In just a 10 years’ time, Hannibal’s Big River Steampunk Festival has become the largest outdoor steampunk festival in the United States. Devotees love it for the opportunities it presents to bring a bold future to a reimagined past.

For the uninitiated, steampunk is at once nostalgic and futuristic. Its aesthetic is rooted in the Victorian era, but with elements of science fiction and fantasy thrown in.

Main Street is about to get a gear-powered makeover. The Big River Steampunk Festival hits Hannibal August 30 – September 2. 

For the uninitiated, steampunk is at once nostalgic and futuristic. Its aesthetic is rooted in the Victorian era, but with elements of science fiction and fantasy thrown in. Think the literature of H.G. Wells or Jules Verne.

For fans of the genre, there’s a sense of anything-goes adventure.  

“The world is changing and there is a certain level of unknown,” says festival organizer Tammy Riley. “Steampunk is the imagination of each person as to how they would define or imagine that timeframe being. It is popular because it encourages free-thinking and imagination to take that person to a time of yesteryear where no one’s interpretation is wrong.”

The festival launched a decade ago when a local shop owner “had this great idea to bring a steampunk festival to America’s Hometown,” Riley says. 

That inaugural event was held in a parking lot and included 11 vendors. But given steampunk’s broad appeal, it didn’t take long for the festival to outgrow that footprint. Today, Riley says, it’s the largest outdoor steampunk festival. 

“I liken it to Steampunk Woodstock, where you can get thousands of people together and everyone gets along,” Riley says.

So what exactly happens at a steampunk festival?

First of all, there are costumes. This is a place to see and be seen. It starts with a 19th century base—corsets and trumpet skirts or waistcoats and tophats—and from there anything goes. Add a set of aviator goggles. Throw on a pair of leather driving gloves, preferably adorned with enough cogs and gears to give the wearer a quasi-mechanical appearance.

At the Big River Steampunk Festival, the Wastelands area is the place to engage with other characters, peruse the offerings in the BarterTown Trading Post, or compete in a Nerf gun duel. Make-and-take workshops invite attendees to craft their own leather medallions or eyepatches. Elizabeth Little of Mrs. Little’s Tea and Toys will teach the art of tasseomancy, or reading tea leaves.

New this year is a Renaissance faire, where you’ll find knights, princesses, and fairies— all with a steampunk flair. There will be combat demonstrations, improv performances, an Irish roadshow, and even an appearance by Steampunk Xena.

A portion of this year’s festival proceeds will benefit Hannibal Heroes Unlimited, a charitable organization dedicated to bringing together like-minded individuals to improve their communities through their love of cosplay.

“Hannibal Heroes Unlimited is an amazing group that does so much for the community,” Riley says. “We could not have picked a better organization to support.”

For hundreds more events, visit Missouri Life’s Event Calendar.