Filling the Cauldron is launching a special photo contest open to everyone and with some very special prizes.
Elicio’s store, Cerridwen’s Cauldron, offers a marvellous, magical setting both in the air and on the ground. All we’re asking you to do is visit Cerridwen’s Cauldron and capture some of that magic. It doesn’t matter if you select a part of the skyborne store or the ground-level landscape. Simply capture all or part of the region in a way that captures its beauty and magic.
The goal is to take a photo of Cerridwen’s Cauldron. It can be of the store areas or the ground level areas
Avatars are permitted in photos, but should not be the focus of an image
Entries must be posted on the Filling The Cauldron Photo Contest Flickr group, no later than 23:59 on Monday, April 3rd, 2017. Flickr timestamps will be used to determine time of submission
All entries must be in keeping with the Second life Terms of Service and Community Standards governing Moderate regions. Nudity and adult themes are not permitted
All submissions should be new and original, but can be submitted to other groups
Editing within external software is permitted prior to submission
Judging will be on a basis of 50% popular vote on Flickr, and 50% by a panel of judges
Please do not contact Elicio Ember in regards to this contest. All enquiries should be directed to Inara Pey or Saffia Widdershins.
So, Don’t delay, hop over to Cerridwen’s cauldron today, grab your snaps and join the fun!
It’s time to kick-off another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.
Sunday, March 19th 13:30: Tea Time Mysteries!
Seanchai Library launches a Tea Time series, featuring everything non-Holmesian from Christie to Hamett, classic sleuthing to hard-boiled detectives of the noir-ish hue.
This week: more Agatha Christie with Caledonia, Kayden, Corwyn and John.
Monday, March 20th 19:00: Enemy Mine
Gyro Muggins continues reading Barry B. Longyear’s novella which first appeared in a 1979 issue of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, before becoming the basis of the of the 20th Century Fox film of the same name, starring Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett, Jr. This led to Longyear producing an expanded version of the story, written with David Gerrold.
In the midst of an interstellar war between humans and Dracs (a race of humanoid reptilians), Willis Davidge, a human fighter pilot, crashes on a hostile planet after a dogfight with a Drac – who is also forced down on the same planet.
The two initially continue their hostilities towards one another. But the planet proves so hostile that Davidge and the Drac, Jeriba Shigan (whom Davidge nicknames “Jerry”), are forced to join forces in order to ensure their survival. Then Davidge learns Jeriba is pregnant – Drac being entirely asexual …
Tuesday, March 21st 19:00: Of Mice and Magic
Faerie Maven-Pralou reads the forst in the Ravenspell series by David Farland
More than anything, Benjamin Ravenspell wants a pet. But when he buys a mouse named Amber, he gets more than he bargained for. No sooner does Ben take her home, than Amber turns him into a mouse too.
You see, Amber has magical abilities, and it so happens that Ben is a familiar, a creature that stores magical energy. Together they each form half of a powerful wizard. Alone, they’re just vermin.
Soon Ben and Amber find themselves pitted in an epic battle against a magical enemy who is as crazed as he is evil, and the fate of the world will rest on them learning to work together.
Wednesday, March 22nd 19:00: Poems Aloud
With Caledonia.
Thursday, March 23rd
19:00: From The Hearth
Celtic Darkness, Tales from the otherworld with Shandon Loring (also presented in Kitely, and InWorldz).
21:00 Seanchai Late Night
With Finn Zeddmore.
Sunday March 26th: Volume IX
Senchai Library’s anniversary celebrations, licking-off at 13:00 SLT. More details in my preview next week!
Please check with the Seanchai Library’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.
The featured charity for March April is Project Children, building peace in Ireland one child at a time.
Winter Wonderland snowball fight arena – a final 2016 / 2017 challenge from the Lab
Don’t forget that Friday, March 17th marks the last residents vs. Lab snowball fight for the 2016 / 2017 winter season.
The chance for a final fling (pun intentional) in the snow was announced by Xiola Linden on March 15th, 2017, and the event will take place in the Snowball Arena at the Winter Wonderland.
There are two fight sessions scheduled:
09:00-10:00 SLT
13:00-14:00 SLT
Again, both are on Friday, March 17th, 2017.
The 5-region Winter Wonderland can be reached either through the new portal parks (reviewed here), or via direct teleport to the landing point. Just walk through the village on arrival and follow the path up over the hills. Kiosks at the entrance to the arena are available for obtaining your weapons.
lock’n’load at the weapons kiosks at the entrances to the Snowball Arena
Those who are Premium members can also pick-up the latest Premium gift via the Premium Kiosks, which once again includes a wearable token which allows you to upgrade your snowball weapons. I have no idea if the tokens given out in previous years also work as … I deleted mine!
We’re moving ahead with Filling the Cauldron, the event to support Elicio Ember and his family. Already the Design a Garden contest is filled and designers are hard at work. We’re also receiving applications from DJ, entertainers, artists and volunteers na dahre still looking for more!
