Category: Events

On Thursday September 26th, I had the honour of attending the VIP Michael J. Fox Show Premiere Party. A gala evening organised by Team Fox SL coordinator Solas, and co-hosted by Team Fox SL and Creations for Parkinson’s at the magnificent Rose Theatre Ballroom, Angel Manor.

The event was to both mark the premiere of Michael J. Fox’s new television series, The Michael J. Fox Show, and to raise funds for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research through the Foundation’s grass-roots fundraising arm, Team Fox.

Over 100 parties and events were planned across the USA and Canada to mark Mr. Fox’s return to television in a series which also seeks to raise awareness of Parkinson’s – Mr. Fox plays a newsman making a return to work after being diagnosed with the disease. However, there was only one event to be held in a virtual world.

The party kicked-off at 15:00 SLT in the sumptuous surroundings of the Rose Theatre Ballroom, with some 30 or so guests. Satin Galli provided live entertainment for the first hour, which I sadly missed do to commitments elsewhere. By the time I arrived, DJ Graywolf was spinning tunes hand-picked by Michael J Fox’s son, Sam. At that time the ballroom floor was alive with people dancing on their own, as couples, or in small groups, and more were seated at tables set-out around the dance floor.

Barbi Alchemi, founder of Creations for Parkinson’s was there, as was her mother, Fran Seranade, herself suffering from the disease, and both of whom have featured in a number of SL blogs, including this one and in the media at large. Also on hand was event organiser, Solas, and Tredi Felisimo (Donna Davis (PhD, an Assistant Professor at University of Oregon), who is studying the physical and psychological effects of virtual worlds on people with Parkinson’s on her region of Frantastica, which adjoins Creations Park, where Creations for Parkinson’s is based.

Also spread around the ballroom were display boards for items donated to the event auction, and which drew some fantastic bids including:

• L$ 35,000 bid by Marcusgay Lefevre for two minutes of video magic about himself and filmed by Draxtor Despres the man behind “The Drax Files”
• L$25,000 bid by Wyndlyght Epona for a chance to work alongside DB Bailey, an architect who provides unique spaces with complex vibrant textures zealously executed are walks of art, and learn his magic
• L$7,000 bid by Redorange Magic for a beautiful gown from  Sascha’s Designs, winner of the  AVI Choice Award  Best Female Apparel Designer  for two consecutive years

• 

  L$ 6,500 bid by Lisa Valentino for a unique garment designed for them by Solas NaGealai  owner of  BlueMoon enterprise

• L$6,000 bid by Lisa Valentino for a one-of-a-kind complete avatar, MICHELLE, a high quality, attractive female Shape and Skin from PYRO. Comes with Eyes, Lip Gloss and Hair
• L$5,000 bid by QuillRiley for tea and a talk with “Creations Mom” Fran Seranade
• L$5,000 bid by Zip Zlatkis for a magical portrait for two done by Jaden Hollow.

These bids, together with tickets sold for the event, donations made during the evening and the evening’s raffle, mean that L$425,000 (approx $1,700 USD) was raised for the Michael J. Fox Foundation in three hours!

All-in-all this was a fabulous evening, one enjoyed by all. Congratulations to Creations for Parkinson’s, Team Fox SL, to all those who donated auction and raffle items, time and effort, and especially to Solas, for making it all possible.

About the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

Founded in 2000, the MJFF has raised over $350 million towards finding a cure for Parkinson’s Disease, making it the world-wide leader in helping to fund research into the disease. Of the funds raised by the Foundation:

• 52%  goes directly into altering the disease – developing a treatment that could restore function to damaged dopamine neurons in the brains of Parkinson’s patients;
• 22% goes directly into defining the disease – biomarkers are a critical missing link for developing next-generation treatments. Biomarkers of Parkinson’s will allow researchers to track the disease risk and progression of Parkinson’s disease and detect whether other treatments are working
• 18% goes directly towards untreated symptoms – available treatments for Parkinson’s address only some symptoms and bring on highly disabling side effects, reducing quality of life for Parkinson’s patients and families
• 8% goes into tools creation – the Foundation creates and distributes critical research tools to help investigators spend more time focusing on what matters: curing Parkinson’s disease.

Related Links

• The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
• Team Fox website
• Creations for Parkinson’s website
• Creation Park SLurl (Rated: General)

Anyone with Parkinson’s disease who is interested in learning more about Tredi Felisimo’s research at Frantastica, can contact her in-world, or via email at dzdavis-at-uoregon.edu.

Grendel’s Children is seven years old this year. To mark the event, they’re holding a special hunt, The Seventh Element Hunt, offering participants opportunities for fun, quests and prizes.

