Aetherfest

I don't even know where to begin...
Everything was awesome...
This was my first steampunk exclusive convention and it was an amazingly good time with many friends, new acquaintances, great performances, excellent location and so much more to it than I can even begin to describe.

Friday was excellent, loading and unpacking to the vendor room was quick and easy, the staff very helpful and the AC was awesome... Some say too awesome, though is that possible with steampunk outfits? Add a couple more layers of delicious coats and you're good. It was a bit refreshing from the heat of the day too!

After getting settled in we got to look forward to the Airship Dinner that night, held on the roof of the hotel! The weather could not have been more perfect; crisp cool winds blowing with the warmth of good food and great friends on top of excellent perfomances made for a great (and late) night! Not to mention talk of roll cannon and delicious cheesecake (the delicious dessert or the burlesque dancers?)

From there I have to admit I was pretty tired so leading on to Saturday we had a great time meeting new people in the vendors room. I had a chance to run around a bit and picked up some great loot from inside that room as well as the gaming room and saw some amazing pieces inside the Steampunk Museum that was set up! Pictures of my loot from the weekend to come. Some items include mint tea soap, steamy comicbooks and books, steampunk *penguin* polymer charm and so much more!

After running around and vending all day I was prety tired but I had a chance to hang out with A Grimm Design, Caveat Emptor, Rosewood Stitches, and Parkers & Quinn for an excellent and entertaining dinner! If you visit the St. Anthony Hotel, try the sea bass at the restaurant; delicious! After dinner I hit the hotel room and passed out for a bit, unfortunately missing most of the Marquis of Vaudeville performance. I did get to see a bit of Hipnautica's performance before ultimately crashing for the night. (Too much awesome wore me out!!)

Sunday made for an easy checkout, great for last minute buys and final farewells before meeting again at upcoming conventions. This was an excellent experience, greatly reminding me of the first anime convention I attended. Certainly not the largest, but with a great group of friends and excellent entertainment, this is a convention I wish to see grow even stronger for next year!

I am sure more things will come to mind in later days but in the meantime, keep an eye out for upcoming pictures of con loot to come!

Have a wonderful week and if you did not get to make it out there this time around, keep an eye on their website and consider a ticket for next year. (Go to the Airship Dinner!!!)

http://aetherfest.tumblr.com/