Tag: Misc Events

Escapades at five in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Join the celebrations at Escapades Island on September 5th-6th, 2015
Join the celebrations at Escapades Island on September 5th-6th, 2015

Loki Eliot’s Escapades Island is celebrating five years of activities in Second Life this weekend, and the gates are being thrown wide to all, with an open invitation for people hop over and join in the fun.

Things actually got under-way on Friday, September 4th – but there is still plenty of time and lots of opportunities for people to share in the festivities.

Loki describes the celebrations as, “a weekend of events celebrating 5 years of Escapades Island, as a way to thank all those who have supported the island by helping pay the expensive tier costs and playing the silly games.”

For those unfamiliar with the Digital Mischief Maker, Loki is the developer and creator of a wide range of mesh clothing, accessories, avatars, buildings and complete packaged games, including his brilliant Battle Balloons, in which players can take to the air in steampunk inspired balloons / airships and engage in air-to-air battles – see my review for more. He’s also extremely generous of his time with others (he once created and made available an entire starship battles game simply because he wanted to give his friend Billy, a Star Trek fan, “something epic”).

Escapades Island is Loki’s in-world outlet (so to speak) for his creative flair, offering a rich diversity of activities, some of them using the very latest from the Lab – such as the relatively new Experiences capabilities, while also showcasing his own creations and offering friends  and newcomers alike entertainment fun.

Escapades Island offers a host of activities, games and adventures open to anyone to enjoy
Escapades Island offers a host of activities, games and adventures open to anyone to enjoy

For the weekend, Loki has a whole range of activities planned, the schedules set out as follows (all times SLT):

Saturday, September 5th

12:00 noon
 Battle Balloon Brawl Trophy competition – round 1: players are invited to take to the air in the Battle Balloons to fight it out and be the last one flying
13:00
 Pirate Party with host Gemini Enfield – possible tavern brawls and a treasure hunt!
15:00
 Pufferfish Panic! – A race around the island
16:00
 Battle Balloon Brawl Trophy competition – round 2: players are invited to take to the air in the Battle Balloons to fight it out and be the last one flying
Experience Loki's Balloon Battles first hand
Experience Loki’s Balloon Battles first hand at the Escapades 5th anniversary celebrations

Sunday, September 6th

12:00 noon
 Goonies Beach Party
13:00
 Rocket Hoovers Race
14:00
 Epic Battle Brawl – location to be discovered!
15:00
 Beach Fire Chillout – just kick-back and relax

So, if you’re looking for something fun and different to do this weekend, why not drop in on the fun? And if you haven’t previously visited Escapades Island, this could be the perfect opportunity for you to do so.

Which just leaves me to wish a happy anniversary to Escapades – and pass warmest congratulations to Loki!

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ROMEA Country, Rock and Folk Festival in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The RoMea Country, Rock and Folk Festival stage area
The Romea Country, Rock and Folk Festival stage area

Ciaran Laval pointed me towards the Romea Country, Rock and Folk Festival which will be taking place on the Meva store home region over the course of Saturday, August 29th and Sunday, August 30th, 2015 (although I’m admittedly a little late in getting this post written and out).

Organised by the Meva team of Rock (TheRock Guardrian) and Mea Carnell, who together form Romea and own the Meva brand (although the Festival is part of their Romea Musics activities), the event will take place in a very country-ish environment and across times that suit audiences on both side of the Atlantic.

The full schedule is is follows, and my thanks to Mea for passing the information over to me. Note that in keeping with Mea’s format, times are given in SLT, with their UK and European equivalents in brackets.

