Category: Events

SL20B: Music Fest, Lab Gab, Shop and Hop

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

The Second Life 20th Birthday celebrations are almost upon us, with the regions opening on Thursday, June 22nd, and will remain open through until until Sunday, July 2nd.

The following is a summary of the Music Fest and the Lab Gab sessions with will take place throughout the event. Please note that where SLurls are given, they will not be available for public use prior to the event opening.

Music Fest

As with more recent(ish!) years, festivities will kick-off immediately following the opening on Thursday, June 22nd with the Music Fest, a 3-day celebration of live music in Second Life, and on Monday, June 19th, Linden Lab published the line-up for the event. This year, the festival will be taking place at a dedicated 4-region venue (which presumably will be used for other entertainment as well), comprising the four SLB regions of Amaze, Astound (primary landing point), Astonish (alternate landing point) and Imagination (alternate landing point).

At the time of writing, the scheduled line-up comprised:

Time (SLT) June 22nd June 23rd June 24th
10:00 Gates Open — AnLaik
11:00 — — Fly Kugin
Noon Opening Ceremony¹ Made in SL: the Movie¹ Mimi Carpenter
13:00 SEMINA Tia Rungray TEMPIO Breil
14:00 Marqs DeSade DorianKash Tally Mercury
15:00 Justin Elias Anatra Randy De Lucia Jordan Lively
16:00 Holly Giles Joaquin Gustav Slade S. Simunyé
17:00 Ruvi Gatchie ryeshure spiritLed
18;00 Frogg Marlowe & Jaycatt Nico (Effinjay) Oblee Cosmic Cat
19:00 Grace Loudon FrankLee Ras Solaris | Waverino
20:00 Angelikus Deo Maximillion Kleene Gabriel da Silva
21:00 — John Rocky —
  1. At the time of writing, the Second Life Birthday calendar gave the SLurls for the Opening Ceremony and the film festival as those of the Music Fest. However, it appears that:
    • According to the official Talk Show blog post, the Opening Ceremony will in fact take place at the Mandala Stage (no SLurl available at the time of writing).
    • According to the Destination Guide, the film premiere will take place within the Exhilarate region of the SLB Arboretum.

Lab Gab: Linden Specials

SL20B will feature a series of  Linden Specials, featuring a mix of pre-recorded and live interviews with members of the the Lab’s board and management team. These can be attended in-world and will also be streamed via the Second Life You Tube channel. For those wishing to view the events in-world, the SLurl are as follows:

Arboretum 1 – Arboretum 2 – Arboretum 3

Day (Times SLT) Featured Guest(s)
Monday 26th June, 13:30
 Patch Linden, Vice President of Product Operations (Live)
Tuesday 27th June, 13:30 Grumpity Linden, Vice President of Second Life Product and Mojo Linden, Vice President of Engineering (Pre-recorded)
Wednesday 28th, June, 13:30 Linden Lab Executive Chair Brad Oberwager and Founder Philip Rosedale (Live)
Thursday 29th June, 13:30 Chief Marketing Officer StyFy Linden and VP of Marketing Brett Linden (Pre-recorded)
Friday 30th June, 13:30 Meet the Moles. The Moles are builders, scripters, and content creators employed by Linden Lab to work in the Linden Department of Public Works (Live)

Shop and Hop

Coinciding with the Birthday celebrations is another Shop and Hop event, this one on a vast scale: 20 regions and 480 merchants! Find out more via the SL20B Shop and Hop Destination Guide category, or check out the list of participating merchants (with SLurls).

Second Life Birthday Calendar

The provides a full breakdown of events -note again that all times are SLT. Click here to open it in a separate browser tab.

Destination Guide links

Note: some of these may not be available until Thursday, June 22nd:

Second Life Hair Fair 2023

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Hair Fair

The 2023 Second Life Hair Fair is currently open, and runs through until Sunday, July 2nd, 2023. As with previous years, is being run to raise money for Wigs for Kids, with every purchase seeing a percentage donated to the cause, with the Bandana booths and Donation kiosks donating 100% of all proceeds received.

