The Madness Of Tote Bags

Wonderplace Alpha Tote Bag – $6
A dash of magic, a pinch of mischief, and a whole lot of charm—our official Wonderplace Alpha tote is ready to carry your dreams, your potions, or just your snacks. Adorned with a delightfully spooky face, flying bat, and a top hat with jack-o’-lantern flair, it’s the perfect companion for market wanderings and late-night goblin misadventures.

At just $6, it’s enchantingly affordable. Grab yours before they vanish into the mist!

Welcoming Committee: Vendors First

Many attendees for WonderPlace Alpha have made more friends online than in real life (which is harder!). If we can better blend the two, we can help people have a better time. Sometimes the dance doesn’t start until the first brave couple gets out there.

As a vendor, you’re already listed in the Swap Meet:Vendors section, based on your intake form. Here are features that support you as a vendor.

But you’re also an attendee, and hopefully running around having fun and meeting new people. Here we write what users can do.

We’d like to ask you to set an example. We’ll email you a login link, as explained here. Please take a few seconds to login, post a selfie, publish info about yourself, and see if it helps draw people to your booth, or sparks any strangers to talk to you about your interests.

Thank you!

If you see something, snap something!

At a SwapSnaps event, everyone is both a star and a paparazzi. If you see something, snap something. Someone will enjoy that moment being captured.

It’s local, physical space social media without bots or anger.

Powered by the Swap Stream, where every snap taken by anyone streams by you. Anyone can add tags, titles and captions. Click the tag “Fae” to see every snap tagged that way. Tag yourself whenever you show up and you have a custom guide to your weekend.

Put yourself out there

Powered by the Swap Meet, list your selfie, interests, any website links, maybe even your email and texting digits. This opens your swap DMs from anyone. But what goes on at WonderPlace Alpha stays at WonderPlace Alpha.

Now find someone with similar interests, then find them in real space and make a friend.

Buy some gifts

Browse the vendors list to make sure you don’t miss that one place you can’t resist. Even after this weekend, you can place orders for whatever you argued yourself out of but keep thinking about.

Chat with some QRs

Powered by the Swap Zone, flash a QR code. Anyone who scans it joins an anonymous dissolving chat using peer to peer messaging, without sharing any deets.

Your WonderPlace ticket got you an account

You bought ticket(s) with an email address, and each ticket has a 7 digit unique id (capitalization matters). Your SwapSnaps account is a combination of those two. If your email was jim@less2do.com and your ticket code was 123abCD, your SwapSnass account and initial password are jim+123abCD@less2do.com until you log in and optionally change your password.

SwapSnaps login

Don’t worry, we’ll email you a link as well.

Darkling – a poem from jeffmachwrites

(Originally published on our writing blog on October 31, 2024.)

We are Darkling. We’re not strange.
If your shadows re-arrange,
If your Moon sometimes winks out,
If your soul sometimes slinks out,

If you’re a midnight, inky Darkling
It’s a different kind of Sparkling;
We wax wroth, with strangeling fires
Welcome, Goths, ghouls, Vampires.

If, in short, you like the odds
Of serving strange and hungry Gods,
If you’re no coward or cowan,
If you lift the veil on Samhain;

Then perhaps, you, as well
In Darkling spirit ought to dwell
We judge no thought or love or sin;
We welcome you, our Otherkin.

Wonderplace Alpha – A Halloween Note From Darkling — Jeff Mach Writes

East Coast Steampunk ~ In The United States

(This is about Steampunk on the East Coast of the United States of America. For the United Kingdom, check out these fine folks!)

Or visit.facebook.com/groups/eastcoaststeampunksunitedstates/

East Coast Steampunk is a subcultural movement and aesthetic style originating along the eastern seaboard of the United States, blending Victorian-era influences with retrofuturistic technology inspired by 19th-century steam-powered machinery. Emerging in the late 20th century, the east coast steampunk movement draws heavily from the large liminal event space, incorporating a tremendous variety of live performance more traditionally experienced at festivals than conventions.

