Dear Steampunk Companions of Minnesota! I am a born and bred gentleman of this blissful country and a card-carrying Steampunk. Besides cosplay, I am writing a couple of novels that use steampunk elements.
Is there any regular meeting of Minnesota Steampunks? If not, I wish to coordinate one here on this Minnesota thread. It is good weather to be togged up in lots of layers of clothes. Let's discuss a date here, for the best turnout, but I will suggest a promenade around Lake Harriet in South Minneapolis as our inaugural event.
Other locations that might be fun for meetings:
- the Depot, downtown, if we could get the big room (that I remember as the waiting room back when we had trains in Minneapolis), and could perhaps take tea together at the Renaissance Restaurant there.
- the James J. Hill house in St. Paul, which is a beautiful period house open for tours. If you haven't toured it, you are missing a lot of fun. Railway Baron, James J. Hill built this house for his family overlooking the railways he built, and is now under the care of the Minnesota Historical Society.
- Loring Park and the Walker's sculpture garden.
- Summit Ave. in St. Paul near the Cathedral. Stately Homes!
- The American Swedish Institute, another fantastic old mansion.
Please feel free to recommend other locations of a suitably Victorian ambience!
I will throw out a date for the Lake Harriet Promenade (and picnic): Sunday, October 23rd from two o'clock p.m. to five.
I hope this is far enough out to be possible for many of you. I suggest we meet at the Lake Harriet Bandshell concession stand (next to the bandshell itself). Meet at 2 p.m. and then start the promenade around the lake as soon thereafter as we are all assembled.
Please RSVP here on this thread if you are coming. Walking sticks recommended. Picnic baskets may be left in cars for the tea after the promenade. If it is running that day, we could even ride on the old trolley that operates between Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun.
The parking lot by the bandshell is, I believe, now only for people with permits to use it. There is parking on the parkway and on nearby streets in the neighborhood of West 42nd Street which runs up a steep hill from the concession stand, more or less. Google map it.
Dr. Nautilus