If the dancing get too much - cool off and refresh yourself in the barn - the Romea Country, Rock and Folk festival
If the dancing get too much – cool off and refresh yourself in the barn – the Romea Country, Rock and Folk Festival

Saturday, August 29th

10:00 (18:00 UK / 19:00 CET)
 Live Singer – Jeffah24
11:00 (19:00 UK / 20:00 CET)
 Live Singer – Jade Berry
12:00 (20:00 UK / 21:00 CET)
 Live Singer – Clyde Barrow
13:00 (21:00 UK / 22:00 CET)
 Live Singer – Nance Brody
14:00 (22:00 UK / 23:00 CET)
 Live Singer – Zoree Jupiter

Sunday, August 30th

05:00 (13:00 UK / 14:00 CET)
 Live Singer – Mimi Carpenter
06:00 (14:00 UK / 15:00 CET)
 Live Singer – Garth Lannock
07:00 (15:00 UK / 16:00 CET)
 Live Singer – Lisa Brune
08:00 (16:00 UK / 17:00 CET)
 DJ – Onisa Lundquist
10:00 (18:00 UK / 19:00 CET)
 Live Singer – Donny Collazo
11:00 (19:00 UK / 20:00 CET)
 Live Singer – NormReynolds Genesis
12:00 (20:00 UK / 21:00 CET)
  Live Singer – Russel Eponym
14:00 (22:00 UK / 23:00 CET)
 Live Singer – Katiaportugal Genesis

So, if country, rock or folk musics is your thing, why not hop over and engage in a little line dancing or enjoy the music?

The Romea Country, Rock and Folk Festival
The Romea Country, Rock and Folk Festival

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Cthulhu says, Join the LoveFest in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Who knows what you might find wandering the street of LoveFest ...
Who knows what you might find wandering the streets of LoveFest …

Now under way, and running through until Sunday, August 23rd, is LoveFest, the annual H. P Lovecraft Festival. Timed to coincide with  the 125th anniversary of Lovecraft’s birth (August 20th), the festival has been organised by the HP Lovecraft Roleplay (and more) Group of Second Life (HPL RPG), and once again features the Autism National Committee (AutCom) of the United States as its charity.

2015 marks the 4th year for the Festival – which I took time out to visit in 2014, including having a go at the interactive adventure which had been set-up for that event. 2015 sees the Festival host another adventure – but this time it’s in the form of a grid-wide hunt, and the official website explains:

Presiding Presence: HP Lovecraft watches over the LoveFest proceedings
Presiding Presence: HP Lovecraft watches over the LoveFest proceedings

This year’s Lovecraft Festival is thrilled to present our multi-sim Lovecraftian Story Quest adventure ‘The Heart of Llhao”

You find yourself at the renowned Miskatonic University of Arkham, Massachusetts, where a recently discovered American Indian artefact, “The Heart of Llhao,” was scheduled to be unveiled to the public. Tragically, the item has been stolen, and the university has become a crime scene investigation.

Inspect the area, gather clues and items of interest, and follow the trail to find and recover this mysterious relic of tribal legend!

This event is designed as an interactive “who-dun-it” with a decidedly Lovecraft-inspired edge.

…and, of course, a guaranteed finale to truly honour the spirit of H.P. Lovecraft’s eerie, often horrific, endings!

The Festival region sits as a suitably atmospheric town with a very definite Lovecraftian feel to it. While the centre spaces offer plenty for the shopaholic, further out one can find event venues like the Cabaret Sybarite, and other points of interest, such as the carnival and the asylum.

Not everything is on the ground, of course. Touch the doors of the Cabaret Sybarite, for example, and you’ll be teleported up to the Cabaret hall. Find your way back to the doors to return “outside”.

Entertainment will be on offer throughout the event – check the Festival’s event calendar for details, or take a look at the event board at the landing point. First up will be the Grand Opening Dark Cabaret and Electro-Swing, featuring DJ Fitch Lekvoda. Of particular notes during the week is the special KittyCats Benefit Auction, which will see the Festival organisers team-up with KittyCats between 14:00 and 18:00 SLT on Wednesday, August 19th, to raise additional funds for AutCom.

On this note, it should be recognised that LoveFest is recognised by AutCom, with a member of their board actively involved in running the Festival, and that to date, all of the festival’s vendor fees, as well on-site donations at the festival, have gone straight to AutCom’s coffers, helping them in their campaign to increase awareness and education concerning Autism Spectrum conditions.

A Lovecraft Carnival...
Carnival – LoveFest style!

