The Schedule

Ada accessible horse riding is where a horse is adapted to a person's needs. There are multiple programs across the country for therapeutic benefits for a horse to help a human's need emotionally and physically. Join this panel for an educational experience on adaptive horseback riding and if there is interest, resources near you.

In the first class, we will be designing and pouring our dice sets. I provide my expertise to achieve certain looks using mica powders, alcohol inks, and pigments that I provide and pour into molds that I have handmade. Ideally, participants will have an idea of a design or color scheme before class; however, I will have plenty of examples to communicate what sort of design that you hope to achieve. After pouring into the molds, they will sit in my pressure pot at 60 psi to avoid any voids and achieve maximum clarity until the second sitting of the class.

In the second class, we will be pulling the newly made dice from the molds before sanding, polishing, and inking them. Participants will get to choose their color for inking. This make and take is great for anyone at any skill level that enjoys their math rocks!

Actress, ghost tour guide and USA Today Bestselling author Leanna Renee Hieber shares tidbits of haunted histories from some of America's famous racing towns, from Louisville to Saratoga Springs, and fascinating ghost lore that surrounds towns where horse racing has a long and storied history. A spirited discussion!

And then join Janine and Xena for a unicorn romp/race
World's fastest Balloon Dog Race. Learn how to make a ballon dog and then join the short race. I think this would be fun, but if you do not, I understand

The everyday tool of all noble people in the Victorian age was a parasol or a cane.  Join me to explore some basic techniques that can be employed against ruffians and ne'er do wells to ensure your safe walks in the park.  We will discuss and demonstrate the use of the parasol or cane in a variety of ways and discuss scenarios.
This presentation is hands on and training tools will be available.  There will be no contact between participants.  Audience participation in the hands on section is optional, and encouraged!
This will be a slightly different class than in the past 2 years, so there is not repeated information for past participants!

On Saturday, the Sirens will open their waters to the brave visitors of Bourbon City Steam. Approach the pool, stand at the water’s edge, and encounter the merfolk face to face. Then, capture a moment beside them and bask in their eerie glamour. Should you be brave enough, ask the sirens for gift - and if fortune favors you, you may even leave with your life and a memento.

Ornate halos of flowers, flowing hair caught in an eternal breeze, and figures that seem to step out of dreams. This panel dives into the lush, iconic world of Alphonse Mucha, his inspiring personal journey, and how his Art Nouveau style can shape unforgettable fantasy realms. Together we'll explore how Mucha’s use of pattern, symbolism, and mythical figures can inform everything from character design and magical systems to architecture and visual storytelling.

We want to dive into character creation for any roleplaying system. This panel is good for the seasoned gamer or the first time adventurer with tips and tricks on design, development, and dating. We will discuss how to shape memorable backstories, discover compelling motivations, and cultivate dynamic relationships.

By sharing our own experiences on creating characters, we want to encourage you to take the next step and bring your own characters to life. Filling out your own character can drive the story forward and provide ways to interact with others to have memories that last a lifetime.

Join Janine and Xena for a wild rompin' race through the atrium

Actress, ghost tour guide and USA Today Bestselling author Leanna Renee Hieber will discuss real historic incidents when lives were saved inexplicably by the warnings of people who at first seem alive and corporeal, but who later disappear after helping the living. Examples will include her "Bloody Pit" chapter from America's Most Gothic!

Comic writer/illustrator Nathan Lueth shows how the art, science, and social tensions of the Victorian era can become powerful storytelling tools. How to imply things about your world that your audience won't consciously notice, but will add a lived-in quality to your setting. Learn about how your characters appearance can tell a story unto itself. We’ll explore how to weave class divides, industrial wonder, and gothic romance into cultures, creatures, and conflicts that feel both historically grounded and wildly imaginative. Whether you're an aspiring novelist or running a TTRPG, you will gain a toolkit to build worlds that feel rich, resonant, and irresistibly alive.

Last year’s event was so well attended that we’re making sure we have extra time this year for all the fun, bribery and wild adventures.
To add to the fun, the creative and talented Tim Davis will be presenting a Teapot Racer Make & Take on May 9th, 2026. The fee is only $45 and you will need to register in advance by April 24,2026. Spots are limited. Use the Contact link below. Payment will be required at registration upon check in.
You are not required to bring any supplies of your own, but bring some ideas and concepts with you! If you wish to bring your own bits and bobs to fulfill your idea of what you want your racer to look like, we’d love that as well.
May is coming fast upon us, so make sure to register now so you don’t miss out! We are excited to see what comes out of Tim’s class, but you are also welcome to bring your own teapot racers that you’ve created as well!
On your mark, get ready, get set and head on over to www.bourboncitysteam.com for tickets, hotel and game information!
https://bourboncitysteam.com/contact/

Have you ever felt like dueling?  In Ancient days duelling was the negotiation style of all people.  In this panel we will discuss the roots of dueling customs in Europe and through the Eduardian era.  Explanation and display of the tools of the duel will also be presented.  As part of this panel, we will set up a proper Victorian duel as a demonstration!

