ENCHANTED CITY MAKES TROY A BRAVE NEW WORLD
Steampunk festival transforms downtown district into a cosplay alternative reality
TROY >> The Collar City’s downtown district turned into a whimsical steampunk wonderland over the weekend for the third annual Enchanted City festival.
Titled Enchanted City III: A Brave New World, the free allday event featured a parade of urban street fair and spectacle of steampunk fashion, fantasy and fabrications that transformed the historic blocks of downtown Troy into a cosplay alternative reality where Victorian fancy meets modern technology.
Now in its third year the ever-growing downtown festival is one of Troy’s most unique annual events. This year it was moved from October to the last weekend in August, when college students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Russell Sage College arrive in the city for the semester.
The Enchanted City offered a family-friendly inspired day of music, games, performance, food and fantasy such as street performers, peddlers, storytelling, dancing, puppet shows
and magic acts.
Organizers estimated a total of about 7,000 attendees at the weekend festival based on its growing attendance in past years, a goal they said they expected to meet once the event had started Saturday.
“The amount of people who have come to this just for the steampunk festival has far exceeded what I could have possibly imagined,” said organizer Susan Dunckel, owner of downtown business Sweet Sue’s.
One part of the festival that surprised Dunckel was the Chamberlain Inventor’s Challenge, which drew a total of 13 competing machines in its second year.
“The inventors challenge exceeded my expectations. That has blown me away,” she said, noting the inventors’ level of creativity. “Last year it was excellent. This year it was just way up
there.”
Finally, for the first time since its inception, the festival had a good weather forecast.
“The day is beautiful,” Dunckel said after the opening parade. “I think this is an extraordinary festival.”
A new part of this year’s event was the Trial by Combat culinary challenge to highlight Troy eateries.
This first-ever competition was a partnership
between the Troy Waterfront Farmers’ Market and The Enchanted City. Chefs from The Illium Cafe, Next Level at the Ruck, BRads, La petite Crêpe and Sweet Sue’s all used farmers’ market products to create meals in a contest judged by Yelp.
Another popular feature of the festival was the Troy Mini Maker Faire along Broadway, where makers got to show off their creations
and teach a bit of their craft to passersby.
One of the exhibitors and demonstrators was Maria Levin of downtown business Sawtooth Jewelry Studio.
“I’m here because I’m a maker business and I help people become makers. I teach them how to take their ideas and make them into actual metal,” Levin said.
She was also inspired by
the costumes and creativity displayed by other festival attendees.
“I’m all about being part of this community and seeing creative people and what they’re making,” Levin said. “I just like being around other people making stuff.”
Thousands came for many different aspects of the festival, but many of them were in costume to show off their steampunk fashions.
Steampunk enthusiast and cosplayer Amanda Sammons, who recently moved to downtown Troy, wore a stunning black dress and corset, complete with a hat, goggles and a black lace parasol.
“I’ve been into steampunk for a while. I’m very excited this is going on,” said the first-time Enchanted City attendee.
In her first few minutes at the festival, she got several questions from other attendees about her outfit and style.
“I’ve got to teach people about steampunk,” she said, happy to have the opportunity.