Amherstburg’s Uncommon Festival weaves its magic#Amherstburgs #Uncommon #Festival #weaves #magic

Imagine an alternate reality in which technology was available in the Victorian era.

If you can get your head around that, you’d be into the world of steampunk, the theme of the annual Amherstburg Uncommon Festival, which took place over three days on the weekend.

“Steampunk wizardry is kind of bringing that Harry Potter world into downtown Amherstburg,” said Sarah Van Grinsven, tourism co-ordinator with the Town of Amherstburg. “Because we’re a historic town, all these genres kind of work together.

“It’s if technology took place in the Victorian era, so things run on steam and gears. It brings cosplayers out and it brings the creativity out in people.”

The events, the costumes, and even the food, can seem kind of fantastical.

“We have costume contests and the people come here dressed up, people come here to make wines and see the wizards, we have a Niffler scavenger hunt (based on a character from the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them),” Van Grinsven said.

“We bring a live magicians, all the magical mythical kind of things that go along with steampunk in wizardry. We have … puppeteers and we have aerialists and buskers that are performing so it’s just filled with a lot of entertainment.”

About 12,000 people attended the Uncommon Festival last year, but Van Grinsven thinks that may be eclipsed this year with the uncommonly good weather.