New Babbage's annual Oiling Festival occurred March 18th through the 26th. As our esteemed mayor, Clockwinder Mosseveno Tenk, put it:
The Oiling Festival is a steampunk answer to spring cleaning, when we halt the factories to clean out the grit and grime of the previous year and perform our annual maintenance. All good citizens and visiting steamlanders are encouraged to roll up their sleeves, show their national pride, and participate! The original Oiling Festival was held in 2009 to add needed items to the city inventory and invite the greater steamlands to experience the Babbage way of life for a week. The drawbridges in Wheatstone Waterways, the city tartans, naval jack, the Sea Gate, and the palettes of bricks that appear at every build site and the crates of goods on the piers are all artifacts of previous Oiling Festivals.
Unlike last year, this year's festival went off without a hitch. (All right, so a nigh-well immortal embodiment of evil may have been spotted, but that's hardly surprising in New Babbage.) This year also saw several popular building contests, as well as the exceptionally well-attended monthly New Babbage ball, which had a theme of Carnival.
Now, straight from the mouth of the Clockwinder:
RESULTS OF THE THIRD ANNUAL NEW BABBAGE OILING FESTIVAL CONTESTS
BABBAGIZATION (2 entries)
1st - Tesla Tripsa
2nd - Queer Hermit
BEST OILER (9 entries) (See the Carnival Ball picture set for all pictures of this contest.)
1st - Kaylee Frye: This "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE" between the gears made the judges giggle, and shows off not only the comical aspects of being a good mechanic, but also how sometimes it really takes getting "into things" to do a good job.
2nd - Palabra Puddlegum: What makes an oiler? Detail, complete attention to detail. Not only does she show a close interest in the machine she's trying to oil, but she even added a rather nice frame the ties in the peice in color, and composition.
3rd - Tepic Harlequin: Where would we be without the children of our future? And with the clumsy mess that Tepic has shown in his artwork, I think this is a GREAT example of the future of oilers everywhere in New Babbage. Worried yet?
Honorable Mention - Brother Riddler: One judge noted that Malus' heroic pose while his friend did all the work was a telling commentary about the inner workings of the Church. Others found this a nostalgic portrait of the crazy times you had with your best friend and *that car*.
DARK CARNIVAL RIDES (See the Carnival Ball picture set for pictures of this contest.)
1st - Tesla Tripsa. Over the top Gorgeous.
2nd - Amadeus Hammerer. Simple yet effective optical illusion and most on target with the theme of the contest.
3rd - Canolli Capalini. audacious. size matters.
HONKING. BIG. MACHINE. (See this post for pictures of all contestants.)
1st - Cutea Benelli for the Annoyanator - it's like Bob and Dr. Obolensky had a child.
2nd (tie) -Nightshade Sixpence - One of those great machines evil genius build to conquer the world!
2nd (tie) - Kimika Ying - Practical and steamy. Should we keep it?
3rd - Rip Wirefly - what is not to like about digeridoos?
IMPERIAL FLAG. (13 entries) (See here and here.)
1st - Verlia Bilavio (#6)
2nd (tie) - Tanarian Davies (#13) and Osric Worbridge (#9).
The judges all commented that Mr. Worbridge's entries would have done better if he had not used the eagle, which was too specific to existing European countries. It is requested that the 3 finalists go a second round.
IMPORTS/EXPORTS (15 entries)
1st - Satu Moreu for Coffee Beans imported from Cala Mondrago
2nd - Brother Lapis for the educational and "realistic in a bizarro way" fruitcake.
3rd - Cornelius Fanshaw for the Midnight Oil (burn sparingly)
Honorable Mention: Nightshade Sixpence for the meteor. It might have placed higher if not for the particles.
MOVIE POSTERS (11 entries)
1st - Jimmy Brannagh - The Mad Doctor Strikes
2nd - Edward Pearse - Seraph City
3rd - Cutea Benelli - Grimopolis
Honorable Mention - Edward Pearse - The Mark of Zorro
Mayor's Choice for Best Teaser - Verlia Bilavio - Never Get Off In Bump
STEAM PONIES (2 entries)
1st - Verden Jervil
2nd - Aeolus Cleanslate
WINDMILLS (SMALL) (5 entries)
1st- Cornelius Fanshaw - and special mention for lighting at night.
2nd - Amadeus Hammerer
3rd - Tepic Harlequin
Honorable Mention - Nathaniel Lorefield
WINDMILLS (LARGE) (6 entries)
1st - Kaylee Frye. Elegant Mediterranean design with interesting sculpts
2nd - Nightshade Sixpence. The king of cogs strikes again!
3rd - Jonathan Spires - unusual engineering
Honorable Mention - Nathaniel Lorefield. His windmill grinds wiggyfish paste.
Special thanks to all the judges--volunteer and otherwise--in making their difficult decisions. And special thanks also to everyone who participated in and attended all of the contests and events. Without your enthusiasm, the Oiling Festival would not be what it has become. We hope to see you all next year!
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