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The Asylum Steampunk Festival is the largest and longest running steampunk event in the world, and according to NASA, the biggest and best steampunk festival in the Solar System. It takes place on the last Bank Holiday weekend in August in the historic city of Lincoln.

In 2016 there were 11 venues participating and over 15 different activities for guests to enjoy including exhibitions, talks, workshops, live music, tea parties and markets. The festival strives to mix art, literature, music, fashion and comedy to create a creative, weird and wonderful fun packed event.

This year the festival was extended to 4 days where the streets of Lincoln were bustling with thousands of splendidly dressed steampunks. This year 120,000 people attended including steampunks, the steam-curious and non-Steampunk spectators who simply wanted to enjoy the fun.

The main hub of the event is at Lincoln Castle and radiates out to other venues including Lincoln Cathedral, the Assembly Rooms, Westgate Academy, the ‘Steampunk Campus’ at Bishop Grossteste University and The Engine Shed.

I attended the festival from Friday evening to Monday morning, staying close to the steampunk Campus. On the Friday evening I enjoyed “The Major’s Soiree” an old fashioned variety show with a steampunk twist. This was a fully seated, theatre style event held at The Engine Shed. The Soirée featured Mark Burroughs, Lady Violet Hugh, Dr Corvos Marconi, Charlie Draper and his Theremin, Tinker and Dr Cornelius Porridge (All hail the Bishop of Squid)

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On Saturday during the day I enjoyed the steampunk markets, the High Noon Shoot Out (nerf guns), the Minimum Altitude Display Team (a ground display of jetpack steampunks), visited the Great Exhibition to see the many wonderful devices and inventions on display and the checked out Chitty Chitty Bang Bang parked up at the Steampunk Campus. In the evening I attended “The Ninth Annual Empire Ball” at the Engine Shed. The Empire Ball was the place where guests could show off their finest outfits and dance to some of the best steampunk acts around. Here I was entertained by The Lonely Mister Punch, Victor Sierra and Sunday Driver.

On the Sunday during the day I enjoyed the Wacky Racers (amazing steampunk vehicles and bicycles), the Super-heroes Assembled (steampunk super heros) and signed up for the Martian Expeditionary Force (M.EF). In the evening we attended “Oh Dear, What Would the Major Say?” a superb evening of burlesque and entertainment hosted by Tallulah Blue.

We thoroughly enjoyed all the events and activities we engaged in, the only problem we had was that we required access to a time machine to return to the past to enjoy all the other events and activities we missed as there was so much going on! This festival was superb and I’m looking forward to attending again next year.