Returning for its second year, the Wimmera Steampunk Festival is ready to take you back - or forward in time.
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Organiser Chan Ouy said there was no excuse for boredom at the festival, with three stages for bands, a children's lantern procession and a multicultural flashmob performing to the Time Warp, which is this year's theme.
"Having a multicultural presence is important to show that the event is inclusive and welcoming of people from other ethnic backgrounds," he said.
"Last year's inaugural event was significant because it was the first time the multicultural group were invited to a mainstream event.
"They went off, and they enjoyed themselves."
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Chan said the town had embraced the steampunk concept, especially as it was the first festival.
"A lot of locals were blown away," he said
"Last year had a good turnout.
"I had never been to a steampunk event or organised one. But I thought well, 'let's just give it a go and see what happens', and it worked thankfully."
According to Chan, Dimboola is the perfect setting for a steampunk festival.
"Dimboola is a 19th-century railway town," he said.
"So it was fitting to have it here.
"The architecture is beautiful.
"Having a nighttime street party in Dimboola with a steampunk costume theme would make it magical and enchanting."
Inspired by the book The Time Machine by HG Wells, this year's theme is time travel.
"Steampunk is fantasy. It's about imagining the 19th-century having technology that they would like to have had, that we mostly have now," Chan said.
"Also, the other reason is that I wanted to broaden the appeal so other people who don't necessarily have access to steampunk clothes can enjoy it.
"They can go to other periods, and other galaxies and dress up in something that appeals to them.
"It's bringing cosplay into the region.
Chan said it was all about imagery and imagination and encouraged residents to get dressed up for the festival.
"With time travel, you can come from the apocalypse, or you come can come from the 15th century or the 1930s. But then we got all those costumes mixed with predominantly 19th-century fashion," he said.
"This is a night that you're able to express yourself in a safe environment in a way that everyone's individuality is celebrated, where quirkiness is celebrated, and where everything weird and wonderful is celebrated.
"We all need to break our routine and have the opportunity to express ourselves differently."
This year will be the last annual Steampunk Festival, with Chan moving the festival to a biannual timetable.
"There's a lot of work involved," he said
"Last year was the first one, and this year we thought we should give it another go for the people that missed out the first time.
"The next one will be in 2025, and that will be the carnival of peculiarities. In two years, we plan to reimagine it as a 19th-century carnival.
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"It's just raising the bar to create a sense of motivation and anticipation."
Tickets to the Wimmera Steampunk Festival can be purchased via trybooking or from the QR code on the Wimmera Steampunk Festival posters.
Tickets will also be on sale from Dimboola Library and at the gate on the day.
The festival will take place on April 22, at the Dimboola Town Hall from 4 pm until 11 pm.
Chan encouraged festivalgoers to buy their tickets online.
"From an organising perspective, especially for food operators, it makes it easier to know how much food to cater for when tickets are purchased online," he said.
"I would like to encourage people to buy online."
Vera Demertzis
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
