Steampunk captivates imaginations

Amanda Thomas, left, and Chelsea Watson at the Steampunk convention. PHOTO/BEN FRASER

Rotorua might seem like an unlikely location for a sci-fi convention, but this year's Reconnaissance, the 36th New Zealand National Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror convention, pulled a larger crowd than last year's in Auckland.

The convention, which celebrates Kiwi writing about the modern, the magical, and the macabre, began on Friday and finishes today.

It featured writing workshops, Q & A sessions and a "CosPlay stream", and was held at the Sudima Hotel.

Reconnaissance co-chairman Andrew Ivamy said the 108 people who registered for the convention were a mix of national, international and local people.

"We had it in Auckland last year and 85 people registered," he said. "There are more people from the local community who have come out to embrace the science fiction and steampunk communities.

"I've been coming to New Zealand for science fiction conventions for almost 30 years. People find New Zealand a wonderful destination - we didn't just want to have Auckland and Wellington on rotation. A lot of people are staying for the whole week so they can experience real New Zealand in Rotorua."

Mr Ivamy said the local community had backed the event.

"We had the function at Atlantis Books, and most of the steampunk tea-type activities are being run by the Rotorua steampunk community."

Guest of honour and retro-futurism author Gail Carriger said Rotorua seemed to enjoy the steampunk aesthetic.

"People have been responding really well. It is a fun aesthetic to see, and there's more of that small town feel here - people are more comfortable stopping us for photos and to say hello."

Mr Ivamy had plans to bring the World Science Fiction Convention, or World Con, to Rotorua. This year's convention acted as a test run for staging a larger convention here, he said.

"The Loncon 3, or London World Science Fiction convention, had 9000 attendees. We think we could get 2000 to 3000 people here for it."