Work is continuing in preparing Holly Kai Park – so if you see bits of work going on her and there, please pardon any mess. Hopefully, things are only having minor tweaks, so you should notice too much changing!
In fact the biggest change is to the Storyteller’s Circle in the south-east corner of the park. The tree circle and the paths have been removed to make way for Cerridwen’s Corner, a store area where Elicio’s creations will be on sale, with all proceeds going to Elicio and his family.
Cerridwen’s Corner
Designed by Judi Newall using items created by Elicio to present a little corner of his home region, Cerridwen’s Corner. What’s more, not only will the Corner be selling many of Elico’s creations, if there is anything you cannot find there, a teleport will take you to and from his store at Cerridwen’s Cauldron, giving you immediate access to all of his items!
Applications and Support
While we’ve had a lot of responses to Filling the Cauldron so far, we still have applications open in a number of areas, so if you want to get involved and help support the event, here’s how:
Join our Art Show: do you have images of Elicio’s past builds at Fantasy Faire, or his art installations such as Calvera! and would be willing to display them in an art show for Filling the Cauldron? If so, we would love to hear from you.
Donate to our Auction: what better way to raise funds than with an auction? But in order to do so, we need items to be donated. Would you be willing to donate. It can be 2D art, 3D art, clothing or anything else you would like to provide – such as your time? See the auction page for more
Be part of our Entertainment: are you a live performer, band, dance troupe or DJ and would like to volunteer an hour or two of your time to help raise money for Elicio Ember and his family? If so, please hop over to the entertainments page
Become a Volunteer: running an event like Filling the Cauldron takes a lot of time and effort – and help! If you’d like to lean a hand, please visit the volunteers page.
Updates and More
Remember, you can also keep right up-to-date with things via the Filling the Cauldron website – so why not subscribe to it?
It’s time to kick-off another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.
Sunday, March 12th
13:30: Tea Time Mysteries!
Seanchai Library launches a Tea Time series, featuring everything non-Holmesian from Christie to Hamett, classic sleuthing to hard-boiled detectives of the noir-ish hue.
This week: more Agatha Christie.
18:00: Magicland Storytime
How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse continues with Caledonia Skytower at the Golden Horseshoe In Magicland.
Monday, March 13th 19:00: Enemy Mine
Gyro Muggins starts reading Barry B. Longyear’s novella which first appeared in a 1979 issue of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, before becoming the basis of the of the 20th Century Fox film of the same name, starring Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett, Jr. This led to Longyear producing an expanded version of the story, written with David Gerrold.
In the midst of an interstellar war between humans and Dracs (a race of humanoid reptilians), Willis Davidge, a human fighter pilot, crashes on a hostile planet after a dogfight with a Drac – who is also forced down on the same planet.
The two initially continue their hostilities towards one another. But the planet proves so hostile that Davidge and the Drac, Jeriba Shigan (whom Davidge nicknames “Jerry”), are forced to join forces in order to ensure their survival. Then Davidge learns Jeriba is pregnant – Drac being entirely asexual …
Tuesday, March 14th 19:00: Save Room for Pie: Food songs and Chewy Ruminations
Comic writer Roy Blount Jr has been a life-long eater of food. He’s not sure where his attraction to food began, but he knows that eating isn’t always easy – beyond the sitting doing, chewing and swallowing, that is: those most assuredly are the easy parts.
But, what effect is the global climate and the ups and downs of the economy – local and global – having on the food he eats? How much does his own sinusitis, with its deadening of his sense of taste and smell, impact on his actual enjoyment of eating and food?
In poems and songs, limericks and fake (or sometimes true) news stories, Blount talks about food in surprising and innovative ways. In these pages he ruminates on everything from bacon froth to grapefruit, Kobe beef to biscuits. He defends gizzards, mullet, okra, cane syrup, watermelon, and boiled peanuts; he seeks imagined observations from Frederick Douglass to Louis Armstrong to Blaze Starr. There’s even an imagined conversation between Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden.
And we shouldn’t forget the shampooed possums and carjacking turkeys! With Kayden OConnell.
Wednesday, March 15th 19:00: Celtic Tales
Fairy Tales and Stories of Enchantment with Caledonia (also presented in Kitely).
Thursday, March 16th 19:00: From The Shadows
Celtic Darkness, Tales from the otherworld with Shandon Loring (also presented in Kitely, and InWorldz).
Please check with the Seanchai Library’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.
The featured charity for March April is Project Children, building peace in Ireland one child at a time.
Fantasy Faire 2017 will open to the public on Thursday, April 20th and run through until Sunday, April 30th, inclusive.
The largest gathering of fantasy designers, enthusiasts, role-players and performers in the virtual world, Fantasy Faire offers eleven days of shopping, live music concerts, DJ parties, auctions, hunts, Literary Festival, dance and theatre performances, fantasy art, events and role-play – all in aid of the American Cancer Society as a part of Relay for Life of Second Life.