As with recent years, the event takes place across six regions, appropriately called Foils, Brunette, Streaks,  Noirette, Redhead and Blonde, laid out in a block of six, with Foils, Brunette and Streaks to the north and Noirette, Redhead and Blonde to the south, separated by an intervening stream. The landing zones for the regions form decks spaced along both banks of the stream, both helping to lighten the load of arriving avatars and providing vantage points from which those (such as myself) who prefer to do so, can cam-shop without necessarily having to wander the stores.

As is usual for Hair Fair, the shopping regions are wisely lightly decorated in order to minimise viewer-side lag that might otherwise be created by having a significant amount of extra object and texture rendering. For those who enjoy perusing stores directly, the broad boardwalks ensure there is little chance of bumping into others, whilst those who might tire of walking can use one of the rezzers located along both boardwalks to rez a sittable “bus” and ride the length of the walkways.

The list of participating merchants can be found on the Hair Fair website, while for those who may not find something they wish to purchase, donation kiosks are available to help support Wigs for Kids, or there are the Bandana Booths, one located in Foils and the other in Blonde. within them, visitors can purchase a bandana or a Hair Fair Hare companion (all proceeds on both to Hair Fair), and learn about the history of the Hair Fair Bandana Day & booths.

Hair Fair 2023

About Wigs for Kids

For more than forty years Wigs for Kids has been providing hair replacement systems and support for children who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, Alopecia, Trichotillomania, burns and other medical issues at no cost to children or their families. The effects of hair loss go deeper than just a change in a child’s outward appearance. Hair loss can erode a child’s self-confidence and limit them from experiencing life the way children should. With an injured self-image, a child’s attitude toward treatment and their physical response to it can be negatively affected also.

Wigs for Kids helps children suffering with hair loss look themselves and live their lives. Families are never charged for the hair replacements provided for their children; Wigs for Kids rely completely on both the donation of hair and / or money to help meet their goals.

Read more about Wigs for Kids mission, and discover how hair can be donated.

URLs and SURLs

Second Pride 2023: a pocket guide to the celebrations

Posted on by Inara Pey
Second Pride, 2023: main stage

SL Pride, the event celebrating diversity organised by and on behalf of Second Life’s LGBTQ+ community officially opened on Friday, June 9th, 2023 and runs through until Sunday, June 18th, 2023.

Given the uncalled for backlash and targeting of the LGBTQ+ community and against gender rights within western nations, coupled with the overall suppression of the community around the world, the theme for this year’s event is, appropriately a message of strength.

NOT GOING BACK – NOT BACKING DOWN

– Second Pride 2023 Theme

As with recent years, the 2023 Second Pride event is hosted across two regions – Second Pride East, with its traditional urban theme, and Second Pride West, with its similarly familiar beachfront and pier design. Straddling the two is the central park and events area, with the landing points for both regions sitting-side-by-side and facing one another across the region boundary.

Second Pride 2023: Dim Sum Gardens

Also as with previous years, the regions utilise a Second Life Experience to assist with teleports, etc., and if you have not previously visited the event or joined the Experience, doing so is recommended. Posters at the landing points will also provide visitors with information on the festivities and entertainment, which will be focused on the main stage in the park, the Beach Stage, located alongside the beachfront with its Second Pride Boardwalk and associated amusements, rides and stalls, with smaller, more intimate events also being held at the Bandshell / City Venue.

And if that weren’t enough, the Bijou Theatre will be hosting a series of special performances and light shows. When you arrive there, just walk the red carpet to the doors and you’ll be TP’d directly to the theatre proper. Details of the shows – and on the more than 70 live performances and events taking place through the event, please refer to the Event Schedule on the Second Pride website.

If you’re new to the LGBTQ+ communities is second Life and wish to learn more, you can drop into the Second Pride Community Resource Centre, while those who wish to sit in quiet contemplation, the Second Pride Memorial Chapel with its message of Solidarity, is available. Or you can just relax at the Dim Sum Gardens or simply tour the two regions!