Sometimes characterized by ornate fashion, especially with the influence of Deb’s SalonCon, the Northeastern Neo-Victoria often emphasizes tailored garments like frock coats, corsets, and top hats, often accented with brass goggles, pocket watches, and mechanical motifs. The aesthetic integrates local influences, such as New England’s maritime history and the industrial legacy of cities like New York and Philadelphia, resulting in designs that evoke airship pirates, clockwork inventors, and gaslit urban landscapes. At the same time, with the relaxed influence of Wicked Faire, dress became liminal, as with the themese and genre of the entertainment. Artifacts like modified firearms or faux-mechanical prosthetics are common, symbolizing a romanticized fusion of craftsmanship and innovation.

The movement thrives at conventions, such as the Steampunk World’s Fair and Watch City Steampunk Festival, where enthusiasts gather for cosplay, panel discussions, and maker workshops. Music, including bands like The Cog is Dead, often features vaudevillian or folk elements with mechanical undertones. East Coast Steampunk also engages with literature, with authors like Cherie Priest setting stories in alternate Gilded Age settings.

While sharing core steampunk tenets, east coast steampunk distinguishes itself through a darker, more grounded tone compared to the whimsical West Coast scene, reflecting the region’s dense urban history and colder climate. It remains a vibrant community, fostering creativity through art, performance, and speculative storytelling, with a focus on reimagining the past to critique modernity.

https://wonderplacealpha.com/what-is-steampunk-the-eternal-inevitable-panel/(Want other thoughts? Check out our panel design for “What IS Steampunk”?

Here, have some trivia:

First Steampunk Tattoo Parlor Event in NYC: In 2012, New York City’s Wooster Street Social Club hosted the Mobilis in Mobili steampunk art show, which included a live demo of the world’s first steampunk-inspired tattoo machine. The brass-and-gear contraption actually worked, inking designs with Victorian flair, and artists jokingly called it “the slowest, most dramatic tattoo gun ever” due to its theatrical steam-like hissing.

The Great Steampunk Mustache Prank in Boston: At the 2013 Watch City Steampunk Festival in Waltham, Massachusetts, a group of attendees pulled a prank by handing out fake mustaches labeled “Tesla’s Finest” to everyone, claiming they were powered by static electricity to “enhance wit.” By noon, half the festival sported curly waxed mustaches, leading to an impromptu “Mustache Parade” that’s still a local legend.

Unusual Steampunk Teacup Racer in Maryland: At Baltimore’s 2015 Kinetic Sculpture Race, a steampunk team debuted the “Teacup Trolley,” a human-powered vehicle shaped like a giant teacup with spinning gears and a faux steam whistle. It won the “Most Whimsical” award after crossing the finish line while blasting Gilbert and Sullivan operetta tunes, with racers shouting, “Full steam, half cream!”

First Steampunk “Time Traveler” Flash Mob in Philly: In 2010, Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square saw the Eastern US’s first steampunk flash mob, where 50 people dressed as Victorian time travelers “invaded” the park with pocket watches and parasols. They performed a synchronized dance to a brass-band cover of Sweet Child O’ Mine, confusing passersby who thought they’d stumbled into a film shoot. Organizers called it “history’s most punctual prank.”

Joking Airship Menus in Virginia: At the 2014 RavenCon in Richmond, Virginia, a steampunk convention featured a mock “Airship Dining Menu” circulated as a gag, offering dishes like “Aether-Infused Scones” and “Goggle-Cleaned Soup.” Attendees played along, pretending to order, with one panelist quipping, “I’ll take the soup, but only if the goggles are certified fog-free!”

First Steampunk Kazoo Orchestra in New Hampshire: During the 2017 Another Anime Convention in Manchester, New Hampshire, a steampunk panel debuted the “Aetheric Kazoo Orchestra,” where 20 attendees played kazoos decorated with gears to perform a wobbly rendition of In the Hall of the Mountain King. The audience laughed so hard the session ran overtime, with one player joking, “This is why airships don’t have orchestras!”

