Thursday March 21st will see an all-day concert staged at the SL Buddy Walk 2013, which I previewed recently.
The live concert kicks-off at 14:00 SLT to mark World Down Syndrome Day, although there will be music from DJs throughout the morning and leading up to the concert itself, kicking off at 10:00 SLT.
All proceeds made during the concert via the donation boxes on and around the spectacular stage will go directly to the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS).
Concert Schedule
14:00: Tom 2.0
15:00: CQ – Colorful Quiet
16:00: Maximillion Kleene
17:00: The Follow
18:00: Porter Paquot
19:00: Amforte Clarity
20:00: Colt Shostakovich
21:00: Noma Falta
22:00: Edward Kyomoon
Early morning: the 2013 SL Buddy Walk dance floors and stage beyond. The concert starts at 14:00 SLT on Thursday March 21st.
DJs for the Rest of the Event
The current line-up of DJs and music entertainment for the rest of the event comprises (please check with the SL Buddy Walk blog for updates):
Thursday, March 21st:
10:00 – midday: Meca4life
Midday – 14:00: Lette4life27
Friday, March 22nd:
16:00 – 18:00: Willybenz
18:00 – 20:00: Jennifer Lunz
20:00 – 21:00: Kaleb Avedon
Saturday, March 23rd:
14:00 – 16:00: Mystic Glenwalker
18:00 – 20:00: Dalliah Love
20:00 – 21:00: Michy Hendisson singing live
Tuesday, March 26th:
16:00 – 17:00: Kakeb Avedon
Sunday March 31st:
13:00 – 15:00:Nimeral Bearsfeet
15:00 – 17:00: Kaleb Avedon
Also remember that the SL Buddy Walk fair continues through until March 31st, featuring a host of SL designers and creators, with all donates make via the donation boxes in the fair plazas going directly to the NDSS, as do the proceeds of sales from the special vendors creators have on display, with some creators donating up to 100% of all proceeds from their sales – look for the in-store signs.
Sunday March 17th sees the launch of the fifth SL Buddy Walk in aid of Down Syndrome awareness and the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS).
First held in 2008, the SL Buddy Walk has become an annual event in the SL calendar, and has up until this year been a one-day event of music and fund-raising in aid of the NDSS. However, this year see the start of something a little different.
Running through until March 31st, and marking World Down Syndrome Day on March 21st, the SL Buddy Walk will once again feature a range of live entertainment and events, together with a chance to walk the SL Buddy Walk and learn more about Down Syndrome, the work of the NDSS and raise money in support of the Society’s work.
The SL Buddy Walk 2013 fair – shops and carts and opportunities to donate to the work of the NDSS
The event kicks-off on the 17th March, with the start of a two-week fair featuring a host of SL designers and creators, hosted in a specially designed region sponsored by Surreal Estates. All donations made during the fair will go directly to the National Down Syndrome Society, as will the proceeds of sales made through the special vendors displayed by by the participating creators and designers in their stores, with many creators opting to donate the proceeds of at least some, if not all, of their sales made through their fair stores /carts to the NDSS, regardless as to whether or not the sales are made via the special vendors.
Then, on the 21st March, to mark World Down Syndrome Day itself, there will be an all-day concert which will include performances by Tom Q, Colorful Quiet, Maximillion Kleene, The Follow, Porter Paquot, Noma Falta and Edward Kyomoon. The music kicks-off at 14:00 SLT. Keep up-to-date with entertainment announcements through the SL Buddy Walk blog. Donations made to the on-stage donation boxes will again go to the NDSS at the conclusion of this year’s Buddy Walk.
In addition, visitors to the region will be able to visit informational kiosks and boards where they can understand more about Down Syndrome and the work of the NDSS. The region is beautifully landscaped, and also offers places to meet friends and sit and chat, as well the two main fair locations and the stage and walk.
The motivating power behind SL Buddy Walk is JL Zinner, who has brought together a talented team to organise and run the event in Second Life. Her dedication to the work of the NDSS and to Buddy Walk is prehaps best expressed through her inspirational video Brandon is My Firework.