Second Pride: boardwalk and pier

Funds raised at this year’s even will benefit:

LGBTQ Freedom Fund: is a US-centric organisation which is focused on securing the safety and liberty of people in US jails and immigration detention centres, with a focus on LGBTQ individuals. Because of whom they love / hoe they identify, a tangle of discrimination and poverty disproportionately traps LGBTQ people in cycles of crime and incarceration, with the impact particularly felt by transgender, brown, and black individuals.

In tandem with provide financial support to secure the release of LGBTQ+ people unfairly incarcerated, the fund works with the public and policymakers to curb the mass detention of LGBTQ individuals, given the fact that sexual minorities are three times more likely to be incarcerated than heterosexual individuals. The sweep of criminalisation is extraordinary, with some estimates suggesting that, at some point in their lives, 70 percent of low-income LGBTQ people are homeless – and as a result can be considered vagrants and subject to arrest and indefinite incarceration in many US states.

The It Gets Better Project: founded as a non-profit organisation in the United States in 2010, the Project now involves international affiliate organisations across 19 countries. Together they are able to reach millions of young people around the world, promoting the vision of a world where all LGBTQ+ youth are free to live equally and know their worthiness and power as individuals. A huge part of this work is in outreach through storytelling – those within the community telling their stories and inspiring / encouraging others. The Project additional fosters community-building and promoting open discussions on the challenges young LGBTQ+ people have to face as a result of their sexual orientation and gender identity journey, and to positively influence the outlook of both those who identify as LGBTQ+ and those who do not.

Second Pride 2023

With entertainment, shopping, camaraderie, friendship, fun, support and more, do be sure to make time to visit SL Pride, share in the entertainment, tour the regions, have fun – and donate to the supported charities.

SLurl and Link Details

The Second Pride regions are rated Moderate

RFL 2023: it’s the Weekend to Relay in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Relay for Life of Second Life, Relay Weekend, June 10-11th, 2023

Saturday, June 10th and Sunday June 11th mark the annual Relay for Life of Second Life Relay Weekend, raising money for the American Cancer Society and their projects to help and support cancer sufferers and their families and caregivers the world over. With American Cancer Society (ACS) regions forming the anchor-point for the event, 35 regions have been combined to provide the weekend’s track, which all Second Life residents are invited to walk for a part of the weekend and show support for those who have been stricken by cancer and / or remember those in their own families / circles of friends who have been lost to the disease/ are living within its shadow.

The theme for this year is Hope Floats, and this is reflected in the multiple camps and places to visit which line the RFL walk as it loops through the regions. The event officially opens at 10:00 SLT on the morning of Saturday, June 10th, with the opening ceremony taking place on the ACS2 and ACS 3 regions. Immediately following this is the first of a continuous series of laps around the walk, which will continue through until the closing ceremony at 10:00 SLT on the morning of Sunday, June 11th.

This first lap of the track is reserved for those dealing with cancer or who have survived its impact on their health, together with their family members and caregivers. However, residents as a whole are encouraged to line the track and show their support for them as they make their way around it.  After it comes the Parade of Teams: those groups active within Second Life who are active in both supporting ACS through organising and running their own fund-raising events, and who help to make this weekend the  Relay Weekend the event it is.

Relay for Life of Second Life, Relay Weekend, June 10-11th, 2023 – learn about ACS Hope Lodges

After the Parade of teams, from 14:00 SLT onwards on June 10th, through until 09:00 SLT on June 11th, there will be a series of hourly themed walks around the track, open to anyone to join for as long as they choose. As always, participants are invited to join in with the theme, all of which are listed below (all times SLT).

