Temple of the Prim, one of the many Mole builds to be found around Second Life
Sunday, February 4th, 2024, marks the annual Mole Day celebrations in Second Life, and all SL residents are invited to attend festivities at the Bay City Fairgrounds, North Channel.
First held in 2010, Mole Day honours the members of the Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW), affectionately known as the “Moles”, resident builders and scripters contracted by Linden Lab to work on a wide range of projects in support of Second Life.
Since their inception, the Moles have have been responsible for many of the larger in-world Mainland development projects – most notably Bellisseria and the Linden Homes, although they created many of the more famous sights in Nautilus and elsewhere, as well as undertaking initial development of Zindra, the Adult continent and the futuristic-themed Horizons. They also maintain the Mainland road and rail infrastructure and Mainland waterways.
Beyond that, the Moles help develop content such as “new starter” avatars, including the Senra brands; they help develop and build Linden Games (and the Portal Park), play a key role in support Linden Lab partners in developing themes regions (such as the Motown Experience), and provide input and support to some of the out-world LL web properties.
One of the first major projects undertaken by the Moles was that of developing Bay City – hence the City’s annual celebration honouring them.
Normally held on the same day as Groundhog Day in the United States, Mole Day is open to all residents wishing to join in with the festivities, and will take place at the Bay City Fairgrounds on February 4th commencing at 11:00 SLT. The event will feature DJ GoSpeed Racer of KONA stream followed by a live performance from Evee Blackstar (Harleen Jester) at 12:00 noon SLT.
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 group for Residents of Bay City.
Saturday, January 13th will see the 2024 edition of Hippiestock take place in Second Life. A day-long music event, Hippiestock was established in 2011 by Hippie Bowman as a way to for him connect directly with friends he’d made through the Second Life forums.
Whilst intended as a “one-off”, such was the response to that first event in 2011, the Hippie agreed to consider making it an annual event -and 13 years later, we once again have the opportunity to come together with fun and music and to embrace the “hippie philosophy”, once described by Hippie himself as:
[A belief] in peace as the way to resolve differences among peoples, ideologies and religions. The way to peace is through love and tolerance. Loving means accepting others as they are, giving them freedom to express themselves and not judging them based on appearances. This is the core of the hippie philosophy.
– Hippie Bowman, January 2011
The event kicks-off at 09:00 SLT on Saturday January 13th, with the music line-up as follows:
The Hippiestock 2024 line-up
The venue has been designed to resemble the original Woodstock main stage, with a campground on the hills above it and a exhibition of art in keeping with the 1960s theme and presented by Ceakay Ballyhoo, who is also responsible for the overall build for the event.
So for some great music and the chance to peace out for the day, why not slip into something suitably flowing and emblematic of the period, put some flowers in your hair and join the fun?
Get the Red Carpet treatment at the Bay City Prim Drop 2023/24
Sunday, December 31st 2023 will once again see Bay City celebrate the turning of the year with their annual Prim Drop festivities.
An outdoor, black tie attire and/or full dress event, the Prim Drop is open to all Second Life residents, with festivities opening at 23:00 SLT at the Bay City Fairgrounds in North Channel. Marianne McCann will be providing the music and fireworks in a 2-hour extended DJ set, and food and drink will be provided.
This will also be the final opportunity for 2023 to donate to Child’s Play Charity, a US 501c3 non-profit organisation which helps seriously ill children around the globe during their hospital stays with the purchase of games and gaming equipment. So even if you can’t make it to the event itself, do please consider taking a couple of minutes out of your SL day and stopping by the Bay City Fairgrounds and making a donation via one of the collection bins there.
The Bay City Prim Drop 2022/23: seeing in the new year in Second Life
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 group for Residents of Bay City.
TheDickens Project, a seasonal celebration of the life, times and work of Charles Dickens with a focus on what is perhaps his most famous story, A Christmas Carol, officially opens to the public on Thursday, December 7th 2023.
Now a tradition within Second Life – the first edition of the event was held in 2012 (and which itself grew out of a special presentation originally made in 2008), the Dickens Project offers a mix of reading, storytelling, music, events and activities. It is organised and presented by Seanchai Library and offers visitors an immersive environment across two regions evocative of Victorian England in Dickens’ time. This two-region environment serves as both home to settings from A Christmas Carol and the stage upon which the Project’s multiple events and activities take place throughout it run, which concludes in early January 2024. However, this year’s event brings with it some changes.
