The Steampunk World's Fair

06/19/2026

You know about the The Sherlock Holmes Bike?

You should!

06/15/2026

A Steampunk poem - well, song, really. A note from Jeff Mach, from The Steampunk World’s Fair where this show was produced: In ancient days, I wrote one of the first Steampunk rock operas, “Absinthe Heroes“. I wanted to follow the ancient musical-theatre tradition of explaining the Villain’s plan in a single song. It’s not been performed in five years, and I thought I might, just might, explain how Dr. Antikythera intended to Take Over The World.

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Does it matter
What the tools are?
I have figures, I have charts
I’m a master of machines
But I will win through the human heart

I’ve said before
I’ll say again
In my soul, I am a chocolatier
You gain a world, not with a gun,
For desire conquers fear:

I’ve got of field of poppies
Skillfully cross-bred
And a dozen tiny pistons
In each flower-head…

Don’t stifle hope
For if you do
You can be sure one day
Some upstart brat
With shining eyes
Will wipe your works away.

Don’t be a tyrant
Don’t be a parent
Those rulers last not long
But let humans
Be human beings
And you might not go far wrong.

I’ve got a field of poppies
They’ve mild telepathic powers
They sometimes use them to seduce
Other sorts of flowers.

Don’t assume
They won’t be stupid
For humans often will
Don’t assume
They won’t be brilliant
They’ll be both–
It’s a skill

But give them something
They can love
Something they’ll covet
Not chemically addictive but
Hard to forget.

Oh, in my field of poppies
Clockwork men stand guard
To nurture them and care for them
(And sometimes to play cards)

I grow my own
Intoxicants
Better than wine
Better than any drug
Harder to decline.

Nothing’s so sweet–
And yet the tongue
Is carefully seduced
It’s done with science–
Or magic; I
Forget which I produced.

I’ll take your antigravity
For my microgametophytes
The pollen of my poppies will
Achieve transatlantic flight

They’ll seed the Earth –
For just one Spring
And after that will die
Only one soul
Can bring them back
As you might assume – I

Could it go wrong?
Of course it could.
We don’t control all fate.
But experiments
Will keep me young
I can afford to wait.

It won’t be easy; it won’t be safe
There’ll be some death and such
But relatively speaking
It probably won’t be too much

Does it matter
What the tools are?
I have figures, I have charts
I’m a master of machines
But I will win through the human heart.

06/03/2026

06/02/2026

now, if you cared about the story, you MIGHT think about asking me why this happened. But you haven't contacted us once.

Vendors withdraw from the Odditorium Carnival in Ballston Spa as permit disputes arise. Discover the controversy surrounding organizer Jeff Mach and the future of the Saratoga County Fairgrounds event.

06/01/2026

A new way to get where you're going.

05/31/2026

Art but make it steampunk

05/31/2026

The mechanical artist gazed upon the meadow and declared, ‘Needs more steam.

05/29/2026

Behold! Sir Cogsworth, hunter of moments, capturer of confusion, and proud owner of a camera powered entirely by steam and poor decisions.

05/27/2026

So the Village is officially lying--I mean--claiming--to pretend we havn't existed since February.

We feel bad for vendors who need to do Halloween because the City's check won't clear, but at least Halloween will be a great show.

Obviously, in the incredibly unlikely event that their check, we'll talk to you. We are not planning on holding an event in such a hostile environment, but we can't account for the sanity of the Fairgrounds.