Vancouver's underground subcultures: Steampunk

Vancouver is a pretty awesome city.

Ok, I may be a little biased, since I have lived here since I was 5, but it's not entirely without basis. I mean, we've been consecutively voted as one of the top cities to live in the world, and no doubt you've caught glimpses of our jewel nestled next to the Rocky Mountains during the winter 2010 Olympic games.
 

Quatchi!

Growing up in the outer suburbia of Surrey and then moving out to Point Grey for University has opened me up to infinite more activities to dabble around in, since means of transportation in Surrey and Vancouver are worlds apart.

But first of all, what is Steampunk?

Steampunk - [steem puhngk] – noun (sometimes adjective, sometime verb)

      Steampunk started as literary genre of science fiction set during the Victorian era, and was usually characterized by steam engines, goggles, Victorian apparel, brass, and cogs. Often emphasized was overly complicated devices, such as Goldberg machines, and themes like airship pirates and clockwork appendages.

       The sub-culture of Steampunk, however, has evolved into much more than literature. Now, Steampunk accompanies anything from the mid to late 1800s but with a future twist. It often still refers to the same recurring themes, but has now spread into music, art, film, sculpture, fashion, games, and design. For some, Steampunk has even become a way of life, often emphasizing things like polite social behaviour, Victorian style clothing, and importance on the skill of the hand.

       While some Steampunks pride themselves on their polite mannerisms, upper class style, and love for all thing mechanical, there is also another side to being Steampunk. Some prefer the Steampunk mechanic lifestyle- one who uses mechanical tools to build elaborate machines- and some even go for the airship pirate look by focusing more on dirigible based adventure.

       A good way to understand Steampunk is to go back to its beginnings and reading some of the literature that started it all; however, it is just as beneficial to pay attention to some of the modern Steampunk books and movies if one really wants to understand what Steampunk IS rather than what it WAS.

- From www.vancouversteampunks.webs.com

Personally I am a huge fan of subcultures born from literature (hell I run a Harry Potter Yule Ball in Van every Christmas, but that is a whole entire subculture altogether). The novels of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells especially captivated me (favourites being: 20 000 Leagues under the Sea, the Time Machine and the Hollow man). I believe A Series of Unfortunate Events would also fall under this category. Philip Pullman's Dark Materials would also qualify (specifically the Golden Compass movie scenes).

Add on love of Victorian clothing.

Then a dash of costumery obsession.

Voila! Instant attraction.

The current Steampunk community in Van started in 2009 I believe, by a group of Steampunk lovers (including an acquaintance of mine I met through my Harry Potter friends). It now includes a Facebook page and a website, and they have regular meetings along with numerous other fun activities. There was actually just last month a 3-day Steampunk Expo in Victoria which I was not able to go to since it was on the expensive side, however, I did attend their "Lords and Ladies Masquerade Ball" last month, which was loads of fun and free Jelly Babies. Even managed to drag The Boy along and he actually enjoyed it.

Someone's awesome photography of the night

This July 10th, they are holding a One-day Steampunk Mini-Con in a Victorian mansion they've rented. There will be "a continuous stream of exhibits, lectures, classes, games, activities, and, most importantly, tiny little sandwiches, cupcakes, and tea. Everything from etiquette lessons to classes on leather working, Victorian sword fighting to Victorian dancing, steampunk movies to steampunk music, and card games to croquet."

Most of V-Steam's meetups happen around Gastown in Downtown Vancouver, the home of our famous steam clock. However, there a number of different haunts where you may run into members of V-Steam bedecked in their full Victorian gear:

• Steamworks Brewery on Water Street - perfectly charming little pub for Steampunks

• Biltmore Cabaret on Kingsway and 12th - perfect little nightclub for indie music with red velvet high-backed booths. Gorgeous.

• Burnaby Village Museum - a quaint little 1920's village and my personal favourite: the vintage carousel.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Roedde House Museum - a Victorian home from 1893
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

There is also the Lamplighter pub in Gastown and the Masquerade Ball which took place last month was at Heritage Hall on Main st. Granville Island would also be an excellent place to spot a Steampunk.

In addition there are many stores in Vancouver which cater to people interested in alternative clothing. Just out of Gastown on Cordova and Cambie there are two quaint little shops stacked on top of another: Venus&Mars, which also sells lovely Renaissance gowns, and Deadly Couture downstairs. If you're a lover of hats, there is Edie Hats in Granville Island which sells an assortment of top quality hats. There used to be a wonderfully gauche store in Metropolis across from Winners (with a giant purple dragon out front) that sold all kinds of wonderful things, but unfortunately it closed down about 6 months ago.

Dressing up for one of these things is really not as hard as you think it is. Given, it is a cumulative effort consisting of years of collecting these little pieces, and it wouldn't hurt to always be keeping an eye out for these things either. A good of way of keeping down the cost is diligent sweeping of second-hand/consignment stores and finding versatile pieces that could also double as every-day accessories on their own.

But of course, the main goal after all is just to have fun! Subculture communities such as this one are great ways of meeting new people who have the same interests as you and talking up a storm. Also, you have an excuse to dress up and take pictures. I have gained infinitely more facebook profile pictures from my jaunts out on the town.

Well, here you have it. Another night and another post. Possibly I shall continue with these little posts of Vancouver, but until next time, this is all you guys get!