Meeting Mr. Steampunk Iceland

I met the Mr. Steampunk Iceland the other day and we had a couple of beers. While we chatted about philosophy, politics, music and our mutual affection for fine single malt whiskeys I mentioned to him that hosting a an annual Steampunk festival at the edge of Iceland, in the town of Bíldudalur, in the remote Westfjords was actually one of the most far fetched ideas you could come up with. He didn’t miss a beat, and said that might well be so but it worked great.

Mr. Steampunk Iceland is actually musician, author of Steampunk novels and probably the last 19th century gentleman in Iceland, Ingimar Oddsson. Ingimar published his first steampunk novel, The Bildalian Chronicles, in 2013 and is currently working on the sequel titled “Into the Otherworld” He released his first Steampunk CD “Ravenblack” last December
Those who are attending the Steampunk World Fair in New Jersey in May will get a chance to listen to Ingimar perform his music.

For the third year he is transforming the village of Bíldudalur into the Kingdom of Bíldalía where Steampunk enthusiasts and locals alike participate in cosplay, or live action role playing (LARP) and immerse themselves in Steampunk fantasy.

The six day long festival is called Steampunk Iceland and features cinema cinema, plays, concerts and features an ongoing story throughout the week. Guests are welcome to either observe or participate in the adventure Ingimar has cooked up.

The Bildalia Steampunk event has gotten attention by the Steampunk society worldwide, mostly for the fact that an entire community dress up in Victorian outfits to take part in the festival. The flag of Bildalia flies above the houses and even official workers dress up for the occasion and play their role in the fictional Kingdom of Bildalia.

The 2016 Steampunk Iceland Festival takes place in Bíldudalur from June 20th to 26th of June.