On Saturday February 23rd, the Independent Ballet Company premiered its newest presentation, Accept, which is now on tour across Second Life.
Based on an original concept by IBC’s Deyna Broek, Accept blends ballet with modern dance, featuring both individual and group-synched dance pieces.
Set in modern times, the story follows the journey of four young women with very different personal histories, as they face their unique challenges, and each look at those around them – making judgments and observing the world around them, seeing only barriers, and who are all brought together by their mutual love of dance.
There is Celine Clare, or “CC” (danced and voiced by Dubhna Rhiadra), who comes from a supportive home where her upbringing has been marked by activism and where she has been encouraged to be true to her own beliefs. CC is her parent’s child, as she questions the norms of teen peer judgments by choosing her own path.
Emma (danced by Deadly Deed and voiced by Caledonia Skytower) is a talented, hardworking dancer. Raised by her grandmother following the deaths of her parents, Emma finds herself living on the streets when her grandmother unexpectedly passes away.
The principal dancers: CC (Dubhna Rhiadra), Emma (Deadly Deed and Caledonia Skytower), Amy (Annamaria Manatiso) and Phoebe Tiana (Deyna Broek)
Amy (danced and voiced by AnnamariaManatiso) comes from a poor but loving, and supportive home. She struggles with her self-confidence, knowing she’s a talented dancer, but is embarrassed by the second-hand, and often badly worn dance gear she wears by necessity because of her family’s financial challenges.
Phoebe Tiana (danced and voiced by Deyna Broek) has grown up with all the advantages of life and under the guidance of a prima ballerina mother, but she struggles with a low self-image. She has the desire, even the talent, but fears that she just doesn’t “have the genes” to make it as a dancer.
Something sparks between these girls, and they challenge the barriers they face, embracing their diversity, tearing down the walls that separate them. They come together and begin to see their world as larger than themselves; learning lessons of tolerance, compassion, and empathy as they come of age as dancers, and as women.
Tour Dates
Following a successful premiere, Accept is now on tour across the grid, with current dates as follows (all times SLT):
Saturday April 6th, (time TBA – please check the IBC website) – The Garden at UUtopia
All shows are free admission (gratuites permitted and accepted with thanks), and are presented in Voice.
Interested in booking Accept? Contact Dubhna Rhiadra for more details and to make your reservation.
Tips on Attending
Live performances in virtual worlds frequently faces challenges such as lag. Virtual Dance is no exception to this, particularly as it involves a lot of scripting and gestures. To assist in the audience’s enjoyment of the show, therefore, patrons attending any presentation of Accept are respectively asked to consider:
Arriving early: performances can be held up as a result of a lot of people arriving just before the curtain is due to go up, and who inevitably suffer rendering delays, problems getting voice / audio streaming active, etc. A slightly earlier arrival ensures these things can be dealt with easier and without the fear of missing part of the show
reducing lag both in the viewer and on the region where the performance is taking place by: removing any heavily scripted HUDs and other items; wearing lower-prim hair; dispensing with the bling; turning off nametags / Show Lookat to reduce the number of things your viewer has to process
Making sure your mic is off before you arrive, if you use Voice as a part of your SL. If someone obviously not a member of the cast does leave their mic open, the gentle thing to do is to open your “Active Speakers” list or “Nearby Voice” list, select the person, and roll the volume slider at the bottom of the window down and resume your enjoyment of the show
Keeping calm: most performances encourage audience reactions in local chat. It helps the performers know that you are there and having a good time. However, please save such noisemaking till it is time to applaud
It was raining in the City — a hard rain — almost hard enough to wash the slime from the streets. But it never does. When the rain stops, the boulevard dries and the snakes once again slink from their holes. That’s when my door opens and the helpless, the desperate, walk through with a heart full of hurt and a pocket full of nothing.*
“It was raining in the City — a hard rain …” – The Silent Peacock Hotel, starting-point for a grid-wide investigation of Room 326
My name is Bullit. Traci Bullit. I’m a private dick without the di – well, you get the picture. My bosom buddy is Mr Redemption, because he’s helped me out of some tight scrapes and spends time in a holster under my right arm.
