By Alex Grosset, Arts and Entertainment

5/5- Salvador Bidlittles, the famed promoter behind such attractions as the 279YT Industry and Innovation Conference and Martin Mosley’s Mechanical Menagerie, has announced a partnership with famous author Henri Duhamel to bring the world of his “Cerul pas Terra” stories to life. This endeavor promises to be more than just a play, or performance, however.

“The event I have planned will pull participants directly into the world of Duhamel’s imagination,” Bidlittles proclaimed. “Their active participation will help shape events as they partake in a series of events and stories that will play out, sometimes spontaneously, over the course of the Expo.”

While Bidlittles declined to comment further on what exactly this meant, he did go on to play up pageantry of the venue.

“We will turn De Peletes square in Val Coursai into a living scene strait from the stories,” he said. “It will be more than a set, or amphitheater, but a fully realized, 360 degree recreation that patrons can walk around and participate in. We are hiring actors to bring its characters to life, bakers and chefs to create its finest dishes, and the finest musicians to realize its music. We’ve even figured out how to recreate the famous ‘Cracked Sky’ described in the stories, but I won’t go into detail how, for fear of ruining the surprise.”

Bidlittles said this last with a laugh, though reports that a glass dome was recently constructed over the square and is being painted would seem to undermine his showmanship.

The venue is planned to open this fall, and take place over the course of two weeks. Tickets have already gone on sale in Val Coursais and here in Oeil de Fleur, though we are told they are already sold out.

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Hello! I’d figure I’d start sharing some of the real world historical contexts that help inspire certain stories featured in the Gazette. Today’s story is inspired by the “Coming Race Bazaar” of 1891, based on a series of early sci-fi novels by Baron Edward Bulwer-Lytton considered to be a sort of precursor to so many of the fan conventions we see today.