Steampunk returns for second year

Steampunk is back for a second year: the 2nd annual Springfield Steampunk Festival will be held next month at the Hartness House Inn.

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Video: Sabrina Smith – Springfield Steampunk

A 27 minute interview from FACT-TV's 'Everyday People' program.

www.rutlandherald.com    

Falls Area Community Television Steampunk returns for second year By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer | August 29,2016 SPRINGFIELD — Steampunk is back for a second year: the 2nd annual Springfield Steampunk Festival will be held next month at the Hartness House Inn. The festival combines Victorian fashion and science fiction with a 19th century industrial flare. Think Jules Verne meets Sherlock Holmes. Organizers felt Springfield was the perfect fit for a steampunk festival because of the town’s industrial heritage. “It’s less than a month away,” said Sabrina Smith, coordinator for the non-profit festival and one of the festival’s founders. “We’re tying up loose ends. We have all the entertainment set, the vendors set and the workshops set,” Smith said. “I keep adding stuff.” The dates this year are later: Sept. 23, 24 and 25, with Friday night’s events free and open to the public. There are some changes from last year. All festival events will be held at the Hartness House, with parking and a shuttle bus using the state office parking on Mineral Street. There are no events at The Great Hall. There are added events, workshops and vendors, Smith said, plus the return of virtually all of last years events, including the steampunk fashion show, which she said will be “much bigger and better this year,” including a model’s catwalk. There will also be a lecture by the “Steampunk Guru,” Bruce Rosenbaum, costumes galore and a Victorian tea, which is held at the Hartness House’s tea house. There will be astronomy lectures, a fire organ demonstration, and a Stanley Steamer — a 1912 steam-powered car. Also new this year is a dramatization of the short Sherlock Holmes story, “The Musgrave Ritual,” by the Springfield Community Players. That will be held Sunday afternoon. “This year, on Friday, you don’t have to have a ticket to come. We’ll have a band and workshop, “Steampunk 101” and parlor games,” Smith said. The Victorian/Edwardian-style parlor games, which will also be held on Saturday night, were immensely popular last year, she said. The popular absinthe tasting will be back, she said. And new this year is the Steampunk Burlesque, which will be held Saturday night in the outdoors wedding tent at the Hartness House. Smith said that the burlesque is being put on by a Colorado vendor. “Her description is ‘an exploration into steampunk sensuality,’ and she’s bringing a host of bountiful beautifies to ‘get your gears grinding,’” said Smith, with a laugh. The vendor, who goes by the name of Mrs. Fogg, had many creations in last year’s steampunk fashion show. Both the absinthe and burlesque show are special events and will have an additional admission charge, and are the only non-family appropriate events of the festival, she said. All vendors will be in a large tent on the Hartness House lawn, and most activities will be held in the inn itself or in its large wedding tent. Tickets are the same as last year, she said. If people buy in advance, it is $50 for the weekend, and $65 for the two days at the door. Last year, more than 500 people attended the festival, and this year, Smith and her group of volunteers are hoping for 750. For more information and a detailed schedule, visit springfieldvtsteampunkfest.com. Falls Area Community Television