“This project has a lot of history and long time fans have a lot of ownership over elements that are favourites … We try to balance retaining things that are familiar with exploring new ideas and new ways to improve the experience for our guests
– Caledonia Skytower, Seanchai Library
For 2023, and following the success of Where’s Mr. Lurky?, a search-and-count style hunt during Seanchai Library’s 2023 Bradbury Project (read more here), the 2023 Edition of The Dickens Project will see visitors invited to Help Tiny Tim! who has left his crutch somewhere, everywhere across the two Dickens regions and which visitors are invited to find in all of its various hiding places. Information on the hunt can be found at the event’s Welcome Area.
Another new feature this year is a celebration of the myth of mermaids. Depicted in many ways throughout history, from lithe beautiful maidens to grotesque fish hybrids, mermaids were also a source of fascination in the Victorian era. For 2023, the Dickens Project offers a fascinating display of some of the art and stories surrounding these mythical creatures. Curated by Dagmar Kohime, the display can be found at the lighthouse within Dickens Harbour.
The Dickens Project 2023 Edition
As with the 2022 Edition, The Dickens Project is this year assisted by a local SL Experiences to help with navigation and general enjoyment. All three are explained at the Project’s Welcome Area. They will be triggered automatically for anyone visiting the Project for the very first time, when approaching one of the teleport portals around the walls of the Welcome Area – so if you are new the the Project, expect the pop-up invite to join the Experiences and accept it when it appears. To also assist visitors with the layout of the regions, the floor of the Welcome Area also includes a map of both regions which highlight locations of interest.
Throughout its history, The Dickens Project has promoted communities through events and activities held throughout its annual run, and 2023 is no exception. Participating this year are: Virtual Community Radio, Innsmouth in SL, Evolution Dance, Idle Rogue Productions, Misfit Dance and Performance Art SL, and Virtuoso Dance, eClipse Club & Resort, and the SL Hawks Aerobatic Team. Some of these communities have dedicated spaces within the Project’s regions which can be reached via the teleport portals at the Welcome Areas, others- such as the Hawks Aerobatic Team. will be visiting to provide special shows.
The Dickens Project 2023 Edition
Also returning for 2023 is the Community Virtual Library, once again providing research and information on Victorian life in the time of Dickens’ works, whilst making a first and special appearance of December 30th is the Angelicus Boy Choir. Finally, the Project will see a broad range of entertainment and parties featuring DJs and live musicians from across Second Life.
Readings
Of course, no edition of the Project would be complete without the readings from Dickens’ a Christmas Carol.
The first such reading for 2023 will take place at 17:00 SLT on Thursday, December 7th, when the Community Virtual Library will host the Virtual Pioneers reading A Christmas Carol: Christmas Present. Then at noon SLT on Sunday, December 17th, 2023, there will be The Big Read, a relay-style reading of A Christmas Carol in its entirety.
The latter will mark the start of Carol Week, with daily readings for parts of the novella throughout the week of December 18th through 21st, each reading taking place at a location within the Project inspired by the story. In addition, a listening room is available 24/7 where guests can listen to different recordings of A Christmas Carol on the media stream, and a HUD can be obtained by visitors who would like to explore listening to the story stream, rather than the music stream.
The full calendar of events for the Project is provided below – note all times are SLT.
To keep up-to-date on daily events and updates, be sure to keep an eye on the Seanchai Library website.
Dickens Project Art Show
Returning for 2023 is the Dickens Project Art Show, which is currently open (until December 17th, 2023) to submissions from artists.
This is a non-juried show which will formally open on December 23rd, 2023 with a special opening party at 15:30 SLT on that day. Artists are invited to submit 2D art (some 3D art can be accommodated by arrangement), with the organisers given priority to art with the following themes:
Elements of The Dickens Project.
Victorian Christmas.
Winter beauty.
Multiple submissions are allowed, but the number of works shown per artist may be limited in order to allow as many artists to be represented as possible.
Submissions should be made via notecard to Stevie Basevi. These notecards should include: the artist’s full SL Name (that is, Display Name and account name); the artist’s physical world time zone or best SL times when they can be contacted; a brief description of the piece + an artist biography; a *preview* image of the art to be submitted (i.e. a lower-resolution, thumbnail copy in order to provide the organisers with an idea of the work – not the art itself); and optional links to a related website, Flickr page, etc., for the artist.
General enquiries – including those concerning 3D art submissions – should also be forwarded to Stevie Basevi.