Ready to take your props to the next level? Join this hands-on workshop where we’ll dive into the world of mechanical fasteners. Learn how to form threads for bolting components together and explore the use of traditional rivets. Participants will get practical experience tapping internal threads and discussing the technical aspects of the process. Additionally, you’ll practice setting a copper rivet and explore various options and techniques for using traditional solid rivets.

Enjoy a glass of wine and learn to paint marvelous things. Taught by Dimitri, fan artist extraordinaire.

A Channeling - Leanna uses her professional theatrical background to read a passage from America's Most Gothic: Haunted History Stranger than Fiction and discusses the process of writing some of the most personal accounts she's ever recorded, balancing fact, fiction and narrative. Attendees will have the chance to share what ghost stories mean to them, as ghost lore is also about making meaning out of life and death. Q and A included.

From 2009-2017 Nathan Lueth Illustrated and co-created the Victorian-fantasy webcomic, Impure Blood... and got crickets for his efforts. In 2020 he brought the series to Kickstarter and has since raised over $100,000 on the platform. In this panel Nathan brings lessons from 10 years of middling results and eventual success. We'll be discussing the basics of how to structure your creative business, how to build and collect an audience, the fundamentals of crowdfunding, winning mindsets for creative entrepreneurs, and most importantly, How NOT To Self-Publish.

where instead of regular horses and riders competing…. Aether Powered Mechanical horses are running the show! What will happen during this Adventure? You decide!

This panel is an interactive story where the audiences gets to help Asgard and Lady Wheelsworth tell the story of what goes on at a derby where Aether powered Mechanical horses are competing for a grand prize. While giving prompts and words, Asgard and Lady Wheelsworth must come up with a story that resides in the universe they come from while causing mischief and shenanigans with improv. Who will win the races? Are automatons betting on robot horses? Where are the humans and where did Asgard find that derby hat? Join us and find out!

Learn advanced techniques to enhance the strength of your props while keeping them light. This workshop will focus on hand-built projects that can be done in most home workshops, but the design principles can also be applied to advanced processes like CNC cutting and 3D printing. We’ll cover three key materials: wood, metal, and PVC plastics. Discover the best practices for joining and shaping each material to achieve maximum strength and weight reduction. Join us for a session filled with practical tips and demonstrations.

Enjoy a glass of wine and learn to paint marvelous things. Taught by Dimiti, fan artist extraordinaire.

The Swap table will be available the entire convention for people to rehome items. The swap meet is to specifically trade finer items

Join the great teachers from one of Louisville's finest dance schools and learn the the thrills and sheer fun of Swing Dance.

Join us for an interactive experience with fun and joy! Have tea with Asgard! We’ve finally refined her programming and memory cores enough that she remembers how to serve the perfect tea! However sometimes with achievements comes break downs! Watch Lady Wheelsworth lose her mind as she tries to keep everyone’s favorite automaton functioning while you all enjoy a perfect cup of deliciously brewed tea and rich snacks!

21+

A Day at the Races will features drinks inspired by songs from the band Queen! Many of these drinks will be Calamity Originals, and some will come from fans around the world. Join Calamity in a celebration of one of her favorite bands!

Swing jazz that's vivacious, engaging &
uniquely entertaining.

https://www.janesjazzaddiction.com/

A reprise of the quintessential racetrack party

This girl is on FIRE!

The flames she performs with only shines half as brightly as this woman!
Inger Talbot, aka Steampunk Xena, is a fire performer and personality. She has been active in the steampunk community since 2012, since discovering steampunk at Science Fiction conventions. She premiered her Steampunk Xena persona in 2016, and has been updating and modifying it ever since. She started manipulating fire in 2016, joining the Pyrophoric Fire Troupe and creating her own troupe, the SteamFire Femmes. She has performed at venues along the east coast and after recently moving to Michigan has brought her own brand of fire and  steampunk shenanigans to the Midwest!

Join Jennifer Noran and sample the best of bourbon.

Details to come!

