Steamcon was one of the largest steampunk conventions/symposia in the United States[citation needed]. Located in the Seattle area of Washington state, Steamcon held its first symposium in 2009.

Steamcon
Official Steamcon Logo
StatusInactive
GenreSteampunk
VenueBellevue Hyatt Regency
Location(s)Bellevue, Washington
CountryUSA
Organized bySteampunk Conventions
Websitehttp://www.steamcon.org/

Steamcon grew out of the desire of its founders to host a steampunk event in greater Seattle. The idea[1] to start the event was hatched at the local science fiction convention Norwescon in 2008 when multiple people expressed an interest[2] to hold an event devoted exclusively to steampunk. Although the idea for a Seattle area Steampunk convention referred to as SteamCon was first used as the basis for a panel at Anglicon 6 in Seattle in May 1993.[3]

Past symposia

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2009

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The first Steamcon was held October 23–25, 2009[4] at the Seattle Airport Marriott in Seatac, Washington. The convention in its first year had 1,350 people attend, making it one of the largest, if not the largest, steampunk devoted conventions in North America.

Guests of Honor

  • Author Guest of Honor: Tim Powers
  • Artist Guest of Honor: Paul Guinan
  • Musical Guests of Honor: Abney Park

2010

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The second annual Steamcon was held November 19–21, 2010. The host venues were the Hilton Seattle Airport Hotel and the Seattle Airport Marriott. The theme was "Weird Weird West." Approximately 1,950 guests were in attendance.

Guests of Honor

2011

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Group at Steamcon III
 
Mad Dog Diver at Steamcon III

The third annual Steamcon was held October 14–16, 2011. The host venue was the Bellevue Hyatt Regency Bellevue. The theme was "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". About 2,250 guests were in attendance.

Guests of Honor

2012

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The fourth annual Steamcon was held October 26–28, 2012. The host venue was the Bellevue Hyatt Regency. The theme was "Victorian Monsters".

Guests of Honor

  • Author Guest of Honor: Kim Newman (unable to attend)
  • Artist Guest of Honor: Joe Benitez
  • Musical Guests of Honor: Rasputina
  • Monster Hunters of Honor: The League of S.T.E.A.M.

2013

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The fifth annual Steamcon was held from October 25–27, 2013. The theme was "Around the World". The venue was the Bellevue Hyatt Regency.

Guests of Honor

Cancelled symposium

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2014

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On March 9, 2014, a post on the Steamcon official Facebook page revealed that Steamcon VI would be cancelled due to a debt of at least $41,500 to Bellevue Hyatt Regency and other organizations.[5]

The 6th annual Steamcon was to be held on October 3–5, 2014. The theme was to be "Mechanical World". The venue would have been the Bellevue Hyatt Regency.

Notes

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  1. ^ Henninger, Jason (October 1, 2009). "Interview with Steamcon Vice Chair Diana Vick". Tor.com. Steampunk Month. Macmillan.
  2. ^ "Steamcon and Steampunk" (Podcast). Seattle Geekly. No. 36. October 9, 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16.
  3. ^ Anglicon VI program book (1993). 4.
  4. ^ "Weekend calendar". The Seattle Times. October 22, 2009.
  5. ^ "Steamcon VI" (Press release). Steampunk Conventions. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2014-03-13.

References

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