BIG RIVER STEAMPUNK FESTIVAL INSIDE Steamapalooza Time Traveler’S Ball and Guide to the Festival
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HannibalAUGUST 2016 M A G A Z I N E REgional EnTERTAINMEnT gUiDE BIG RIVER StEAMPUNk FESTIVAL INSIDE StEamapalooza tImE travElEr’S ball and guide to thE festIval PLUS Bear Creek RendezvouS Mighty mudder - muD or DyE ALSO: LOCAL AND REGIONAL CALENDAR OF EVENTS QUICK, LOW COST MEDICAL CARE WHEN YOU NEED IT • Open 7 days a week • Open evenings, weekends, and holidays (excluding Christmas and Thanksgiving) • Affordable - flat rate of $65 per patient for a basic visit • Short wait times • Conveniently located inside Walmart, near the pharmacy • All applicable health insurance accepted NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY! Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:00 am - 8:00 pm; Saturday: 8:00 am - 7:00 pm; Sunday: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm For more information call: 573-231-0660 3650 Stardust Drive (inside the Hannibal Walmart) Hannibal, MO 63401 hannibalregionalmedicalgroup.org 3-23 BIG RIVER STEAMPUNK FESTIVAL There’s more to it than costumes. It’s an attitude; it’s Victoriana; it’s three days of phantasmagoria. Inside 27 BEAR CREEK RENDEZVOUS Travel back to a time when trappers and traders met up for commerce and camaraderie. this issue 25 MEET THE NEW TOM & BECKY Hannibal youngsters to represent Hannibal in things Twain for the coming year. AUGUST 2016 2 Letter to our readers 24-25 scheduLe & map of events 29 concert series kicks off in september Your guide to the three days of steampunk Hannibal Concert Association announces season. 3-4 victorian science fiction G.D. Falksen presents Steampunk 101 to address 24 named for crane 30 LocaL, regionaL events the where, why and how of the funky phenomenon Disc golf course named for founder, fan Don Crane, Events in Hannibal and a bit beyond who passed away in May 6 steampunk immersion 36 best bets the festival takes over downtown with activities, 26 august’s featured artists Offers and deals for August events, workshops and more Alliance Art Gallery welcomes the works of McConnell and Brinkley 42 chris coons center GAINS ACCOLades 7 riverfront rocks hannibal Regional program has received national Marquis of Vaudeville and Frenchy and the Punk to 28 mighty mudder returns recognition for excellence in lactation care entertain at steamapalooza Individuals and teams are welcome to run in the mud or for the color 44 geeks & geezers Finn talks of technology, for good and evil.. BACK TO SCHOOL VISION SPECIAL Come see the difference with us. a complete pair of glasses with a $59 eye exam - OR - one year of contacts with a $79 contact lens exam Call to make your appointment today 573-406-5730 Vision Institute Offer ends September 30, 2016. May not be combined with any other offer. Offer 175 Shinn Lane | Hannibal, MO 63401 is a special cash price. Insurance is billed at the regular rate. hannibalregionalmedicalgroup.org Hannibal Magazine AUGUST 2016 1 One foot in past, other in future Hannibal at Big River M A G A Z I N E Steampunk Festival General Manager: Ron Wallace t’s no secret that Hannibal’s rich history is one of the city’s Editor: Don Crim greatest assets. From tiny river outpost to the boyhood Contributing Writers: home of one of the greatest American writers, America’s Lisa Coleberd Bella Erakko Hometown’s treasured past is one to be envied. G.D. Falksen Hick Finn Edward Husar Lisa Marks One of the city’s other tremendous gifts is the imagina- Alyse Thompson tion of its residents now. Groups like the Historic Hannibal Market- Iing Council, the Hannibal Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Copy Editing and Design: Nancy Hadler Ben Levin Hannibal Chamber of Commerce and more are constantly finding Andy Martinez new ways to draw visitors to Hannibal, leveraging the city’s past to make a better future for everyone. Advertising Director: The convergence of past and imagination is perfectly embodied Tom Van Ness in one of the newest Downtown festivals, this year’s third annual 217-221-3309 Big River Steampunk Festival. Advertising Sales: Described by some as “Victorian science fiction,” steampunk [email protected] re-imagines the industrial past and incorporates technology and Local Magazine Distribution: futuristic visions. Adventure, aviation, aristocracy and more are Learning Opportunities all thematic elements, as well, bringing an Quality Works, Inc. anachronistic mystique to the festivities. 