A Steampunk gala at Gröna Lund

In mid-September, a merry delegation from Upsala-Gefle Steampunk Society participated in a steampunk gala at the amusement park Gröna Lund in Stockholm. Gröna Lund´s newest ride Eclipse which was completed in early 2013, is built in the steampunk style, and the park management were so delighted with the result that they chose the same theme for this year’s gala for the employees of the entertainment group.

Since we´ve had a little contact before they asked us to send down some “steampunk experts” who would act as a costume jury and choose a winner of the evening´s best steampunk costume. So six of us from Uppsala, Gävle and Stockholm dressed up in our steampunk finery and travelled to Gröna Lund.

When all 700 party hungry people arrived on the red carpet we selected some likely victims to interview later. It was an overwhelming experience in every way when ululating red indians, super heroes, punks, steam punks, and many more were pouring in.

Those we thought were particularly nicely dressed were taken aside and interviewed about how they had constructed ​​their outfit. There were many .. ahum .. creative interpretations of the theme steampunk, but also lots of very well-made and impressive outfits that stuck to the theme.

The venue was the restaurant Tyrol who was extravagantly decorated in steampunk style. My favorite was one of the balconies inside the premises which was redecorated to resemble a hot air balloon! Over the excellent three-course dinner the jury agreed that Alisa Sterner had the most stylish outfit, although there were many others who were very dashing. Hers was a notch above the rest though, and showed that she´d put a lot of thought, time and love on creating the outfit, and even thought up a little background story to match her persona.

Entertainment and curiosities in a steampunk style were supplied by Variétesällskapet Carnival. They will also participate in the Steampunk Festival in Gävle next year. The dinner was delicious and the atmosphere was on top throughout the evening, and when we left, it was in the hope of seeing many guests from the gala at the Steampunk Festival.