The “Lost Parasol” Caper in Savannah, Georgia: At a 2013 steampunk picnic in Savannah’s Forsyth Park, a running gag emerged when a lace parasol was “stolen” by a rogue “time bandit” (actually a prankster in a top hat). The group spent the day leaving silly ransom notes like “Return one cogwheel or the parasol sees 1899!” It was returned with a tiny monocle tied to it, sparking laughs and a tradition of playful “heists” at future meetups.

The Completely Mythological VIP Package

IMPORTANT NOTE:

THIS IS GENUINELY AN IMAGINARY VIP PACKAGE CREATED BY AI FOR HUMOR VALUE.

OUR ACTUAL VIP PACKAGE INCLUDES THREE AIRSHIPS AND FIVE LOBSTER DINNERS AND WILL COST YOU A MERE 49,000 DOUBLOONS.

Introducing the “Grand Omnibus of Extravagant Revelry VIP Package”—the most unhinged, over-the-top experience ever conceived for a Steampunk/Goth/Renaissance Faire mashup. Buckle up your corset and adjust your monocle, because this is pure, unadulterated madness:

The Package:

  1. Arrival & Airship Extravaganza
    Your VIP journey begins with a private ride aboard the Aetheric Monarch, a gilded, steam-powered individual airship adorned with brass tentacles and velvet drapery. As you soar above the faire, a squadron of Steampunk robots—complete with top hats, mechanical claws, and glowing red eyes—will pamper you with a feast of excess:
    • Freshly steamed lobster drizzled in truffle-infused absinthe butter.
    • Caviar served on edible gold-plated spoons.
    • Fried Giant Sloth, sourced from the mythical Lost World, seasoned with smoked paprika and a hint of eldritch spice (don’t ask about the supply chain).
      Sip on a crystal goblet of mead distilled from honey harvested by clockwork bees while the robots serenade you with gothic sea shanties played on a steam-calliope.
  2. Customizable Jousting Armor (Early Bird Special)
    Arrive 48 hours early, and your personal armorer—a half-mad alchemist with a mechanical arm—will craft bespoke jousting armor for your epic showdown against Sauron, Dark Lord of Mordor (or at least a very convincing reenactor). Choose from:
    • Obsidian-black plating with glowing crimson runes.
    • Bronze filigree with retractable steam-powered wings.
    • A velvet-lined breastplate embedded with a functioning astrolabe that screams cryptic prophecies during battle.
      Your steed? A robotic warhorse with piston-driven legs and a tail that doubles as a flamethrower.
  3. The Most Ridiculous Tote Bag
    Behold the “Abyssal Gear-Sack”: a sentient, leather-and-brass satchel with retractable spider legs, a built-in phonograph that plays theremin-heavy goth anthems, and a secret compartment that dispenses chilled absinthe on command. It’s embroidered with your name in glowing thread harvested from bioluminescent cave worms and comes pre-loaded with:
    • A taxidermied bat wearing a tiny tricorn hat.
    • A vial of “essence of dragon smoke” (smells suspiciously like burnt cinnamon).
    • A coupon for “one free existential crisis” redeemable at the faire’s resident philosopher.
  4. The T-Shirt to End All T-Shirts
    Your exclusive “Sovereign of the Steam-Realm Tee” is a wearable masterpiece: a black velvet shirt with animated LED piping that pulses in time with your heartbeat, depicting a kraken battling a dirigible. The back features a 3D-printed bas-relief of Shakespeare riding a velociraptor, captioned in Old English script: “Thou Shalt Slayeth the Scene.” It’s scented with patchouli and gunpowder and doubles as a cape when you dramatically unbutton the hidden clasps.
  5. Special Programming: The Forbidden Cabaret
    Gain access to the “Midnight Vortex of Unreason”, a secret underground theater where:
    • A troupe of vampire acrobats performs a gravity-defying reenactment of The Fall of the House of Usher—on unicycles.
    • A Steampunk DJ with a gramophone arm spins remixes of Gregorian chants and industrial polkas.
    • You’re invited onstage to duel a holographic projection of Leonardo da Vinci using a sword-shooting umbrella (don’t worry, it’s mostly safe).
      Afterward, join the “Council of Absurdity”, a Q&A with a panel of time-traveling Renaissance poets, a cyborg falconer, and a mime who claims to be Rasputin’s ghost.
  6. Special Perks: Beyond the Pale
    • Personal Minion: A clockwork goblin butler named Percival who follows you around, carrying your tote bag, fanning you with ostrich feathers, and reciting limericks about your greatness.
    • VIP Toilet Throne: A portable, steam-heated privy with a velvet seat, stained-glass windows, and a robotic bard who sings ballads about your “noble evacuations.”
    • The Eternal Feast Pass: Skip every line to gorge on exclusive faire delicacies like roasted phoenix wings, candied kraken tentacles, and a “potion of infinite stamina” (it’s just espresso with edible glitter).
    • The Doom Bell: Once per day, ring a massive, skull-adorned bell that emits a sonic boom, forcing all non-VIPs to bow dramatically in your presence while a chorus of automatons chants your name.