The Dickens Project 2023 Edition
About Seanchai Library
Seanchai Library (pronounced Shawn-a-kee, which means “Storyteller” in Irish Gaelic.) was founded in March of 2008 in Second Life. The program remains dedicated to promoting the power of stories to transform and inspire through live voice presentations: “We bring stories of all kinds to life, in Second Life and other virtual worlds.”
The Dickens Project was created for Seanchai Library by Da5id Abbot, Dagmar Kohime, Gloriana Maertens, Stevie Basevi-Morane, Iniry Vaher, and Caledonia Skytower, in presenting it, Seanchai Library acknowledges the support and sponsorship of Linden Lab.
On Sunday, December 3rd, 2023, Bay City will once again be hosting their annual Christmas Tree Lighting and fund-raising event. With it comes an opportunity to support Child’s Play Charity, a 501c3 non-profit organisation offering on-line communities such as the Bay City Alliance the ability to help seriously ill children around the globe during their hospital stays via the purchase and donation of games and gaming equipment.
Activities will commence at 13:00 SLT and run through until 16:00 SLT, taking place at the Bay City fairgrounds. On offer will be:
Live entertainment by performers Wolfie Starfire and Essence Bilasimo, and music by DJ GoSpeed Racer.
A skating party around the base of the tree.
The tree lighting itself.
Refreshments and fun.
Funds will be raised via a silent auction that will run through until the close of the event. On offer is an impressive range of items kindly donated by designers and creators from across Second Life, including Madpea, the Genus Project, Javatar Mocha, Buzzbox Munro, Junk Food, Cica Ghost, Shippe & Saille, Plato Novo, Caly Applewhyte, ChristiSart, Dutch Mainsail, and Vicious Hollow. Bids are made via vendor, and should your bid be exceeded by another, your Linden dollars will be automatically refunded. You can, of course, increase your bid if you wish. Items will be awarded to the highest bid when the auction closes.
Bay City Christmas Tree Lighting 2023
In addition, donation kiosks are be provided in the Fairgrounds for those who would like to support Child’s Play without participating in the auction. The 2022 Tree Lighting raised L$15,1576 for the charity, and the organisers are hoping to exceed that this year – and such is the impressive range of items in the auction, I’m pretty sure they will!
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. To find out more, contact Marianne McCann in-world.
Bay City and the Bay City Alliance and Child’s Play
Bay City and the Bay City Alliance have a long history of fund-raising for Child’s Play, and in 2016, they received special recognition by the charity, being awarded Silver Level sponsor on the Child’s Play’s website.
A professional conference held in-world in Second Life that is to the public, IDRAC features an international line-up of guest speakers each year, with individual sessions lasting between 30 and 90 minutes, and may include opportunities for Q&A. For those who cannot make the in-world venue, it is live streamed via the Virtual Ability You Tube channel.
IDRAC 2023, via Virtual Ability Inc.
The theme of the conference this year is Do, Create, Live, and sessions are as follows (all times SLT):
07:00
Joseph English (QuadRebuild) will talk about how setting up QuadRebuild to help others changed his new life as a quadriplegic.
07:30
Erin Willis and Daniel Garza (University of Colorado, Boulder, Lilmesican Productions, Inc) will explain their research on patient influencers who do direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical marketing.
08:30
Emily Wright (It’ll Be Alwright), who survived multiple concussions, explains how she rebalanced her mind
09:30
Downs Syndrome sufferer John Cronin and his father Mark describe running John’s business, John’s Crazy Socks.
10:30
Panel discussion: what “Do, Create, Live” means in education.
11:00
30-minutes break.
11:30
Keri Gray (Keri Gray Consulting Group) discusses the National Alliance of Melanin Disabled Advocates (the NAMED Advocates).
Noon
Panel discussion: what “Do, Create, Live” means in the arts.
12:30
Judy Mittag explains how advocates got federal legislation passed to require insurance coverage for lymphedema supplies
13:30
Heather Markham (Making Waves for Good) shares how we can each choose a title for our own stories
My Apologies to Gentle Heron and the VI team for the tardiness in getting this article published; life has me somewhat at sixes and sevens at the moment.
Since their inception, the Moles have have been responsible for many of the larger in-world Mainland development projects – most notably Bellisseria and the Linden Homes, although they created many of the more famous sights in Nautilus and elsewhere, as well as undertaking initial development of Zindra, the Adult continent and the futuristic-themed Horizons. They also maintain the Mainland road and rail infrastructure and Mainland waterways.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 