Saturday, June 10th
 Sunday, June 11th
11:00
Survivor/Caregiver Lap		 00:00
Space Walk among the Stars
Kirk or Spock? Baltar or Six? Ground Control or Major Tom? Go sci-fi!
12:30
Parade of Teams		 01:00
Mount Up and Ride
Ye-haw! – but why stop with riding horses?
14:00
Purple Power Hour
The Name sez it all!		 02:00
Your Pets Want Out
Bring your pet for a walk.
15:00
Under the Sea
Are you mermaid? Merman? Grouper or Penguin? Seas creatures unite!		 03:00
Small But Mighty
Dinkies and Tinies unite!
16:00
Unicorns, Fairies, Fantasy+
Come as your favourite fantasy character or dressed for your favourite genre		 04:00
Wild Wild West
NOW is the time for horses, big hats and cowpokes!
17:00
Over the Rainbow & Into the Clouds
Clouds, rainbows, pride		 05:00
Skate into the Morning
Make like Marty Mcfly or don those rollerskates and roll!
18:00
Ride the Wave, Dude
Surf’s up and beach parties are the order of the hour!		 06:00
Fight Back Hour
ACS, Relay, or Team shirts
19:00
Relay Sock Hop
Poodle skirts, vinyl, diners		 07:00
PJs, Coffee, and Curlers
For the all-nighters: wear your coffee and drink your PJs (!)
20:00
Light It Up
Torches, candles, neon lights, etc.		 08:00
Making Strides
Pink, Strides (breast cancer) awareness
21:00
Luminaria Ceremony
~ Remember ~		 09:00
Floating to the Finish Line
Carry (ride?) balloons around the track
22:00
Fly Your Kite
– or that of your team, if you’re a team member!		 10:00
Closing Ceremony
23:00
Relay Snow Storm
Dress up warm or get those Xmas Hols glad rags out!		 11:00
Dancing in the Streets
make like Martha and the Vandellas or Mick and David and dance around the track!

Luminaria Ceremony and Lanterns

At 21:00 SLT on Saturday, June 11th, the track will be in darkness and silence, with all those in the Relay Regions are asked not to engage in open text or voice chat but to walk the track in silence or stand to one side, as the names of those to be remembered are read.

It is a time for each of us to reflect on how this disease has touched us personally.  And it is a time for us to look inside ourselves with quiet reflection and find hope.  Because no matter what our experience has been with cancer, we all share the hope that we will one day live in a world where our children, and their children, will never have to hear the words “you have cancer”.

– Relay for Life of Second Life event web page

Along the sides of the relay track are the Luminaria lanterns that can be used to commemorate and / or honour someone you know who has succumbed to or survived cancer. Lanterns can be lit for a minimum donation of L$50 (all proceeds to Relay for Life of Second Life). Donations can can be made by clicking  a lantern and then either selecting a set amount or typing in an amount of your choice. You can also optionally enter whether you are lighting the lantern in memory or in honour of someone, and also add their name and / or a message.

Relay for Life of Second Life, Relay Weekend, June 10-11th, 2023

So, get ready to join the fun and help raise money for a very worthy cause!

SLurl Details

  • American Cancer Society (American Cancer Society, rated General)
  • ACS2 (opening / Closing ceremony, rated General)
  • ACs3 (opening / Closing ceremony, rated General)

Sunday, May 21st: Bay City at 15 in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Bay City Fairgrounds, Bay City 15th Anniversary, May 21st 2023

Bay City, the first major project undertaken by the Moles of the Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW), will be marking its fifteenth anniversary on Sunday, May 21st, 2021. Citizens of Bay City and residents of Second Life are invited to join in with the celebrations, which will include the traditional parade down “Route 66,” followed by a live music event in the Bay City fairgrounds.

First opened for initial viewing in May of 2008 and with parcels throughout the city being auctioned soon after, Bay City has shown itself to be one of the highlights of Second Life: a blending of Linden infrastructure and a strong, friendly community of involved residents who give the area its unique charm.

Celebratory activities will kick-off at noon SLT with a parade line-up at the band shell in Bay City – Harwich. At 12:30 SLT, the parade will make its way down Route 66, and proceed to the Bay City Fairgrounds in the North Channel region. DJ GoSpeed Racer will be providing the music throughout the parade, which will be followed by at live concert from 13:30 SLT onwards at the fairgrounds.

