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The largest fantasy-related event to take place in Second Life, Fantasy Faire 2026, opened its gates to Fairelanders at 12:00 SLT on Thursday, April 23rd, 2026. It will remain open through until Sunday May 10th, 2026 inclusive, once again raising money for Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) efforts to bring about a World Without Cancer. |
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As with previous years, 2026 will see a wide range of activities and events taking place at the Faire, with role-play, parties, Jail & Bail, the LitFest, live performances, auctions, and more, together with the using multiple opportunities for fantasy- focused shopping.
The notes below are intended to get Fairelanders old and new up-to-speed with a one-page look at the event as it opens.
If You Are New to the Faire and Other Notes
If you are new to Fantasy Faire, the many regions it encompasses can be overwhelming to the point where you might fill panicked into trying to see everything at once.. But – the Fire is here for two weeks, so you have lots of time to visit, and remember: shopping and sightseeing can be much easier once all the initial rush is over!
The best place to start a first-time visit is Fairelands Junction. From here you can reach all of the regions via the teleport portals, so it makes a good hub for exploring. You can also grab a Fantasy Faire teleport HUD from here (or at the region landing points).
Also:
- Keep up-to-date with the Faire and all that is going on through the official Fantasy Faire website.
- The Fairelands have their own mythology and history. If fantasy is your thing, be sure to read about the History of the Fairelands.
Enjoying a Better Experience / Performance
- For the best visual experience:
- Make sure your viewer is set to Use Shared Environment (World → Environment) as the regions all have their own environment settings, and several have dedicated day / night cycles.
- Try to travel light! Remove heavily scripted attachments you do not require for visiting the Fairelands – including any HUDs you don’t need while visiting (thus reducing things like the texture footprint they take up on your computer and the resources they might claim on the simulator, making the latter a little better for everyone).
- Please don’t use particle-generating attachments / effects, they may look pretty on you, but they can really impact performance.
- If you use them, turn off Shadows rendering.
- When there is no Linden Water visible, set Water reflections to None: Opaque.
- Reduce your Draw Distance to lighten loading.
- If you’re familiar with it, use the Improve Graphics Speed floater to adjust your viewer’s rendering and performance on-the-fly.
- Regions can be busy! So if you teleport into one, be sure to move a little way from the landing point as soon as you can to avoid becoming part of an avatar tower!
- And, despite the comments about HUDs above, don’t forget to pick up the Fantasy Faire Teleport HUD for quick and easy access to all the regions!
Shopping
Fantasy Faire is very much about shopping. Merchants from across SL can be found in the shopping regions, all of whom offer some of their items through official RFL of SL vendors, so that proceeds of sales go to RFL / ACS.
- The best way to find out about participating merchants and shopping is via the Fantasy Faire Shopping Catalogue and list of participating merchants.
- The Fantasy Faire website also offers updates and news on special galleries, and this will be updated throughout the Faire, and a Shopping for Men guide, so be sure to keep an eye on these.
Parties, Entertainment and Performances
The Fairechylde: DJ Events
The Fairechylde will once again be docked at the Faire, spending her time within The Golden Hour region, hosting DJ parties to keep Fairelanders entertained. These parties – live or via Fantasy Faire Radio – will be running right throughout the Faire.
Live Performances
Throughout the run of the Faire will be live performances by musicians, singers, dance troupes and more from across Second Life. Performances will be hosted on the Arts and Performance region of Pixieland.
The Fairelands Masked Ball
Fancy a more formal soiree where tuxedoes and gowns are encouraged and an air of mystery is added with eyes behind masks? Then head for the Fantasy Faire Masked Ball. Keep an eye on the 2026 Masked Ball page on the Fantasy Faire website for details..
Events and Activities Highlights
Literature, Theatre and Film Festivals 2026
Now in its 12th year, the Fantasy Faire Literary Festival is being hosted at The Golden Hour, and brings with it a celebration of fantasy in the form of story. The LitFest offers many ways to experience the stories of the Faire and inspire your own tales of journeys, wonders, and adventures.
- A core part of the LitFest are the region tours. Held on most days of the Faire at 13:00 and / or 17:00 SLT, offering the chance to explore the Fairelands and seeking the stories they have to tell as well as their special secret places and details. Find out more on the LitFest Tours of the Fairleands page.
- A further part of the LitFest is the Poetry Festival (TBA at the time of writing).
The Theatre Festival will feature Talks, Practical Sessions and Rehearsals all focused on stage productions in Second Life, and will include the premiere of a new play, 310788, at the end of the Faire!
The Film Festival is returning for its fifth year at Fantasy Faire. Led by Chantal Harvey and Saffia Widdershins within the Great Library, where there will be almost daily events at 11:00 SLT, including talks, discussions and retrospectives of the works of different machinimatographers.
All Literature, theatre and film festival events take place on The Lost Pages, and the full schedule of these events can be found in the Festivals Calendar.
Role-Play Activities and Classes
Role-play activities and classes will once again for a part of Fantasy Faire 2026. The featured role-play event will be The Squires of Garland and the Mystery of the Golden Hour.
Once upon a Time, Junction was the only Faireland that returned from the Mysts periodically. Every year, this magical realm changed completely and without explanation. The nature of Junction remains debated by scholars to this day with secrets still to be discovered. On the rare cases other realms returned from the Mysts they were mostly the same. However, the Golden Hour has now returned to the Faire for several years, but like Junction they constantly alter their own appearance.
The Golden Hour had always been seen as a realm devoid of danger. The Order saw the chance to delegate the study of the realm to Scholars and their Squires. The Squires of Garland are apprentice Bards that have not proven themselves worthy of advancement yet. They might not completely understand the orders ideals, but their hearts are ‘mostly’ in the right place. This is their chance to prove themselves.
– from The Squires of Garland and the Mystery of the Golden Hour
You can also learn more about the Squires of Garland here, and details on role-play classes, held at Moonfleet Bay, can be found on the 2026 Role Play Classes page.
Fantasy Faire Quest: The Pilgrim’s Forest
This year’s chapter of the Fantasy Faire adventure quest series is The Pilgrim’s Forest (details TBA at the time of writing). Once again the Bard Queen will call upon adventurers bold of heart to purchaser a Quest HUD (also proceeds to RFL / ACS) and follow the clues in a quest of two parts, the first a Fairelands-wide Hunt, and the second focus on the Quest region of ???.
You don’t have to join the Quest as soon as it opens; the prizes are for everyone who completes the adventure, and the Quest will be open right through until the end of the Faire.
And There’s More
Don’t forget, all the staples of Fantasy Faire will again be available, including the live auction, the silent auction and jail and bail – see the Fantasy Faire website for details on these .
Links and Region SLurls
| Website Links | Event Region SLurls | Shopping Region SLurls |
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