is riding on a time machine.  Money from having your picture taken went to Hero Dogs, an organization that trains dogs to be service dogs for veterans with post traumatic stress disorder.  The dogs can tell when their owner is about to become very anxious, and will lead that person to a quiet place and calm him/her down.

Tribal Baroque, according to Gail, is a VERY unique duo.  They sing in a very high pitch in a made-up language, do percussion with their legs and feet, and play violins.  Check them out on YouTube if you want to be blown away!

A few more convention goers.  Many of the people who were there work in Hollywood or for Disney. 

There were a number of folks demonstrating their ability to ride a pennyfarthing.  This man, Poplock Holmes, is a musician who sings rap and hip hop from the Victorian era, specifically about Sherlock Holmes.

There were even pennyfarthings with training wheels!

Coinciding with the Steampunk Convention was the San Diego arrival of  Andria, Dave, and the kids.  On Monday, we worked on making a puppet theater out of a water heater box.  At some point in the near future, we will have the kids paint it, and then Gail will add some curtains.

On Thursday, Gail and I took Nora and Soren to Balboa Park so that Dave and Andria could tear into unpacking and start setting up their home.

One of the highlights was seeing two short movies in 3D.  One was about coral reefs, and the other about insects of the rainforest.  It is so cool being able drop in and do things with Andria's and Dave's family! 
Warning, more steampunk to come!