The rain was still falling when my door opened, only it wasn’t the helpless or the desperate who walked through. It was the Governor’s special assistant. He had instructions for me to get down to the Silent Peacock Hotel where the local gumshoes were tripping over themselves trying to sort out a spate of disappearances. I don’t usually do requests, but Governor Linden is a good egg, and I figured there’d be no harm in doing her a favour. Besides, girls should always stick together...
“The lobby was like the name of the place: silent” – Room 326
So might begin the mystery of Room 326, the latest grid-wide hunt from MadPea Games. I was actually hesitant to blog this piece, as I visited Hoshi Island last week and tried my hand at following some of the clues (I don’t as a rule “do” hunts), prior to abandoning things due to other pressures – and then Honour McMillan brilliantly covered the setting (I swear, one day I’m going to have to superglue her shoes to the floor to stop her getting to all the fun places ahead of me…. 😉 ).
MadPea routinely produce grid-wide hunts as a part of their broader résumé of games, and all are both imaginative and cleverly themed. Room 326 runs through until the end of the month and involves players becoming sleuths attempting to unlock the mysterious disappearance of 15 people who stayed in the titular room at the Silent Peacock Hotel. The mystery can only be resolved by following a trail of point-and-click clues across the grid.
“The room wasn’t that bad, other than the smell of cheap cologne and cigarettes – a sure sign the local gumshoes had been over the place. That, and the file they’d managed to leave behind…” Room 326
The game is HUD-based (costing L$50 from the vendors in front of the hotel entrance). Your first task on purchasing it is to activate it, which requires finding Room 326 and the information inside.
Once you have found the required information, your HUD will activate and reveal the 15 missing people, clicking on a photo will provide you with information on a person and – importantly – the location of the clue associated with them. Clues take the form of envelopes which must be found and clicked on. Unlike other hunts, the envelopes don’t themselves give out prizes. Instead, players must collect all 15 envelopes; only then will they be given instructions on how to proceed to the final gameplay area where, as they say in the time-honoured tradition, “All will be revealed…”
Room 326 runs through until January 31st. Even if you’re not into hunts, it’s an entertaining distraction.
Together for Sway, the event put together by friends of Sway Dench, and which I reported upon on December 17th, has raised an amazing L$1,551,825 in just two weeks, funding which will go a very long way in helping Sway through a difficult period.
Sway Dench
Sway, whose major source of income is Second Life, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in late 2012. While benign and non-life threatening, the tumour nevertheless needs to be removed, and Sway has been scheduled for surgery in the near future. However, she is liable to be convalescing for up to six months, making it difficult for her to manage her SL business and generate an income from it.
To help her cope with things, a group of friends and content creators have rallied to her support and organised Together for Sway, which featured a special vendor area, complete with donation boxes, offering a range of goods an items for sale with all proceeds going directly to assisting Sway Dench. Additionally, special entertainments, such as a concert hosted by Rebel Yell Concerts which featured Nickelback, were also organised to raise money to help Sway meet her needs.
Update January 3rd, 2012:Together for Sway raised L$1,551,825 in just two weeks.
Sway Dench has been a resident of Second Life for over five years, and is possibly most famous for her Cookie Bears.
Sway Dench
Sway was recently diagnosed with a tumour in her brain. While benign and non-life threatening, the tumour nevertheless needs to be removed, and Sway has been scheduled for surgery in some 6-8 weeks time, after which she is liable to be convalescing for up to six months.
As Sway’s SL business is her major source of income, and is liable to be impacted by both the surgery and the period of convalescence, a group of friends and content creators have rallied to her support and organised Together for Sway, which runs from now until the end of December 2012.
Together for Sway
Together for Sway features a special vendor area, complete with donation boxes, offering a range of goods an items for sale with all proceeds going directly to assisting Sway Dench. Entertainments will also be provided during the time Together for Sway is running, and details on these are liable to appear on the Together for Sway blog.
In addition, on Friday 21st December, commencing at 17:00 SLT, Rebel Yell Concerts will be hosting a Nickelback concert for Sway, where donations can also be given.
Thursday March 21st will see an all-day concert staged at the SL Buddy Walk 2013, which I previewed recently.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 