And now for another edition of "Be Splendid...

...in which Louise and her very good pal, Siri, visit their very first Steampunk Convention....




I have a confession to make. I love steampunk. I have also spent months lurking on various Steampunk sites and reading many blogs. So, when I read months ago that Steampunk Canada would be mounting a convention in the Toronto area, I, of course, would take the opportunity and have to go. And, I would have to take my good friend Siri along. She, of course, agreed to this venture.




Although, neither of us could do the whole weekend, we opted for the Sunday portion of the program, of which there was still quite a lot going on. We started with the intriguing "Steampunk Around The World: Steampunk Beyond Victoriana" led by Jaymee Goh (silver-goggles.blogspot.com). It was an engaging panel which encouraged much discussion by Goh and the audience members in attendance. For more information on the subject, a recommended website by Jaymee Goh is Beyondvictoriana.com.  Another website that also might be of interest is Multiculturalism for Steampunk .




The Mad Science Fair was fun and quite mad (of course!); I'm not quite sure who won the "Cup", but all the creations were marvelous; from the modded Ghostbusters pack (above) to the mummy-wrapped chicken, which was later to be unwrapped (below).




This is where I and my dear friend, Siri, parted ways, so I implore you that you will have to read her account of this marvelous Sunday as well on the Turtleduck blog .




I attended 2 more panels; "Steampunk Costuming On A Budget" led by Stephanie Lalonde and J.M. Frey. Very sound advice was given as one can be very overwhelmed by all the Steamy accoutrements available. My favorite being (and I admit, I am paraphrasing here) to go slow; start with one good piece and build around it. Very sensible advice indeed.

As every good adventurer, time-traveller, Airship Captain, etc. should have their own journal, the next panel I attended was "Bookbinding- An Introduction To Non-Adhesive Bindings" led by John Morgan. I learned so much in that one hour about simple bookbinding that I have actually made 3 books since then. Thank you, sir!




This day came to a perfect ending with a performance by Professor Elemental ( I could not help myself and purchased his CD and have been listening to it ever since.).

For it's inaugural year, I would have to say the Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition was a success. My only thought as I was leaving was "is that all there is?!". It had definitely left me wanting more. I had a splendid time and I look forward to next years event. And, I hope to be able to spend more time at it.




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