For evening entertainment that's more alluring for adult eyes, park your dirigible derriers in the Oscar Wilde Ballroom and prepare to be astounded by Lady Lottie's luxurious lineup of sultry sweeties! Keep your goggles cleaned and clear, steampunks - the horizon holds Burlesque, Bombshells, and Baddies!

Join Geoffrey Mandragora and review the myths and realities of Absinthe. And enjoy the best in absinthe.

The hustle and bustle of day-to-day living can really take its toll on the body and the mind. Yoga is a practice that combines physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation to improve health and well-being. The word "yoga" comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means "to join" or "to unite," with the goal to unify the mind, body and spirit through conscious awareness and mindful practices. Yoga is for all ages and body types. You can tailor it to what is comfortable for your body. “No pain, no pain” is what my teacher says before each of her practices and it is good advice to follow. During our time, I will teach you some basic yoga poses that can help loosen up tension in your body and help you relax. I will also be providing you with some printed information to take with you. This will not be a strenuous class and can be done sitting in a chair, or on a mat should you choose to bring one. I am not responsible for any injury you may cause yourself during this class. Please be aware of your own physical limitations.

Come watch a moral philosopher explain the mysteries of morality in the steampunk universe. This panel will look at how the 'punk' aspect of steampunk shifts moral thought across an otherwise Victorian ethical framework. It will compare fictional moral questions to those that occur in the real world. The goal of the panel will be to show how morality works across both real and fictional universes.

For those of you who don't like college lectures, the panel will also include an in-panel scavenger hunt with prizes.

From hobbyist to professional, come join us for a merfolk meetup and swim! A full mersona look is not required, but if you want to be immersive for the event then come as your best merfolk & siren selves. There will be photo backdrops to get pictures and GoPros to help get underwater footage for you.

Join us for a tribute to the hardworking mothers in the steampunk community. We will be serving pastries, mimosas, orange juice and coffee

Join us for a tribute to the hardworking mothers in the steampunk community. This session is open to all attendees. We will be serving pastries, mimosas, orange juice and coffee

Actress, ghost tour guide and USA Today Bestselling author Leanna Renee Hieber will explore the tradition of the "Roadside / By the Wayside / Hitchhiker Ghost" and share her own harrowing experiences, highlighting her latest acclaimed non-fiction book, America's Most Gothic, with additional, behind-the-scenes information that has just come to lamp-light!

The early pioneers in medicine from the Civil War to World War Two. It's a brief look at the first lady doctors in America from Elizabeth Blackwell on and a peek into the earliest all female medical schools. They were told they could go to medical school when they made their own so they did. These were women who didn't back down, who forged on and over the roadblocks in their way. Not every path was the same so we will follow well to do women on one path, former enslaved women on another and even women from other countries setting side the roles expected of them to live their dreams. There is a debt women in medicine owe the LGBT community which is yet another fork in the road that is explored. (This was the focus of my sabbatical research last year).

Storytelling With Your Costume goes into the detailing of creation. Marlene and I use current examples of our work and costumes, as well as past mistakes to show that anyone can create a character and story if they want to. We go into writing ideas and sketching, choosing materials, being open to learning new techniques, how small and large details both contribute to the story, developing a persona if you want to go that extra mile, and final touch ups and adjustments. Attendees are welcome and encouraged to join the discussion throughout the panel.

Program will include: having award winning props displayed; design development and character integration; costume comfort and compatibility; fabrication materials options; joining and connecting fabricating materials; fabrication timelines; event security rules; and obtaining materials for repurposing. Program will then continue and conclude with questions and answers, discussions, and idea and experience sharing.

Followed by the art of building steampunk cameras that take real photos.

We'll begin with the basics of early camera operation and continue to advances in the art Wet Plate to Dry Plate to Film. The Daguerreotype process, the impact of developer on films speed. The first selfie. Lighting, from lime lights to flash powder and magnesium ribbon.

With occasional anecdotes, such as the transition for two horse to one, an improvement allowed by using dry plates, what made smiling for the camera possible and a photographer’s lament: Seeing through the lens when the subject sees the lens and not the photographer.

Alongside photography,We'll discuss other technological marvels: The Transcontinental Railroad, gas and then electric lighting.

Finally, after the “present day” part of the presentation is over, We'll lean about building wooden camera cases that allow modern digital cameras to be disguised as the box cameras of the 1980s, complete with squeeze-bulb shutter releases.

In the second class, we will be pulling the newly made dice from the molds before sanding, polishing, and inking them. Participants will get to choose their color for inking. This make and take is great for anyone at any skill level that enjoys their math rocks!

Show off you airship! Fly through the atrium to be admired by one and all.

Tim Davis