Price:

$12,347 (because why not?)—payable in gold doubloons, cryptocurrency, or bartered souls (pending approval by the faire’s necromancer-accountant).

Thoughts On Creating A Fabulous Steampunk Ball

(ALL ARE WELCOME AT THE WONDERPLACE ALPHA STEAMPUNK BALL!)

We asked Grok for Steampunk Ball ideas. We’re busy working on bringing you the best darn Steampunk ball we can humanly create. So it’s on our minds.

Here are some considerations.


What Makes a Great Steampunk Ball?

A Steampunk ball is a sensory plunge into an alternate history where steam reigns supreme and creativity knows no bounds. On a high budget, which we do not have, we would be babbling like mad about the caviar-infused deviled eggs. We’d also be choking on the price we’d have to charge. This ball, on the other hand, is included. Here are some of our suggestions for running a Steampunk Ball on a low budget. It’s about ingenuity:

  • Lighting: Use mason jars with LED candles (thrifted or DIY) to mimic gaslamp flicker. Hang brass-painted PVC pipes as faux chandeliers.
  • Soundscape: Beyond music, add ambient steam hisses or clock ticks (record these from a kettle or old clock, looped via a cheap speaker).
  • Activities: Host a “Tinker’s Corner” where attendees swap DIY gadget ideas, or a “Penny Dreadful Reading” with volunteers reciting melodramatic tales.
  • Community: Encourage attendees to adopt personas—airship captains, mad inventors—and mingle as if at a grand Victorian exposition.

For a splurge, hire a small troupe of actors to stage a faux airship crash or a “time traveler’s debate,” adding theatrical chaos to the night.


Famous Steampunk Entertainers. (We have worked with some of these folks. We can recommend all of them!)

If budget weren’t a constraint, these performers would transform your ball into a legendary affair. Here’s a deeper roster:

  • Steam Powered Giraffe: Their robotic mime act, with David Michael Bennett’s baritone and Isabella “Bunny” Bennett’s crystalline vocals, blends vaudeville and sci-fi. Expect “Automotonic Electronic Harmonics” to mesmerize.
  • Abney Park: Led by Robert Brown, their airship pirate saga comes alive with worldbeat rhythms and industrial edge. “Sleep Isabella” could be your haunting centerpiece.
  • Professor Elemental: Paul Alborough’s chap-hop antics—think “Cup of Brown Joy” rapped in a pith helmet—bring infectious humor and danceable beats.
  • The Men That Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing: Punk fury meets Victorian grit; “Margate Fhtagn” channels Lovecraftian chaos with a Cockney snarl.
  • Frenchy and the Punk: Samantha Stephenson’s percussive energy and Scott Helland’s guitar weave a cabaret spell—try “House of Cards” for eerie elegance.
  • Voltaire: Aurelio Voltaire’s Gothic baritone and sardonic wit shine in “When You’re Evil,” perfect for a shadowy waltz.
  • Emilie Autumn: Her “Fight Like a Girl” melds violin virtuosity with industrial rage, a feminist anthem for the corseted crowd.
  • This Way to the Egress: A six-piece gypsy-punk ensemble from Pennsylvania, their accordion-driven “Onward” feels like a carnival gone rogue.
  • The Dresden Dolls: Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione’s Brechtian punk cabaret—“Coin-Operated Boy”—offers theatrical rawness.