The line-up for the concert this year comprises (all times SLT):

  • 13:30-14:30: Jesie Janick – who has herself been active in Second Life for 15 years.
  • 14:30- 15:30: Maximillion Kleene – a Bay City favourite returning once more to the City’s anniversary celebrations.
  • 15:30-16:30: AleyKat (Aleylia Resident).

As usual, celebration goods, including parade float bases and ideas, are available at the Bay City Community Centre, in the Daley Bay region for those who wish to be a part of the parade. Ample viewing areas are provided. The music event is also open to all who desire to attend — not only Residents of Bay City

About Bay City and the Bay City Alliance

Bay City is a Mainland community, developed by Linden Lab and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest Bay city group, and home to most Residents of Bay City.

Each year, in honour of Bay City’s founding, Bay City residents come together with this special celebration.

Anniversary SLurls

VAI’s Mental Health Symposium in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Sojourner Auditorium, Virtual Ability Island, Second Life

The 2023 Virtual Ability Inc., (VAI) Mental Health Symposium on Friday, May 12th, 2023, a little ahead of the internationally supported Mental Health Awareness Week (May 15th through 21st, inclusive). As such, it forms a part of a wide range of physical world and virtual world events framed around Mental Health Awareness Month, which has been throughout May observed in the United States since 1949.

2023 marks the 12th such symposium hosted by Virtual Ability Inc., and has the theme Self-Identity and Mental Health. As with previous years, the symposium will feature a broad cross-section of speakers, who this year will be talking on a range of  identities, from “mad” to autistic, from military to caregiver.

The Symposium will take place in the virtual world of Second Life, at the Sojourner Auditorium on Virtual Ability Island. Those from outside of Second Life wishing to attend can do so by creating a free Second Life account through Virtual Ability’s Sign-Up Portal, and then entering Second Life via Virtual Ability’s New Resident Orientation Course.

The Symposium schedule – click to view

The schedule of speakers for the event can be found on the Virtual Ability Inc., website, and presentations commence at 07:00 SLT (US PDT) on the morning of Friday, May 12th, and run through to the concluding presentation, which starts at 12:00 noon, with each session lasting approximately one hour. For ease of reference, a brief summary of the presentations is provided below – but do please check the complete schedule via the link above for the fullest information on speakers and talks.

  • 07:00 SLT: Dr. Joanna Fox, Associate Professor in Mental Health Recovery at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, England – “Mental Ill-health and the Recovery Process”.
  • 08:00 SLT: Dr. Yasuhiro Kotera, Associate Professor in Mental Health at the University of Nottingham, England – “Cultures and how we feel well: Making a global map of mental health personal recovery”.
  • 09:00 SLT: Dr. Kate Cooper, clinical psychologist and researcher, University of Bath, England – “Autism social identity and well-being”.
  • 10:00 SLT: Dr. Fred Berlin, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA – “Transgender Persons (Gender Dysphoria)”.
  • 11:00 SLT: Dr. Bonnie Vest, Research Associate Professor in the Primary Care Research Institute, Department of Family Medicine, University at Buffalo, USA and Dr. Rachel Hoopsick, Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA – “Military Identity and Service Expectations among Reservists: Associations with Mental Health and Substance Use”.
  • 12:00 SLT: Wonkyung Jung, PhD, RN, Postdoctoral Fellow in the RESILIENCE Centre, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, USA – “Social Integration and Resilience”.
Sojourner Auditorium, Virtual Ability Island, Second Life

About Virtual Ability

Virtual Ability, Inc. is a non-profit corporation, chartered in the state of Colorado, USA.  It is a non-profit tax exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. This means that for US citizens, contributions made are deductible as a charitable donation for federal income tax purposes.

Virtual Ability hosts this annual Symposium to share information about mental health and mental disabilities with the general population. Within its cross-disability community, VAI has members who deal with a variety of mental health issues. So, not only is this an opportunity for VAI community members to learn more about topics related to mental health from experts they probably would not have a chance to meet otherwise, it allows the general public to attend a professional conference at no cost.

With thanks to Gentle Heron for the information.

Related links