Journey with us to a land of steampunk, beards of all shapes and sizes, and some damn fine beers at Grand River Brewery in Jackson.
Capitol Steam and the Jackson Beard & Mustache Club put on the second annual Gears, Beards, and Beers event at the Grand River Brewery. The event featured a vendor fair of steampunk related items, beard contests in just about every category imaginable, and a costume contest. The event was free, unless you wanted to enter the beard contest or buy a raffle ticket for prize baskets. All the proceeds from the contest and raffle went to Cascades Humane Society. Oh, and there was a great band called Raven Song playing some great celtic music while embracing some cool steampunk costumes.
Gears, Beards, and Beers!
You may be wondering, what is steampunk? And what is Capitol Steam? Well, its not about steam cleaning done by punk rockers. I honestly only had a vague idea of what it was all about. I found a nice article on steampunk here at the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.
Capitol Steam is a group from the Lansing and Mid-Michigan area who celebrate and promote steampunk related events where folks can enjoy the costumes and improvisational acting. While steampunk attire wasn’t mandatory at the event, it did make for some fun. There were some great costumes that reflected the passion and love for the art and craft skills necessary to put together these outfits.
Beard Clubs
While the Gears, Beards, and Beers event is hosted by the Jackson Beard and Mustache Club, there were other clubs in attendance such as the Detroit Sinners, Murder City, Mad Vikings, and Beards of the Old Northwest.
Raven Song
Raven Song were very entertaining. They played some a great mix of Celtic music which included old standards such as “Whiskey In The Jar”. They also played “Gael” which I always think of as the music in “Last of the Mohicans” where Uncas is killed trying to save Alice and then Chingachgook races in and kicks Magua’s ass. Its a very emotional tune and Raven Song did a fantastic rendition.
Faux Beards
To make sure the follically challenged were able to participate, the beard contest included some truly outstanding fake beards.
This young lady went all out and then some!
Real Beards and Mustaches
There were a bunch of different categories for judging those who like to grow facial hair.
There were mustaches.
There were partial beards.
There were beards under 8 inches.
There were beards over 8 inches
And there were also freestyle categories where some guys really went all out!
This guy went for double freestyle
Beers
The great beers at Grand River Brewery were a nice addition to the Gears, Beards, and Beers event. The Breakfast Rye PA and Monkey Mouth IPA were hits with us. The Rye PA had just a hint of sweetness, but a lot of body and flavor. The brewery was packed with folks and they had the waitstaff really hoping to keep up. It was cool to see that bartenders embraced the dress theme.
Stay in Touch
Gears, Beards, and Beers was a great event and a lot of fun. Put this on your list for next year as its open to everyone. Be sure to check out the gallery as we have a ton more pictures from the event. If you went to Gears, Beards, and Beers, lets us know. Leave us a comment or send us a message. We love to hear your stories.
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