Chalk this one up under “events I did not expect”: Weed, California has an annual Steampunk Festival, and it returns this year on May 21-22. Yep, the same town that hosts an annual 420 Festival (on April 20, naturally) somehow has a festival celebrating steampunk. Because of course it does.
Weed has about 2,900 people, give or take, and is located in the far north end of the state, near the base of Mt. Shasta. It’s a relatively diverse town, compared to the rest of that region of northern California, but geographically speaking this still seems unlikely.
If there weren’t still a pandemic, I’d consider checking it out.