This event is inspired by the Kushiel series of books, written by Jacquelyn Carey. These stories tell of intrigue, heroism, and romance in a fictionalized Europe. Of principal interest in the books is the cultured and fragile nation of Terre d'Ange, where the nobility is descended from angels come to earth and the state religion centers on the precept "Love as thou wilt". In Terre d'Ange, the Winter Solstice is observed with a fabulous and decadent masquerade hosted by the houses of the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers, a guild of courtesans, entertainers, healers, and mystics, and attended by the high nobility and the most celebrated artists of the realm. At this party, the most exclusive and decadent of the festival year, the seasonal change is celebrated with opulent costumery, rich food and drink, and, at midnight, the dance of the Sun Prince with the Winter Queen, in which the Winter Queen is freed from her frozen and barren state to become Spring.

Gaia Community's Longest Night Ball is organized on this theme for a number of reasons. As a theologically pagan organization, the celebration of the Solstice and transformation of Winter into Spring called out to us. As a Welcoming Congregation within the Unitarian Universalist Association, we were attracted to the precept "Love as Thou Wilt". Like the people of Terre d'Ange, our community is committed to the idea that love in all its forms is valuable and blessed, no matter the sex and gender distribution of the people involved.

What To Wear

In the stories, costuming for an event like this would require weeks of preparation, a costume idea sure to be cleverer than anyone else's, and perhaps some friendly but fierce competition for the services of the best tailors and the purchase of the richest fabrics. While we don't expect our guests to go to quite those lengths, we do encourage dressing to impress. Formal or semi-formal attire with the addition of a mask or face paint would certainly be appropriate, as would historical or fantasy costuming, ritual attire, or whatever makes you feel most fabulous. This year, Victorian- or Edwardian-inspired attire, or costume evocative of the steampunk aesthetic will be particularly appropriate.

Theme and Entertainments

This year's event takes on the outlook of the books' Dahlia House, who espouse all the delightful formalized rituals of love and affection. Dahlia's motto is "Upright and Unbending", and our midnight pageant will be inspired by that ideal. We are working with that theme in a steampunk sense, playing with a Victorian dedication to ornamentation and extravagance, without subscribing to its stuffiness. There will be music for dancing: a mixture of chamber music suitable for ballroom styles and modern music from the steampunk movement suitable for other sorts of dance. We will also have a variety of entertainers, Victorian parlor games and amusements, a costume contest, and other delights.

What is Steampunk?

Steampunk is a modern aesthetic of fashion, art, and manners that imagines a world in which our fin-de-siecle ancestors embraced our sensibilities, and built our technological advances (and advances we have yet to achieve) with a fantastic version of their own technology. Imagine clockwork and steam engines powering some of the devices you know and love, and you'll begin to envision steampunk. The steampunk world is one of airships and expeditions, mad science and tea cakes, corsets and pipe wrenches, faraway possible worlds, and the inexplicable custom of wearing brass goggles on one's top hat. To learn more, we recommend the following essay: Steampunk 101, from Tor.com