For those who like their Lovecraft live, Virginia will be hosting dramatic readings on Monday August 17th (12:00 noon-14:00 SLT) and on Wednesday 19th (18:00-20:00). Karaoke, cabaret sets, dancing, and even seven seas fishing, will all be taking place through the week. The official programme of activities will sign-off between 20:00 and 23:00 on Saturday, August 22nd, bringing things full circle as DJ Fitch Lekvoda spins the tunes once more at the Cabaret Sybarite.

So, if you fancy a bit of a spooky time or wish to immerse yourself in an atmosphere filled with Lovecraft or are simply feeling a little Cthulhu deprived, why not hop on over? Just remember, the great man will be watching everything that goes on…

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Music and art at an Indie Teepee in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Indie Teepee: Eupalinos Ugajin's installation
Indie Teepee: Eupalinos Ugajin’s installation

Indie Teepee is a region-wide celebration of music and art in Second Life. It officially opened on July 10th (with a pay-to-see preview day on July 9th), and will run through until July 24th.

It is billed as an annual event, and has been inspired by physical world music and art festivals, so offers a wide-ranging programme featuring rock, indie, hip hop, electronic dance, and live performances in the music genres; while from the world of art it features installations by Bryn Oh, Eupalinos Ugajin, ByrneDarklyCazalet, Belua Broadfoot and her partner Elsie Wonder, and M4SK22 Melody and Kanjena Sweetleaf, who present their own machinima programme. As well as these, the event also boasts shopping, literature and poetry, a roller derby, skateboarding and wrestling – making things quite a mix!

Indie Teepee: one of the three music stages
Indie Teepee: one of the three music stages

The best place to get information about all that is going on is via the official Indie Teepee website. This is well put together, presenting a lot of information on the event, including schedules, background information, participant biographies and notes, plus podcasts from the previous days.

Music for the event is divided among three stages, all of them simply referred to as Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3, with the main schedule providing key times for performances, as mentioned, together with individual pages for the live performers,and DJs and more from the music side of activities.

Indie Teepee: art by
Indie Teepee: art by Belua Broadfoot with music by Elsie Wonder

The region itself is well designed, offering an semi-desert like environment surrounded by high mesas. A central sandy hill offers plenty of space for the main music stage on its flat top, the remaining two located to the south and north and all three well separated to prevent any overlap of sounds.

The main landing point and information hub sits in the south-east corner of the region, close to the roller derby arena and Skateboarding teleport. Paths from this lead the way around the island – although given the size of some of the art installations, they are a little hard to miss!

Indie Teepee: the literary corner
Indie Teepee: the literary corner

Shopping is split between three areas around the region, a nice move that further encourages exploration and discovery, leading one through the art installation, past the galleries, literary corner and machinima drive-in in the process.

Do note that several of the art installations are interactive to one degree or another, and there are a number of freebie givers scattered around, so careful hovering on the mouse can be in order when wandering. Some parcels may also offer their own windlight settings as well, so be sure to accept them in order to experience them as intended (most noticeably in the art installations).

Indie Tepee: I take a break with Bryn Oh (foreground) and cica Ghost (right) on Bryn's birds - although she and cica sit on their perches a lot me elegantly than I do (at the back)!
Indie Tepee: I take a break with Bryn Oh (foreground) and Cica Ghost (right) on Bryn’s birds – although Bryn and Cica sit on their perches a lot more elegantly than I do (at the back)!

So, if you fancy mixing music and art while enjoying a little shopping, or fancy a little skateboarding or roller skating, you might want to drop into Indie Tepee between now and July 24th.

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Celebrating historical communities in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The DECADES event region
The Decades event region

Commencing at 12:01 AM on Saturday, June 27th is a special 24-hour event celebrating historical role-play and educational communities in all their forms throughout Second Life.

Decades is a collaborative event involving a core team of 12 people who have come together to develop and build an incredible region of event areas, builds, exhibits and landscaping in  which no fewer than 19 live and / or interactive events will be held over the 24 hours (see the schedule below) amidst a total of 11 exhibition and activity spaces.

describing the event when inviting me to a special preview of the region, Sister (SisterButta), one of the organisers (and the co-conspirator in the original idea from which Decades grew, along with Freda Frostbite), said, “Most of us can think of at least one historical and/or educational region or RP community in SL that has been lost forever due to difficulties of financing these very precious and specialized builds and communities. We hope Decades can play a part in stemming the tide, increasing awareness and build bridges between people from all around the metaverse who celebrate history of whatever era.”

