When Nber invited me to take over curating art exhibitions at Holy Kai Park, I had no idea where things would lead. As I’ve noted in various reports in this blog, the work offered a lot of attractive elements: working with artists, building on the foundations laid by Nber and Autumnx with Art in the Garden and Art at the Park, to further develop the park for all kinds of artistic expression, as well as establishing a new Art Garden, and also redesigning some of the park as well.
Part of the redesign at the park saw the installation of a bar on the west side of the park, overlooking the beach. This actually hadn’t been part of the original plan, but when I saw the building on the Marketplace, I had to view it in-world, and Caitlyn agreed that, with a little modification and adjustment, it would make a good addition to the beach and park. Thus was born Caitinara Bar.
Which left only one problem – what to do with it?
Fortunately, I’m surrounded by good friends, so when Boudicca whispered in my ear that Anthony Wesburn, her partner, a DJ with 10 years experience in SL, and whose music I’ve previously enjoyed at their home region of Hestium (which is itself an absolute delight – read more about it here) – I jumped at the opportunity. And so was born Music with Anthony, a new 2-hour set hosted at the bar by Boudicca, Anthony, Caitlyn and myself every Wednesday between 16:00 and 18:00 SLT, with the opening event taking place on Wednesday, February 3rd.
I admit to approaching the evening with a little trepidation; as Caledonia Skytower is teaching us in these pages with If you just build it, they might not come, getting a venue established needs a lot of promotion, and that’s something that, in-world, I’ve not had much exposure to (and am still learning by mistakes with the park!). But, the notices and invitations went out, and my fears were quickly put to rest. :); the response was fabulous, and we were quickly into a thoroughly enjoyable two hours of great music from the 1960s, great conversation, great company – and a lot of fun!
Anthony’s style as a DJ is one of the most pleasant in Second Life, and his eye and ear for music are both superb. The playlist he put together, linked by anecdotes and jokes, and into which he neatly slotted requests from guests, was outstanding, with the music flowing seamlessly through the evening.
Hosting a music venue is a new experience for me, and I’d like to thank Anthony, Boudicca and Caitlyn for making the task so much easier for me (particularly when I was distracted by IMs and things!),. I’d also like to thank everyone for their feedback on the venue and support for the evening. We’re already planned some themed events as a result of the conversations!
I’d especially like to offer a very special thank you to CioTToLiNa Xue for her gift of a name plaque for the bar, which now graces the building and the deck and really completes the place.
And finally, but by no means least, thank you to everyone who made the evening a success; we very much hope to see you back next week, and in the weeks to come – and to welcoming new guests and friends to Music with Anthony at Caitinara Bar 🙂 .
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 