These acts range from $5,000 to $20,000+ depending on travel and production, but they’re the gold standard of Steampunk spectacle.


Massive, Comprehensive List of Steampunk Songs (Expanded)

Here’s an even bigger playlist for your DJ, blending iconic Steampunk tracks with lesser-known gems and thematic fits. It’s eclectic, spanning folk, punk, industrial, and classical reimaginings:

  • Steam Powered Giraffe: “Honeybee,” “Brass Goggles,” “Fancy Shoes,” “Steam Powered Giraffe,” “I’ll Rust With You”
  • Abney Park: “Airship Pirate,” “The Derelict,” “Herr Drosselmeyer’s Doll,” “Throw Them Overboard,” “Victorian Vigilante”
  • The Men That Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing: “Boilerplate Daniel,” “Etiquette,” “Sewer,” “Charlie,” “Blood Red”
  • Professor Elemental: “Fighting Trousers,” “I’m British,” “Steampunk Girl,” “Penny Dreadful,” “Animal Magic”
  • Frenchy and the Punk: “Caravan,” “Yes I Wanna Go,” “Temple of Sleep,” “Monsters,” “Trick Rider”
  • Voltaire: “The Mechanical Girl,” “Stake a Claim,” “Beast of Pirate’s Bay,” “Goodnight Demon Slayer,” “Ex Lover’s Lover”
  • Emilie Autumn: “Opheliac,” “Liar,” “Gothic Lolita,” “Swallow,” “Marry Me”
  • This Way to the Egress: “Cage Bird,” “Delicious Cabaret,” “Going Home Again,” “See No Evil,” “M.I.A.”
  • The Dresden Dolls: “Girl Anachronism,” “Missed Me,” “Bad Habit,” “Backstabber,” “Half Jack”
  • Rasputina: “Transylvanian Concubine,” “The New Zero,” “Rusty the Skatemaker,” “Holocaust of Giants,” “Watch T.V.”
  • Vernian Process: “The Alchemist’s Vision,” “The Curse of Whitechapel,” “Something Wicked,” “Unhallowed Metropolis,” “The Last Express”
  • The Cog is Dead: “The Copper War,” “Time Machine,” “The Death of the Cog,” “Steam Powered Stories,” “Blood, Sweat and Tears”
  • Sunday Driver: “Mechanical Angel,” “Black Widow,” “Swan Song,” “Concubine Waltz,” “Jewel of the Empire”
  • A Halo Called Fred: “Steampunk Song,” “Goggles,” “Quantum Mechanics,” “I’m a Superhero,” “Tupperware”
  • Dr. Steel: “Build the Robots,” “Marionette,” “Childhood Don’t A-Go-Go,” “Planet X Marks the Spot,” “Fibonacci Sequence”
  • Ghostfire: “The Last Steampunk Waltz,” “Vaudevillian,” “Hellfire and a Handbasket,” “Black Carriage,” “The Man With No Face”
  • The Clockwork Dolls: “The Ballad of Black Jack Jezebel,” “No. 13,” “Raise the Airship,” “Maiden Voyage,” “Ashes to Ashes”
  • Unextraordinary Gentlemen: “Black Iron Road,” “Open Arms, Empty Air,” “Mr. Soot’s Black Hand,” “A Counting Game,” “Frozen Moment”
  • Thomas Dolby: “She Blinded Me With Science” (retro-tech vibes)
  • Tom Waits: “Metropolitan Glide” (gritty industrial folk)
  • Roxy Music: “In Every Dream Home a Heartache” (futuristic decadence)
  • Instrumental: “Steampunk Revolution” (Derek Fiechter), “Clockwork Tangerine” (Brandon Fiechter), “Waltz of the Damned” (Adrian von Ziegler).

