When Elizabeth and Curtis Hochstetler officially were married five years ago, the gathering around them was small.
But when they renewed their vows Saturday during Florence’s third annual Escape in Time to Steampunk and Wine festival, a full audience was present.
“When we got married, we got married in court, so you know, nobody around,” Elizabeth Hochstetler said. “So, we were like, ‘This would be perfect.'”
During the festival, which was Saturday and will be until 5 p.m. today in Pioneer Park, people from across the state went to Florence to hear music, visit vendors, attend a ball and gather with other people dressed in steampunk attire.
Steampunk, which embraces dressing with goggles and gears attached to Victorian clothing, imagines an era of Industrial Age machinery with a futuristic twist.
The annual festival, organized by Florence business owner Barb Brierley, was created as a way to celebrate steampunk and to bring a spring festival to the town. Money from the event benefited the Fremont Civic Theatre.
This year, the festival added the marriage vow renewals, which were officiated by a certified minister on stage. After reciting their vows, the Hochstetlers took a ride in a horse-drawn carriage and were later encouraged to attend the Steampunk Ball to celebrate.
“It’s a new little thing this year,'” said Tracy Beach, who helped with the event and created a flaming heart-shaped sculpture as a decoration onsite. “Our theme this year is ‘Steamy Love.'”
Elizabeth Hochstetler said her family learned about steampunk through Brierley.
“They actually introduced us to steampunk and we fell in love with it, so we wanted to come again this year,” she said. “We found out about the marriage vows, and I thought, ‘That would be great.'”
For other festival attendees, who were encouraged to participate in a costume contest and watch a gun fight by the Gold Canyon Gunfighters, the event was a chance to dress up.
“We love steampunk,” said Jill DeRose, a Denver resident who attended the festival. “It’s so much fun.”
Jill DeRose, who runs a ghost hunting organization called Colorado Arizona Steampunk Paranormal Entity Researchers with Lyle DeRose, said she often finds materials for her hand-created steampunk outfits in thrift stores.
“I’m always thinking I was born in the wrong time,” she said. “I just love the clothing.”
Estes Park resident Elizabeth Potter said she travels to various places across the state to attend steampunk gatherings. One of her favorite parts of steampunk, she said, is dressing up.
“It breathes a little fresh air into Victorian reenactment,” she said. “I’m a costume junkie.”
Penrose resident Jim Revelle, who said he appreciates the historical side of steampunk, created a series of metal sculptures for the festival, including one that weighed in at 200 pounds and featured a continuously burning fire.
He said he created it in three days, with parts from agricultural and automotive parts.
“One thing you’ve got to understand about people that are really weird, like artists, when the juices are flowing, you keep going,” he said.
As for steampunk, “it has interested me because they’re reaching back into history,” he said. “I think steampunk has a goal of trying to regain some of that history.”
Sara Knuth: 719-276-7644, knuths@canoncitydailyrecord.com
