Steampunk Festival - Pushing the boundaries of imagination

The Steampunk Festival in Ōamaru is a celebration of science, invention and exploration.

From teapot racing to potioneering, this festival has it all. 

Each year has a theme to spark imagination, with this year's one being Frontiers of Steam. This theme focuses on the adventure and innovation that is Steampunk. 

The festival is steam powered by volunteers and has been since its origin in 2009. 

Helen Jansen, one of the cofounders of the weekend, said the idea came from a greater need for creativity. 

“Ōamaru has had a Victorian festival here for nearly 30 years .... And my husband had been involved with all of that before I met him .... He could see that there were a lot of creative people who would like to do Victorian differently.”

And since that first weekend in 2009, there's been no stopping the growth of the festival. 

“It was like lighting a touch paper. Every year since, we've had a Steampunk festival, even in COVID times.”

Jansen said the festival offers something for everyone.

“We have an opportunity for new people to meet each other and meet people who've already been here…. And it's just a chat fest. The great thing about steampunks is they just love chatting. They love showing off what they've made and what they've done and catching up with old friends and people they've met in previous years.”

Several thousand attended this latest version, including celebrities like Christchurch’s 93-year-old Wizard, Ian Brackenbury Channell. And the founder encourages all people to get involved. 

“Why wouldn't you want to come? Look, it's such fun! You know, the streets are full of people. They're all wearing the most intriguing and sometimes outrageous outfits….

And there is always this intense feeling of joy the whole weekend. You just sort of float around the town in this bubble of joy.”

She said the best thing about the festival is the ingenuity and creativity. 

“There's no rules about it. You can make up your steampunk world. You can be a character. You can be incognito and just come and watch. It's just enormous fun.

It really is something you need to experience.”

Festival attendees seem to also have a real appreciation for the weekend.

“We're really impressed by all that they've done and how they've put it together. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, so it's really impressive to see.” Said Blayde Forbes 

“It's great. There's lots of people. It's great to see all the people that have dressed up. Great to see the creativity. People put a lot into this.” Was the opinion of Jenny Upton and Murray Grimwood.

When reflecting on her involvement with the festival over the years, Helen became emotional, saying at the time of founding, they did not yet realise the impact the festival would have.  

“We didn't know when we set it up for the first time. That there was going to be this magnetic, instantaneous, quantum magnet type effect.”

She said that although she is no longer as involved as she has been previously, she still cares for the festival as one of her own. 

“When it's your baby, it's your baby. And as a parent, you never lose complete control. 

I just love it. It's just the positive emotion of it. It's a bubble of joy over the town every year”

With the festival's 20th birthday on the horizon, plans for 2029 have already started. 

Event organisers are gathering stories, photos, memorabilia and videos of previous celebrations and encourage people to send anything of the sort to admin@steampunk.org.nz.