This list could fuel a 12-hour ball! Dig into Bandcamp, Spotify, or YouTube for full albums—many Steampunk artists thrive there.


What Do People Wear? (Expanded)

  • Low Budget: Raid thrift stores for vests, blouses, and trousers—distress them with tea stains or sewn-on gears (craft store cogs, $2 a bag). Make goggles from PVC rings and bottle caps. Wrap boots in duct tape “spats.” Women can layer skirts with a cinched belt for a bustle effect; men can sport a $5 bowler hat.
  • High Budget: Invest in bespoke corsets ($200+) with brass boning, tailored frock coats with epaulets ($300+), or leather aviator gear with real brass buckles. Add pocket watches, monocles, or parasols with hidden gadgets ( Etsy artisans excel here). Full airship captain regalia—think peaked caps and braided jackets—could hit $500+.

Food and Drink (Expanded)

  • Low-Budget Food: Serve “Engineer’s Rations”—hardtack (flour-water crackers), potted meat sandwiches, or “Gear Grease Tarts” (jam-filled pastries cut into cog shapes). Pickled eggs or veggies in jars nod to preservation tech.
  • Low-Budget Drinks: Brew tea in bulk (Earl Grey or Darjeeling), serve in mismatched thrift-store cups. “Aether Tonic” = tonic water with a splash of grenadine. Fake absinthe: anise extract in green-tinted lemonade.
  • Splurge: Offer absinthe fountains ($50-$100 rental) with sugar cube rituals, or champagne towers for bubbly excess. Pair with “Airship Canapés”—smoked salmon on rye, or mini pheasant pies (catered, $10/plate).

Are Non-Steampunks Welcome? (Expanded)

Absolutely—Steampunk is a gateway subculture! Newbies in jeans can borrow a top hat or goggles from a “Costume Trunk” (set one up with spares). Veterans often mentor, sharing lore like “the Great Steam Schism of ’08” (a fictional feud you can invent). It’s a party, not a purist’s club.


Dancing Style (Expanded)

No rules, but options abound:

  • Victorian: Waltz (3/4 time, easy to learn), quadrille (group square dance), or polka (lively hops).
  • Steampunk Twist: Add mechanical arm gestures or “steam puffs” (exaggerated exhales). “The Cog Jig” = stomp to industrial beats.
  • Freeform: Sway like a broken automaton or twirl like a top—improv rules. Pair with “The Last Steampunk Waltz” for eerie grace.

Etiquette (Expanded)

Faux formality is the game:

  • Address others as “Captain,” “Doctor,” or “Lady”—improvise titles like “Mistress of the Aether.”
  • Offer toasts: “To the cogs that turn our fates!” or “May your boiler never burst!”
  • No need to know real Victorian manners—overact and giggle at faux pas.

Cheap Decorations (Expanded)

  • Gear Wall: Paint cardboard gears (cut from boxes) in metallic hues, glue to twine, and hang as garlands.
  • Airship Models: Twist wire hangers into zeppelin frames, cover with brown paper, and suspend with fishing line.
  • Maps: Print aged maps (online freebies) on tea-stained paper, pin to walls with “ expedition routes” marked in red.
  • Gadgets: Stack old clocks, radios, or typewriter parts (yard sale finds) as “Tinker’s Heap” centerpieces.

Toasts, Romantic, and Silly Moments (Expanded)

  • Toasts: “To the inventors who defy gravity!” (serious), “To brass and bravado!” (cheeky), “May our rivets hold and our hearts soar!” (romantic).
  • Romantic: A couple trades a brass key and a locket under a faux gaslamp, or slow-dances to “Honeybee” as gears spin overhead.
  • Silly: A “mad scientist” spills glowing punch (food coloring + Sprite), or a group performs a “Gear Grinding Polka” with clanking spoons.