111 South 10th But once you get past all those big words, Hannibal, Missouri 573-221-5991 this festival is just a lot of darn fun. Produced by the Hannibal History Mu- Join Hannibal Magazine on Facebook seum foundation, the festival returns Labor Read Hannibal Magazine online at whig.com/hannibalmag Day weekend, and we have all the bases covered for you in this issue of Hannibal Submit events and calendar Magazine. Events along Main Street and in Kiwanis Park and Nipper Park items to hannibalmagazine@ are all featured, along with a detailed map to help you get where qni.biz by August 1 to be you’re going. included in September issue. Of course, that’s not all we have for you this month. You’ll also find stories about the Bear Creek Rendezvous and the Hannibal Concert Association announcing its season, which starts in Sep- tember. Member of the And the always-popular Hick Finn takes a curmudgeonly turn Missouri Press this month, sharing his views on technology. As always, thank you for reading, and we hope to see you out Association having fun in Hannibal! Copyright © 2016 by Hannibal Magazine Published monthly by Quincy Media, Inc. 130 S. 5th St., P.O. Box 909, Quincy IL 62301 217-223-5100 [email protected] Ron Wallace 2 AUGUST 2016 Hannibal Magazine Big River Steampunk Festival What is steampunk? By G.d. falksen In three short words, steampunk is Victorian science fiction. Here “Victorian” is not meant to indicate a specific culture, but rather refer- ences a time period and an aesthetic: The industrialized 19th century. Historically, this period saw the development of many key aspects of the modern world — mechanized manufacturing, extensive urbaniza- tion, telecommunications, office life and mass-transit — and steam- punk uses this existing technology and structure to imagine an even more advanced 19th century, often complete with Victorian-inspired wonders such as steam-powered aircraft and mechanical computers. Where did steampunk come from? In some sense, steampunk has existed since the 19th century. The Victorian period had its own science fiction, perhaps most famously embodied by the works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, and throughout the 20th century there have been latter-day science fiction stories set in the Victorian period. However, the term itself — steampunk — was not coined until the late 1980s, when author K.W. Jeter used it humorously to describe a grouping of stories set in the Victorian period written during a time when near-future cyberpunk was the prevailing form of science fiction. Where does the sci-fi come in? The line between steampunk and period Victorian is extremely nar- row, and often the two are indistinguishable. They are separated only by steampunk’s status as science fiction, albeit heavily inspired by the historical fact of the Victorian period. This is generally accomplished in one of two ways. The “proto-steampunk” stories of the 19th century can be seen as a history and science fiction. parallel to our own science fiction; that is, a view of the future from the present. For the Victorians, this meant imagining a future that looks Where does the steam come in? dramatically un-modern to modern eyes. Submarines, space travel, Steampunk’s steam references more than simply the technology aircraft and mechanized life were all imagined by the Victorians, but itself, although steam engines are a vital aspect of life in a steampunk while some of these came very close to the mark they still differed from world. Steam more generally signifies a world in which steam technol- where the future actually went. ogy is both dominant and prolific. During the Victorian era, steam For modern writers, with the benefit of modern science, steampunk power revolutionized almost every aspect of life. The steam engine becomes a re-imagining of the 19th century with a view of where sci- made full-scale industrialization possible and produced mechanical ence will one day go. In this way, steampunk often works to translate power more efficiently and to greater degrees than human and animal modern concepts such as the computer revolution, spy thrillers, noir labor could manage on their own. mysteries and even the internet into a Victorian context using Victo- Mechanized manufacturing and farming caused an upheaval in the rian technology. Steampunk becomes the perfect blending of alternate continues on 4 ➤ Hannibal Magazine AUGUST 2016 3 Big River Steampunk Festival structure of working life, but they dramatically increased society’s pro- capabilities with 19th century machines. Many people are drawn to ductivity and freed up an entire section of society to form the modern it in light of its fashion aspects, which allow them to sample and even class of professionals and office workers. combine a range of clothing styles and accessories from across the 19th century world. Where does the punk come in? Ironically, it doesn’t. As mentioned, the term “steampunk” is a Where’s an easy place to start? tongue-in-cheek reference to the cyberpunk genre rather than a refer- The basic rule of thumb for steampunk is “start period and then add.” ence to the punk subculture. Moreover, “punk” in the context of punk One of steampunk’s great advantages is that the period it is inspired rock was the product of very specific circumstances following the by, the Victorian era, saw the invention of photography and cinematic Second World War, which makes it fundamentally distinct from the film.