V274: Steampunking at Piper’s Opera House, Virginia City, NV

It's a lot of work, but I always encourage people to throw their own events – it's amazing how many people will come "out of the woodwork" for something like this. 🙂

Thank you so much!!

Hi Kristen – for this event, we did fundraisers throughout the Summer, anything we could do for free or low cost, like movie nights, tea parties, workshops, and charged a small ticket price to get in, like $5 or $10. Talking to local venues about what you want to do is great, too, because often you can get a good deal on a space, or even work with the venue to do a split, etc. For advertising, we were very promote-y on Facebook and on the High Desert Steam club blog/website, but also handing out flyers at other events that were happening around town, getting dressed up and talking to people whenever we could, at farmer's markets, in Virginia City, at downtown festivals. Willie sent press releases to the local newspapers, and we asked if we could put up posters in the windows of local shops, galleries, on campus, etc. The first year we did the ball, it was DJ'd, so we didn't pay for a live band, and the speakers were lent by a club member. The food was provided by one of the coordinator's mother-in-law, and we sold some advertising spots in a little tourist guide booklet we made, which helped too. The majority of funding came from tickets sales – we charged $20 if you pre-paid on Paypal, and $25 at the door.

If you're thinking of putting on an event, and want to bounce ideas, I'll be happy to share what worked (and what didn't) – my email is [email protected]