Famous Steampunk Balls (Expanded)

  • Gaslight Gathering (San Diego): Features a “Grand Promenade” and tea dueling, drawing 500+ in corsets and goggles.
  • The Asylum Steampunk Festival (Lincoln, UK): 3,000 attendees parade through a castle town; the ball has fire dancers and live bands.
  • Nova Albion (Santa Clara, CA): A hotel takeover with a “Steampunk Saloon” and masked ball—think 1920s meets 1880s.
  • Waltz on the Wye (Chepstow, UK): Riverside revelry with quirky contests like “Best Beard” alongside a formal dance.
  • Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention (Tucson, AZ): A desert twist with cowboy-Steampunk fusion and a saloon-style ball. (Condolences on their recent cancellation.)

Bonus notes on Steampunk as a “gateway subculture”:

The phrase “Steampunk is a gateway subculture” means that steampunk—a subculture blending Victorian aesthetics with retro-futuristic technology, think brass goggles and steam-powered gadgets—acts as an accessible entry point into a wider web of related subcultures or alternative scenes. It’s the front porch to a bigger, weirder house, pulling people in with its charm before they wander deeper.

Steampunk’s appeal often lies in its mix of the familiar and the fantastical. It’s got that 19th-century vibe—corsets, top hats, Jules Verne novels—that feels historical and cozy, but it’s spiked with imaginative twists like airships and clockwork robots. This makes it approachable for newcomers, maybe through a book like The Difference Engine or a steampunk festival. Once hooked, they might explore adjacent subcultures: cosplay (building elaborate costumes), maker culture (tinkering with DIY tech), or even dieselpunk and cyberpunk, which tweak the timeline but keep the inventive spirit. It’s a soft launch into nerdier, craftier, or more avant-garde territory.

The “gateway” part comes from how steampunk bridges mainstream interests—say, historical fiction or sci-fi—with niche passions. Someone might start with a steampunk outfit for fun, then end up welding sculptures or joining a burner community like Burning Man. It’s not that steampunk itself is shallow; it’s just welcoming enough to lure you in, then point you toward wilder paths.

Wonderplace Alpha Weapons Policy (Peace-Tied, Please)

Kull.

Weapons Policy

“The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut the enemy, whatever the means.” – Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings

The Short Version – Quick as a Katana Slash!

  • If it’s illegal in New York State, it’s a no-go inside the event venue. Period.
  • Misuse your weapon or prop—like swinging it around in a crowded hall—and it’s deemed unsafe faster than you can say “samurai.” Which you, like me, very probably mispronounce.
  • Unsafe gear? We’ll kindly ask you to stash it in your private lair (your room, car, or home).
  • Bought a shiny new weapon at the con? Box it up pronto or let our staff peace-bind it with ninja-level precision. No showing it off until it’s secure!
  • All props and weapons get a once-over by our crew. Even if it passed muster at another event—or last year’s Wonderplace—it’s subject to our approval here.
  • Anything that screams “safety hazard” (think bulky costumes clogging the halls) might need to vanish from the scene.

Heads up: One staffer might give a thumbs-up, but if another challenges it, the Head of Security swoops in with the final call. And just because no one’s stopped you yet doesn’t mean it’s all good—stay sharp!

“In strategy, your spiritual bearing must not be any different from normal. Both in fighting and in everyday life, you should be determined though calm.” – Miyamoto Musashi

Why So Serious? Because We Care!

Normally, we’d kick this off with a wild, whimsical tale and some goofy pics (imagine a knight juggling swords!), but this is big-deal stuff. We want you and your fellow adventurers safe—no injuries, no legal woes. Let’s keep the epic vibes going strong!

Welcome to Wonderplace Alpha – Where Props Rule!

“The sword is the soul of the warrior.” – The Book of Five Rings

Wonderplace Alpha is thrilled to have you bring your prop weapons—after all, they’re the beating heart of Renfaire glory! But we’re indoors at a hotel, not storming a battlefield, and New York’s laws are a bit stricter than, say, Pennsylvania or Connecticut. We’ve forged this policy with that in mind, so everyone can shine without crossing blades with trouble.


