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Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention

Overview

The Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention (wildwestcon.com), colloquially referred to as Wild Wild West Con, is an active annual steampunk convention held at Old Tucson Studios, a Hollywood film set since 1940, outside Tucson.

Social Media | Most Recent Program Book Covers | History | Notes | Other Documents | All Program Book Covers

Background

Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention was started in 2011 by Ryan McMann, who ran the first year's event. He handed over the operation of the second year to Jason Drotman and Diana Given of the Arizona Steampunk Society (steamaz.com), which happened after a gap year in which he tested the waters of Las Vegas instead. They then bought the event from him outright and ran it together until 2019 as Steampunk Society, LLC. As of 2020, Drotman has become the sole owner, through Steamheart, LLC.

The convention has had a lot of consistency over the years, with favourite events finding regular slots. One recent change (in 2018) was to move from two evening concerts to one, but to bulk up the programming at the host hotel (not at the venue) at the same time. Many guests also return, not always as guests, helping to build a community feel.

Each year has had its own theme, with that theme evolving over multiple events, and there's always a new logo to reflect that. These themes are often interactive, such as year 6, which involved electing the President of WWWC (Gentleman Robot won); or years 3 and 7, which tasked attendees with voting for their preferences in "Land vs. Sea" and "Dinosaurs vs. Robots" respectively.

Social Media

Most Recent Program Book Covers

Click on the images below to open larger versions.

Cover art (left to right) was by grandfailure, Brian Kesinger and Jason Drotman.

History

Chronology of Arizona Conventions | Index of Program Books

# Date Location Chair(s) Theme Bands Book Web Notes

1 2011
4 Mar
6 Mar Old Tucson Studios
Tucson Ryan McMann Abney Park
The Strand
The Unextraordinary Gentlemen

2 2013
8 Mar
10 Mar Old Tucson Studios
Tucson Jason Drotman
Diana Given Abney Park
Steam Powered Giraffe
Professor Elemental
The Silent Stills
35 MB

3 2014
7 Mar
9 Mar Old Tucson Studios
Tucson Jason Drotman
Diana Given Land vs. Sea Professor Elemental
Steam Powered Giraffe
The Nathaniel Johnstone Band
The Cog is Dead

4 2015
5 Mar
8 Mar Old Tucson Studios
Tucson Jason Drotman
Diana Given Mad Science Abney Park
Frenchy and the Punk
Steam Powered Giraffe
The Cog is Dead
14 MB

5 2016
4 Mar
6 Mar Old Tucson Studios
Tucson Jason Drotman
Diana Given Steampunk Around the World The Men That Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing
Peculiar Pretzelmen
Steam Powered Giraffe
Dry River Yacht Club
16 MB

6 2017
3 Mar
5 Mar Old Tucson Studios
Tucson Jason Drotman
Diana Given Election Celtica
Frenchy and the Punk
The Cog is Dead
The Mission Creeps
14 MB

7 2018
2 Mar
4 Mar Old Tucson Studios
Tucson Jason Drotman
Diana Given Robots vs. Dinosaurs Abney Park
DEVM
13 MB

8 2019
8 Mar
10 Mar Old Tucson Studios
Tucson Jason Drotman
Diana Given Galactic Steampunk Federation Professor Elemental
Tommy Spase & The Alchemists
16 MB

9 2020
5 Mar
8 Mar Old Tucson Studios
Tucson Jason Drotman Magic & Mystery Poison Garden
The Marquis of Vaudeville
John Sprocket

9.5 2021
4 Mar
7 Mar Virtual
Zoom Jason Drotman 1

10 2022
3 Mar
6 Mar Westward Look Resort
Tucson Jason Drotman
Deena Jo Drotman Over the Rainbow
11 MB

#	Date	Location	Chair(s)	Theme	Bands	Book	Notes
1	2011 4 Mar 6 Mar	Old Tucson Studios Tucson	Ryan McMann		Abney Park The Strand The Unextraordinary Gentlemen
2	2013 8 Mar 10 Mar	Old Tucson Studios Tucson	Jason Drotman Diana Given		Abney Park Steam Powered Giraffe Professor Elemental The Silent Stills	35 MB
3	2014 7 Mar 9 Mar	Old Tucson Studios Tucson	Jason Drotman Diana Given	Land vs. Sea	Professor Elemental Steam Powered Giraffe The Nathaniel Johnstone Band The Cog is Dead
4	2015 5 Mar 8 Mar	Old Tucson Studios Tucson	Jason Drotman Diana Given	Mad Science	Abney Park Frenchy and the Punk Steam Powered Giraffe The Cog is Dead	14 MB
5	2016 4 Mar 6 Mar	Old Tucson Studios Tucson	Jason Drotman Diana Given	Steampunk Around the World	The Men That Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing Peculiar Pretzelmen Steam Powered Giraffe Dry River Yacht Club	16 MB
6	2017 3 Mar 5 Mar	Old Tucson Studios Tucson	Jason Drotman Diana Given	Election	Celtica Frenchy and the Punk The Cog is Dead The Mission Creeps	14 MB
7	2018 2 Mar 4 Mar	Old Tucson Studios Tucson	Jason Drotman Diana Given	Robots vs. Dinosaurs	Abney Park DEVM	13 MB
8	2019 8 Mar 10 Mar	Old Tucson Studios Tucson	Jason Drotman Diana Given	Galactic Steampunk Federation	Professor Elemental Tommy Spase & The Alchemists	16 MB
9	2020 5 Mar 8 Mar	Old Tucson Studios Tucson	Jason Drotman	Magic & Mystery	Poison Garden The Marquis of Vaudeville John Sprocket
9.5	2021 4 Mar 7 Mar	Virtual Zoom	Jason Drotman				1
10	2022 3 Mar 6 Mar	Westward Look Resort Tucson	Jason Drotman Deena Jo Drotman	Over the Rainbow		11 MB

Notes

Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention 10 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis. It was later replaced by a virtual event on Zoom called Wild Wild West Steampunk Online, which became an intermediary 9.5 event when the 2022 convention was also branded Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention 10.

All Program Book Covers

Click on the images below to open larger versions.

Cover art was by Joe Benitez (year 2), Brian Kesinger (years 3 to 6), Casey Brose (year 7), Jason Drotman (year 8), Brian Kesinger (year 9), grandfailure (year 10).