As everyone here knows, I regularly go time travelling every November down in Oamaru. At King’s Birthday however, in 2024 instead of travelling to the Victorian era, my time machine spat me out into an alternate reality for the New Zealand Steampunk Festival.
I’d heard a lot about the Steampunk Festival, held in Oamaru every King’s Birthday Weekend but hadn’t ventured down for it before.
I wasn’t sure if Steampunk was my thing or could become a genre of interest alongside my Victorian costuming, but curiosity got the better of me and I booked my flights, and accommodation, and off I went. I packed the Natural Form dresses that I had made, as I didn’t want to start trying to make anything Steampunk-y while I was just visiting, and checking this whole new world out, just in case it didn’t turn out to be my thing.
The festival is very different to the Oamaru Victorian Heritage Celebrations and I think my poor brain experienced more jamais vu than I thought was possible. The Victorian Precinct was filled with Steampunk folk instead of Victorian ladies and gentlemen, and I had a lot of people that I knew greeting me and celebrating that I had come to the festival but it took me a few moments to recognise them as they were wearing completely different outfits than those I was used to seeing them in. I will admit to getting overwhelmed to start with as there was so much to look at and so many creative (and some very bold, bright) outfits. I think Steampunk tends to attract more outgoing/extraverted people too, compared to Victorian costuming, so they were giving off a lot of energy.
I really did not know what to expect. Everyone was really friendly and welcoming. There were a few familiar faces – locals and a handful of attendees who also do the Victorian Heritage Celebrations – and a lot of people that I didn’t know.
Everyone was so positive and welcoming and as soon as people knew that I was a newbie they welcomed me into the fold, introduced me to other people, and invited me to join in with what they were doing. And the Christchurch Creative Steam group adopted me for the weekend, which meant that I ended up walking in the parade with them and being pulled into group photos.
Some of the events on offer differ quite a bit from the Victorian Heritage Celebrations, so I was at a bit of a loss as to which ones to attend, but I really enjoyed watching the teapot racing with its thrills and spills.
I was also talked into taking part in the Steampunk Fashion Showcase, and I felt completely underdressed sitting backstage with the other contestants – they all looked amazing and the creativity and detail in their costumes was incredible (check out the NZ Steampunk Festival Facebook page for photos!). It was such an experience to be surrounded by so much creativity in one place, and in fact the whole weekend was just packed with creative people it would have been impossible not to get inspired and want to start creating new outfits on returning home.
The last event was the SteamPink Breakfast on the morning of King’s Birthday and it was quite a sight to see all the Steampunks all colour coordinated in pink ensembles.
I quickly booked my accommodation to attend the festival for 2025, because of just how friendly, welcoming, and creative the event was – and because the theme was ‘Circus In Time’, which just sounded like a lot of fun.
And I have a post about that coming soon too.