The Decades Pavilion
The Decades Pavilion

Throughout the event, people will be able to join-in with activities, tour exhibits, enjoy live performances, and more. There will be balloon rides and pony rides, even a zip line.  There is an historical ship to explore and an aerospace museum which – I can honestly say – is perhaps the best of its kind I’ve seen in Second Life; put together in less than 3 weeks and incorporating the guiding hand of a genuine NASA engineer.

Donations and funds raised through the kiosks scattered across the region will go directly to Historical Communities and Royal Courts,  which is designed to be an umbrella website for historical communities in virtual worlds, with the intent for it to become a clearing house for information on communities, events and activities. A place where people throughout the metaverse with an interest in historical RP and education can brain-storm and which can provide resources to for educators and historians in the use of immersive virtual environments.

Decades actually started quite modestly just a few weeks ago. “Originally, Freda and I thought, ‘oh, let’s have a dance to raise money for Royal Courts,” Sister told me as we wandered through the gardens of the region. “Then I said, ‘I’ll do an art exhibit of paintings from different time periods…’, and then…and then…voilà. it grew! Fast!”

Decades offers plenty to see and explore
In Memoriam, one of several places to visit at Decades

As it grew, so Decades attracted more and more support, with  Jacon Cortes de Bexar, Cloee Heslop, LadyFandango, Merrytricks,  Robijn, Claire-Sophie de Rocoulle, Aldo Stern, Heximander Thane,  Serenek Timeless and  Lucerius Zeffirelli all playing key roles in establishing the region and its associated activities, together with Freda and Sister.

Touring the region, I couldn’t help but be taken by the care with which everything has been put together and presented. As already noted, the Regional Air and Space Museum in the north-east corner of the region is simply mind-boggling in the exhibits it offers, drawing on content creators from across Second Life – and it is something I’d love to see preserved well into the future.

Towards the centre of the region there’s the main pavilion, with a display of historical horse-drawn and road vehicles, again from creators across SL, to one side, as well a a small display of vehicles of war from Da Vinci and the two World Wars; and an art display on the other. And that’s just the start – there really is a lot to see; I’m only going to make passing mention of Merrytricks’ delightful House of Cards maze, the fashion pavilion, the observatory, and the arts and period exhibitions going on throughout the event – so if you want to know more about them, make sure you set aside time on Saturday to visit Decades!

Decades: the Observatory on the hill
Decades: the Observatory on the hill

Continue reading “Celebrating historical communities in Second Life” →

Next Lab meet-up: Basilique Town – Thursday, May 14th

Posted on by Inara Pey
Basilique Town - selected as the venue of the Thursday, May 14th Linden meet-up
Basilique Town – selected as the venue of the Thursday, May 14th Linden meet-up

On Friday, May 8th, Xiola Linden extended an invitation to users to suggest the location for the next in-world Linden meeting-up.

Many suggestions were forthcoming for the event, which has, since it’s resumption, taken place at “Mole Town”, aka Meauxle Bureaux (see my report on the last gathering).

However, the venue for the next meet-up has now been confirmed. Scheduled to take place from 13:00 on Thursday, May 14th, the gathering will take place at Canary Becks’ outstanding Basilique Town.

The Basilique Theatre
The Basilique Theatre, Basilique Town

For those who have not visited Basilique before, you’re in for a treat. Frequently featured in blogs as a place of outstanding beauty and design. There’s a host of things to see and do here, and the region hosts events of its own and is, of course, the home of the Basilique Performing Arts Company, who has staged the outstanding Romeo + Juliet and ground-breaking Paradise Lost at the threatre occupying the south-east corner of the region.

With its mix of architecture, outlining islands and backdrop of rugged peaks, Basilique presents a wonderful Mediterranean look which blends a cosmopolitan feel with more coastal, rural look which simply invites exploration.

So, even if you don’t make the Linden meet-up, and have not visited Basilique Town before, make sure you add it to your itinerary!

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