Here’s the Weapons Policy rewritten as if I’m a warrior—fierce, direct, and ready for battle. No fluff, just the steel-cold truth, forged with quotes from The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi and other legendary texts. Adapted for Wonderplace Alpha in New York, with a voice that echoes the clang of blades and the roar of the fight. Let’s march into it, shield up, sword drawn!


Weapons Policy – The Warrior’s Code

“The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut the enemy, whatever the means.” – Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings

Stand tall, kin of the blade! I see that gleam in your eye—your sword sings of glory, and I honor its edge. But this is Wonderplace Alpha, a stronghold in New York, and I, Head of Security for JME, guard this ground with iron will. I’ve no tolerance for fools who’d dishonor the way of the warrior. Heed my words, or face the reckoning.

The Short Code – Swift as a Strike

“In battle, if you make your opponent flinch, you have already won.” – Musashi

  • If New York’s laws ban it, it’s banned here. No exceptions.
  • Wield your weapon or prop like a coward—swinging wild in open ground—and I’ll name it unfit for this war.
  • Unfit steel or gear? Stow it in your quarters—room, steed, or distant keep—or it’s gone.
  • Claim a new blade from the merchants? Bind it in its sheath or let my guards peace-tie it. No baring it ‘til it’s sworn safe.
  • Every weapon, every prop—my sentries inspect it. Past victories at other fields or old Wonderplace battles mean nothing here.
  • If your gear risks blood—too wide, too unwieldy—it’s cast out. No debate.

One guard may nod, another may challenge. My word is final, etched in stone. Don’t think silence means victory—stay vigilant, or fall.

The Call to Honor

This is no jesting ground. I’d rather clash steel than scribe scrolls, but this matters. Keep your kin safe—spill no blood, draw no chains of law. We fight as one here.

Wonderplace Alpha – The Field of Valor

“The sword is the soul of the warrior.” – Musashi

Bring your weapons, your props—let them shine as badges of our craft! We’re no open plain; this is a hotel, a fortress under New York’s stern gaze, sharper than Pennsylvania’s or Connecticut’s softer lands. This code is our shield, tempered for the fight ahead.


Vendors Wanted (INDOORS SOLD OUT)

VENDORS WANTED! May 2-4, Lake George, New York:

Gentlecreatures and Enigmatic Artisans of the Unfathomable—purveyors of the peculiar and unusual, the marvelous and weird, the strange and arcane, the eccentric and exquisitely bizarre—Wonderplace Alpha is a Steampunk Gothic Renaissance Faire, a dazzling collision of clockwork ingenuity, gothic shadows, and Renaissance opulence, hosted at www.wonderplacealpha.comYour brass-bound contraptions, twilight-drenched relics, and starlit curios are not merely welcome but essential, destined to transform our outdoor stalls into shrines of the uncanny.

INDOOR SPACES ARE, SADLY, SOLD OUT. ALL SPACES ARE 10′ X 10′ OUTDOOR SPOTS IN AREAS WITH EXCELLENT TRAFFIC ATTRACTIONS AND SOME LOVELY GREENERY. (check out some of our attractions, below)

FLASH SALE!

this weekend—Friday, March 21, through Sunday, March 23, 2025—we’re unleashing a flash 50% off sale on vendor spaces. We’re not in the habit of such reckless generosity, and I daresay this may be the final such flourish for this singular show.

Really. We’d like to get some great vendors in now, while we’re doing quite a lot of advertising and can show you/show you off to people.

Apply now at https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSf5A2So33KCA6539HNK5Cz…—don’t let the clockwork of opportunity tick past you.

Oh, and a whisper of advice—don’t dawdle over your tea and scones; the peculiar wait for no one, and neither do we.

**Seeking: Sponsors, Vendors, Performers**

Want to sponsor one of the most unique events of 2025? Contact us today to learn about opportunities!

We’re always seeking volunteers to join our mad, mad, mad little team. Email us!