2017 marks the ninth anniversary for Fantasy Faire, and the event this year will be held across fifteen regions, each offering a unique environment which can be explored and enjoyed through the event. These are split between ten themed worlds dedicated to fantasy and commerce, and five worlds to connect them through entertainment and more.
The ten commerce-centric worlds are:
Chaddul Ro by Searlait Nitschke: “An outpost of the orcs of Chal Khizzur, Chaddul Ro stands on the edge of their territory. In the centre of the outpost there is a beacon, rising above upon a tower guarded day and night by the orcs. It stands for strength; it stands against anyone who would douse it, a symbol to be seen to guide those from outside the protective barriers and walls back home. For the survivors that seek refuge from battle. It is believed that as long as the fires of the outposts are kept lit that there is always hope, sanctuary to be found and that the tribe remains strong.”
Dawn’s Promise by Marcus Inkpen and Sharni Azalee: “A secret place between times where the old becomes reborn into the new. Majestic crumbling ruins dissolve into a sea of glorious foliage. A place where the lost energies of the past are converted into new life. Springs of life-giving water overflow. Flower petals and creative energy float on the breeze. This is the space between the exhale and the inhale. Full of hope and promise.”
Fantasy Faire 2016: Lucentia by Marcus Inkpen and Sharnee Azalee
Egregore by Mayah Parx: “A fantastical thought form of serene darkness immersed in light, a place where expected purpose is relative and surrealism casts it shadow across the land, inhabited by egregors this fantastical place is born of the collective phantasmagoria of its people.”
Fallen Sands by Sweetgwendoline Bailey and Eldowyn Inshan: “Steampunk in a desert landscape where the Orient and Arabia via for dominance. Exotic plants of alien origin turn the sands into an oasis of life where the turquoise water is the treasure of fountains and the infinite pearls of tan fall to mark the passage of time in this eternal city.”
The Hill by Kilik Lekvoda: “A peaceful and beautiful village built into the rolling hills surrounding a small lake. Breathe in warmth, peace, and maybe a little pipe smoke, A place where friendships sprout as readily as the mushrooms beneath leafy green trees.”
Mudrana by Alrunia Ahn and Luna Barak: “Everyone in Mudrana, the land of the lilypad, praises the godfrog – the legends tell that once the godfrog falls asleep, the pond dries out, and everything dies. The frogs of Mudrana therefore croak and sing for their god to keep it awake to preserve the world from death.”
Raven’s Perch by Kaelis Ember and lrriven: “A Gothic dream in pale hues dotted with the tears of roses. A fairytale with thorns.”
The Rose by Alia Baroque: “In the Garden of senses silent footsteps echo through rich vaults of opulence and decadence, searching for the perfect spot where a stolen kiss can be unseen and languid murderous thoughts hidden behind a mask. This Rose blossoms in April through your gaze that tells her how beautiful she is.”
Fantasy Faire 2016: the Golden Delta by Alia Baroque
San Mora by Jaimy Hancroft and Eowyn Swords: “Once the centre of pharmaceutical greatness, San Mora is now a ruin of its former self. Quarantined at the outbreak of a deadly contagion of its own making, the population was left to survive the best they could. Without law and order the city descended into chaos. The fires have long since burned out, and the city is being reclaimed by a hostile Nature. But all that is silent is not necessarily empty. There are still those who roam among the ruins of San Mora.”
The Spirit Pool by Kayle Matzerath:”Since the beginning of time, The Spirit Pool has served as a resting place for weary adventurers and lingering souls that are not quite yet ready to cut their ties to the physical realm. Mermaids and other seafolk use the pool for gatherings and a constant flow of visitors keep it a popular place for trading.”
Fantasy Faire 2016: Breeze by Kayle Matzerath
The five connecting worlds will comprise:
Fairelands Junction by Saiyge Lotus: the heart of the Fairelands, the world where the veil between the worlds is thinnest, the Portal World to the others, the First Link of the Chain.
Opal Flight by Haveit Neox and Lilia Artis: the arts and entertainment region
Morbus by Kilik Lekvoda and Kayle Matzerath: the Fairelands Quest region
Kakushi Pasu by Lokii Violet: the Literary Festival region
Anansi (Beq Janus and Polysail: the Worldling Cradle – “This year the Fairelands bring the dream seeds with them, the outfits and shapes that they might have taken on, but did not. For now. Worldlings are Fairelands that could have been, Fairelands that might still be.”
Blogger registrations will open on Thursday, March 23rd.
As usual, I’ll be covering Fantasy Faire in these pages, but to keep right up to date with news and announcement, keep an eye on the links below. And to whet appetites, I’ll close with a video preview I shot for last year’s event.
Ground level – Cerridwen’s Cauldron
Ground level – Cerridwen’s Cauldron
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 