The hunt, which started on Sunday September 22nd, progresses over seven days – one day for each year that Grendel’s has been open. But don’t worry about missing the initial days; all the previous days quest paths will remain open through the hunt period, and all seven days will be available for people to participate in them for a short period after the final day has been unveiled, so everyone has time to get involved.

Toady Nakamura invited me to join her in the first stage of the quest, and we met up at the starting-point for our adventure: outside the Cartographer’s office, down in the basement level of Grendel’s.

“Recently, Kobold Scouts came through here and left bottles from their favourite types of cactus juice, all over the place.” Toady informed me, as we waited for the Cartographer. “But you know Kobold traders! They always want everything picked up, so they will give us prizes in return for the bottles. All we have to do is collect the bottles!”

She smiled up at me, continuing, “And of course, Kobolds have a great sense of humour, so watch out, they have some unusual names for beverages! You are more likely to find a Fire bottle, near a fire or a flame, and so on as the days progress.  And the Kobolds may have used them as candle holders, water bottles, or dropped and broken some of them, so be on the lookout!”

In all there are three kinds of bottles to find: Smashed, Misshapen and Complete, and each day hunters must locate and collect three Smashed, two Misshapen and one Complete bottle to trade with the Kobolds when they return.

The bottles represent the seven Kobold mystical elements, with each day’s hunt focused on a particular element: Fire, Acid, Ice, Shadow, Darkness, Lightning, and Earth. Quite where to find them isn’t obvious to start with – Grendel’s is a big place, and as Toady said, the Kobold traders have a sense of humour.

Fortunately, Grendel’s Cartographer has been keeping an eye on things, and has put together of few clues and hints to help people on their way each day, which is why the Cartographer’s office is the starting-point for each stage of the quest.

“Each day, start here in my office, and touch the new item on my desk for the starting point of the quest, and perhaps, a hint or two,” the Cartographer said after greetings had been exchanged, “Other hints will be offered along the way.

“The first day is the easiest of all days and the hardest of all days.  Easiest because the clues will be very straightforward, but hardest because you have yet to develop a search image for the Kobold’s discarded bottles.  Today’s bottle looks like the one on my desk.

“So now you must find The Book of Fire in the Library, it looks just like this copy on my desk.  Touch it, and begin your quest. Remember! If you find anything really interesting or curious, like bottles or a dragon’s nest, don’t forget to touch it!” And with a wave of a hand, we were dismissed.

The directions for the first day were rather specific, to find The Book of Fire in the library. But as Toady remarked, as we departed the Cartographer’s office and rounded the corner to enter the library, “Where to hide needle is not in haystack but in box of needles…”

With 280 titles in the library at Grendel’s, I could see what she meant. Fortunately, Toady has keen eyes, and soon the book was discovered, together with another clue. Touching the book revealed a secret passage with stairs winding ever deeper into the bowels of Grendel’s, leading to pair of passages, one marked by green carpet, the other by lit sconces, the flames illuminating a long tunnel. Follow the fire had been the instruction – and so we did. Heading towards the sound of deep snoring as we set out on our adventure…

Where the clues lead you each day will vary, but you can be sure that with Toady’s and Flea’s inventiveness, you’re in for some fun times. Again, don’t forget that while your main task is to collect the empty cactus juice bottles, there are other things to collect and do along the way. Eggs, for example may give hints and perhaps more to help you on your way. Do be sure to wear your Egg Backpack once you have been given it. And don’t forget the nests, either! Standing near the latter and touching the former will – well, you’ll see, when you join the quest!

There are some additional things to keep in mind as well:

• Bottles have different value, from the least (Smashed) to the greatest (Complete). They can be traded with the Kobolds, when they arrive, for prizes  – however DON’T rez or touch the bottles once you have collected them before the Kobolds arrive. If you do, they will vanish, and you’ll have to start collecting for that day again
• You’ll need a full set of three Smashed, two Misshapen and one Complete bottle from each day in order to trade for that day’s Pristine bottle. A full set of “Pristine Vessels” will unlock the ultimate prize
• You may be sent off sim for certain items, suggested locations may be found in the kiosk near the Grendel’s entrance.

Redemption Days: soon after the last day of the hunt, the Kobolds will arrive in their airships. At that time, bottles can be redeemed for goodies from the traders before they continue onwards on their journey.

A full set of rules will be given to you at the start of the quest. Good luck and happy hunting!

Related Links

• Grendel’s Children landing point SLurl (Rated: Moderate)
• Grendel’s Children in the Destination Guide