Would you care to let us know what you enjoyed and what you would like to see happen next year?  Please take this quick survey – and don’t miss the question that just asks for your suggestions for next year.  You can include any crazy and/or useful ideas you have!

-> Click here to take the survey, if you please <-

Crowds in front of Hagenbeck and Wallace Circus sideshow – from the Library of Congress

Well, the Steampunk Empire Symposium is right around the corner! By this time tomorrow, we’ll be starting to see some of you at the Crowne Plaza Cincinnati North! And if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been eagerly refreshing websites, killing time until you get to join in hatted and bustled shenanigans.

Well, we know how hard it can be to find information during a convention, so we’ve assembled several ways of tracking down what you need to know:

Want to know what’s going on when and where?

Printed schedule: You will receive a copy of the schedule grid at registration with your program book. I will also put a link to it here as soon as it is available online. If you’re lucky, I’ll fold one into a hat, pterodactyl or a brooch for you.

Mobile-friendly schedule: We have set up a mobile-friendly schedule on Lanyrd.  This schedule has all of the panel descriptions, locations and times, optimized for browsing on your phone, tablets, aether transmitters and computing machines. (Sorry, not currently supporting telegraphs. Please upgrade your browser.) lanyrd.com/2013/steamsymposium/.

Want to know who the people at the front of the room are?

See the Guests of Honor, Music and Entertainment and Panelists pages. Or ask. Everyone is friendly. And some of them even bite!

Want to keep up with us on social media?

Facebook:
Steampunk Empire Symposium MMXIII event page
Steampunk Empire Symposium page.

Twitter:
The main twitter feed will be @PandoraSociety. (We are phasing out the @SteamSymposium account so that we can keep everyone up to date on all of our events more effectively!)

Official Hashtag:
#steamsymposium Use this on Twitter, Flickr, Google+, Instagram, etc… I will be watching. (But not in an uncomfortable way. Think more Santa Claus than Creepy Guy in the Park.)

The Curiosities Exhibit will open to the general public at 10AM Saturday morning and close at 8PM.

Airship Captains: Please ensure that your chosen entries are registered during the listed time frame.

Individual Entries: Artifacts belonging to unaffiliated Makers/Artisans will be accepted at the same time and with the same provisions as Airship entries.

Once an Artifact is registered an Airship may not recruit that item into their entries, even if they recruit the Maker. In other words, recruit first, then register the Artifact. I will not make any exceptions to this rule.

Dr Forge’s Welding Lab (4 pm Friday): $5 materials fee for those who want to try welding themselves.

Make-and-take with Airship Archon (5 pm Friday): bring your own NERF gun, water pistol, etc. Other materials provided.

Belly dance workshop with Mystic Hips Belly Dance (10 am Saturday): bring $5 for this professional instructor.

Bustle Drapery with Jessica Crutchfield of Ties that Bynde (8 pm Saturday): Kits for sale, $15-25, or $5 materials fee if you are bringing your own fabric, which should be a few yards of fabric or curtains or tablecloth, with finished edges.

Electronics Seminar & Workshop 3 with Professor Charles (10 am Sunday): bring an electronics project, proposal, or problem that needs to be solved and we can work together to build, plan or modify it to fit your needs.

Building a Steampunk World with the Intrigue Factory Workshop (11 am Sunday): bring a laptop and create your own 3D model of your airship.

But most importantly, come prepared to enjoy yourself!

2013 Symposium Games Descriptions

Greetings and salutations,

You see this image? This is the Steampunk Symposium Games Champion’s pin. The pin that the winner of each competition in the games gets to wear as a badge of honor. This metal engraved pin CANNOT be purchased. It can only be won.

The Symposium is just over 2 weeks away and the Symposium Games has several registered groups that are ready to compete in whatever competitions the Symposium can throw at them. (Or shoot at them)

Here is a list of those Airships or groups have are currently registered for the games:

Circle City Aerodrome

Airship Bolocor

Airship Archon

Airship Centroid

Airship Passpartout

H.M.S. Radiant Vangaurd

The Clan of Teks

Airship Hypatia

S.A.S. Eleanor Page

The Dastardly Alliance (Ace of Spaces with H.M.R.A.S. Valkyrie)

These group’s crew members, citizens or staff will be competing not only for the Steampunk Symposium Games Champions pins, but collectively they will be competing to win the Steampunk Symposium Games Trophy.

Now I KNOW that there are more Airships and Groups out there that want to compete in the games. Be sure to contact Caelyn Nagle via facebook or email (caelyn_8(at)hotmail.com) right away so we can send you the registration information. Only then will your group’s members have a chance to wear the Steampunk Symposium Games Champion’s pin.

If you are currently unaligned with any Airship or Group, but still want to compete in the games, don’t worry, there will be an Airship Recruitment Fair at the Symposium, or just raise your hand online, and I’m sure you’ll find a group that will snatch you up and add you to their rolls.

Follow @PandoraSociety for all the latest information; the hashtag for the Steampunk Empire Symposium is #steamsymposium

With just over two weeks until the opening of the Symposium, keep updated via Twitter and Facebook.