The more you speak to those in the Steampunk community and ask them about their favourite events, the Lincoln Steampunk Fesival comes up time and again. It’s an event I would have attended before now but it happens over the August bank holiday and I seem to always be busy. Since I had decided at the start of 2024 to attend more new events I had this weekend blocked out in my diary. I turned down various job offers throughout the year but had not actually booked any accommodation. As the event drew nearer I did actually have a commitment on the Saturday but still managed to attend the Sunday as a day trip.
asylum Steampunk Festival 2024
You may hear people refer to the Lincoln Steampunk Festival as the Asylum Steampunk Festival. The reason for this name dates back to the first Lincoln Steampunk Festival in 2009. Back then it took place at a building called The Lawn which was the former venue for the Lincoln Lunatic Asylum. It’s considered the largest and longest running Steampunk event in the world. Nowadays it takes place in a number of venues across the city, particularly around the Cathedral and Lincoln Castle. Those who attend in Steampunk costumes often attend for 4 days and will take part in the social activities like The Grand Ball, Major’s Review and Asylum Tea Duelling Championships. There is also a large Steampunk market where you can buy more clothing and accessories which is known as the Bazaar Eclectica.
Being such a large Steampunk event, lots of entertainment is laid on with many music artists, magicians, dancers and comedians. Some events are ticket only and there is a wristband you can buy in advance that gets you into many restricted areas. For those who don’t buy a wristband you can pay to get into the Castle on the day but for many photographers there are plenty of portrait opportunities that you can get for free by being located outside Lincoln Cathedral and the surrounding streets.
Lincoln Steampunk Festival Gallery
The following gallery is just a very small selection of my images from the few hours I was in Lincoln that Sunday. Many of those attending will have completely different looks every day and I plan to attend for at least 2 days in 2025. If you would like to see more of my images from the day please visit my Facebook page or my Instagram page.
Lincoln Steampunk Festival 2025
As previously mentioned I certainly plan to attend this event next year. For those who would like more information about this annual event, whether you plan to attend as a photographer or get dressed up as a Steampunk yourself a good place to start would be to check of the following website:
Alternatively if you like looking at photographs of people dressed up in Steampunk clothing you might want to visit some of my other blog posts where I have attended such events including:
