Second Life Science Fiction Convention – Nimoy mega-hub
On Friday, March 18th, the 2016 Second Life Science Fiction Convention, organised by the SL Sic-Fi Alliance, opened its doors to sci-fi enthusiasts from across virtual worlds.
Running through until March 27th, 2016, the convention is spread across six regions packed with all things science-fiction, with good representation from OpenSim as well. As usual, the event has been organised in support of Relay for Life of Second Life, and forms one of the RFL of SL mega events for 2016.
Second Life Science Fiction Convention
As this is a sci-fi event, the major areas for activities are located high up in the sky over the six regions, forming a bustling metropolis of stores, activity centres, walkways, and more, with vehicles of various descriptions passing by overhead. There are also some facilities – teleport hubs, entertainment facilities, etc., located at ground level as well.
The Five exhibitor regions are (see here for a full list of exhibitors):
In addition, Stardust Dreams provides entertainment facilities both in the air and on the ground.
Second Life Science Fiction Convention – a time-travelling Allosaurus pops by for a look
When exploring the regions, you’ll find the usual interesting mix of merchants and role-play groups, all with something to offer. The best starting point for explorations is perhaps the mega-hub located in Nimoy.
Details on entertainment, etc., seem a little thin on the ground where the website events page is concerned (or was at the time of writing), so finding out what is going on where and when might be best done via the in-world convention calendar at the Nimoy mega-hub, where you can also pick-up a SLSFC9 uniform (all proceeds to RFL of SL), if you haven’t anything suitably sci-fi to wear (or even if you have).
Second Life Science Fiction Convention
Whatever your interest in science fiction, be sure to set your phaser on fun and head back to the future with a visit to the SL Sci-Fi convention. So say we all!
Fantasy Faire 2016, in aid of Relay for Life of Second Life, will take place between Thursday, April 21st and Sunday May 1st inclusive.
The largest fantasy-related event to take place in Second Life, Fantasy Faire It brings together fantasy enthusiasts, creators, performers and designers for eleven days of commerce, special events, live music concerts across 14 themed regions, with special emphasis on fund-raising for Relay for Life of Second Life.
Via Fantasy Faire
Merchant applications have been open since early March, and the ten core regions for the event are filling up fast, although there are, at the time of writing, some parcels still available. Blogger / press applications are set to open on Sunday March 20th.
This years brings some new names to the list of designers selected to bring the faireland regions into being, as well as seeing some familiar and popular names returning as well. The regions and designers are:
Blackmoor by Lokii Violet. “Fog snakes down the gas lit streets. Footsteps echo on the cobblestone but whether friend or foe approaches it is impossible to guess. Shadows loom in every corner as the bowels of the city wake up and the workings of another moonless night begin.” Store status: sold out.
Breeze by Kayle Matzerath. “A very bright and pastel watercolour village that harnesses the wind to turn it into magical energy.” Store status: themed stores only.
Bright Haven by Kilik Lekvoda and Rynn Verwood. “A fairytale market town brimming with wonder, happiness and magic. A stroll down the cobble streets might see you breaking out in song accompanied by your woodland friends.” Store status: sold out.
Dangarnon by Jaimy Hancroft and Eowyn Swords. “Villains roam the cobbled streets of a fallen Andolys where evil rolled in and blotted out the light. Skeletons of what once was are all that remain. Rotting and crooked the stone houses and towers are a sad reflection of their former glory. Darkness hangs over the land like a heavy blanket suffocating any ray of light. But even here, in all this blackness a shimmer of hope has managed to hide and survive, a tiny piece of what once was this magical place still lives within these dead walls. Perhaps all is not lost yet…” Store status: sold out.
Hope’s Horizon: Fantasy Faire 2014
Echtra by Loki Eliot. “The land is stuck in time. There is no summer nor is there any winter. There is just a grey emptiness hanging over the once busy town of Echtra and the surrounding moorland. And what of the legends that tell of a great sleeping dragon under the hill the town is built. Will the secrets of this once thriving community be revealed and if they can be discovered exactly who will awake?” Store status: not provided.
The Golden Delta by Alia Baroque. “The Immortal City bathed in gold and turquoise where the river and sands of life draw the passing of time.” Store status: themed stores only.
Lucentia by Marcus Inkpen and Sharni Azalee. “There lies a realm in the depth of antiquity or perhaps its the distant future- where all is energy and light and physical substance has no meaning. A glowy world of shifting lights and undulating energies. A world of magic and emotion and beauty. Where the only danger is losing your mind.” Store status: sold out.
Ichi-Go Ichi-E: Fantasy Faire 2015
Serenity by Kaelis Ember and Aikeo Rieko. “They say there are one thousand steps to the top of Serenity, an ancient city, every nook and cranny carved to perfection, smooth curves, beautiful terraces, stunning waterfalls, latticed windows. Built by ageless hands so many moons ago, they also say that those who ascend to the top of the city will discover something more valuable than gold, the knowledge we’re not alone in our fights.” Store status: sold out.
Tinkers Hollow by Mayah Parx. “If you had the power to create anything you thought, what would you think? And if every thought you thunk took form, where would you store all the stuff? Welcome to Tinkers Hollow. The eclectic trappings of an unusual mind filled with everything from toys and cards to gears and cogs. Who knows what might appear?” Store status: not provided.
Twilight Illusion by Sweetgwendoline Bailey and Eldowyn Inshan. “The Realm of Twilight Illusion is a land divided. Rising out of a vast lake of lava, small islands pepper the view. Connected by rickety bridges the inhabitants make a life amid the hellish landscape of rotten vegetation, creepy trees, stinky mushrooms, bones, skulls and ravens. As sulphur and brimstone percolate below the breezes of the upper levels remind of sun and dew, welcoming the visitor into a flower filled meadow where worries are replaced with joy under rainbow skies and a picnic of nectar and honeyed cakes has been laid out by unseen hands.” Store status: themed stores only.
Crimson Field: Fantasy Faire 2013
In addition, the following regions will also be a part of the Fairelands:
Fairelands Junction by Saiyge Lotus
Fantasy Faire Radio / Literary Festival by Elicio Ember
Arts and Entertainment by Haveit Neox
Fantasy Faire Hunt by Rynn Verwood
As usual, I’ll be covering Fantasy Faire in these pages, but to keep right up to date with news and announcement, keep an eye on the links below.
Sunday, February 28th 2016 marks the start of RFL of SL’s Paint SL Purple week.
Running through until Sunday, March 6th, the campaign is aimed raising awareness and excitement as the official launch of the year’s fund-raising season for Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society draws near, by encouraging residents to paint the grid purple, the official colour of RFL of SL.
So how does it work? The official description of the campaign explains:
Turn your world purple. Wear purple clothes, purple hair, even purple skin. Turn your house purple, paint your grass purple! Do you own a store? Paint your store purple. The goal is for people to take notice!
And why purple? Because it’s the official colour of Relay For Life, and is the colour representing every type of cancer, while RFL raises money for research into all types of cancers.
The campaign will kick-off on the Relay d’Alliez region, with an afternoon and evening of music and fund-raising from 13:00 SLT runs through until 19:00 SLT, with the schedule lining-up as follows:
13:00 – 14:00: Jen Waddington
14:00 – 15:00: Relax Free Radio
16:00 – 17:00: Savannah Coronet
17:00 – 19:00: T1 Radio
As well as enjoying the music and offering donations, those attending the kick-off event will be able to grab Paint SL Purple kits and t-shirts from the supply stands near the lighthouse landing point. Find out more by visiting the Paint SL Purple campaign web page, and discovering some of the many ways you can help Paint it Purple!
The 2016 Home and Garden Expo (HGE) in support of Relay for Life of Second Life and the American Cancer Society, is currently under way, and runs through until Sunday March 6th, 2016. As a part of this year’s event, HGE includes a number of art installations to be found through the event regions.
One of these is an installation be Decades Galleries, entitled Wounded Angels. Developed by Sisterbutta and Robijn Resident, it offers an interactive exhibit honouring breast cancer sufferers through the ages, as seen through the eyes of some of history’s greatest artists.
Wounded Angels comprises three parts: a garden meadow in which is set a comfortable place to sit, located close to a tree around which a series of famous paintings placed around tree; a companion book, with the same title, which can be obtained by clicking on the in-world copy close by and then worn as a HUD; and your imaginary companion for your journey into the meadow, as Sisterbutta explains in the introduction to the book:
An unseen woman of the present time, who has recently been diagnosed with spreading breast cancer, comes to a meadow behind her home … The woman, an artist by training and occupation, has set up around a tree reproductions of artworks and decorative items she loves the most … Faced with the threat of her returned cancer, the woman comes here often to sit and look at what she loves, choosing beauty and the exuberance of creation to celebrate her life as well a to fight for it.
Wounded Angels
Visitors are invited to walk in the garden with the Unseen Woman, studying the paintings and either reading her reflections on each of them, or by clicking on the paintings to obtain a note card on each one.
The result is a journey through a new perspective on breast cancer, presented in a very personal way – through the eyes of the Unseen Woman, as she seeks comfort and strength in the art and items set out around her tree.
It’s also personal in another way as well, as SisterButta indicated to me, “in a sense, this is what I would do if I were given such a diagnosis…gather up the things that I love and that have meaning and gather strength from them.”
But while taking comfort in those things we have loved throughout lives, why use art in the depiction of breast cancer?
“Because science show us the facts,” Sisterbutta explains. “Journalists report on the state of current research. Governments and other third-party payers look at the bottom line. Business and industry measure the impact in terms of lost productivity in the workplace.
“But is the artist who shows us cancer’s human face as he or she portrays the disease in a living, breathing, feeling individual and makes this cancer almost unbearably palpable.”
Wounded Angels
The keepsakes and items placed out around the tree with the art can also be touched. These have been donated by members of SL’s history and education communities, and can be purchased either directly or via the vendor boards on the meadow fences. All proceeds from sales go to RFL of SL.
Wound Angels may be a small display in the scheme of things at HGE 2016, but it is one that is beautifully brought together and shouldn’t be overlooked when hurrying between the larger exhibit spaces. So do please be sure to stop by during your HGE explorations.
The 8th Home and Garden Expo (HGE) in support of Relay for Life of Second Life and the American Cancer Society, opened its doors to the public on Sunday, February 14th, 2016, and promises to be another hugely popular event.
Taking place across 10 regions, all called Hope and a number (1 through 10), the event will run through until Sunday March 6th, 2016, offering some of the finest in home, garden, and furnishing designs available across the grid.
With over 100 exhibitors taking part, including those participating in the breedables exhibition, which forms a part of the HGE activities this year, the event offers something for anyone who is looking for a new home, ideas for furnishing and decor, wishing to improve their building (or other) skills, or who just wishes to keep abreast of the latest building / home trends in Second Life.
As well as providing the opportunity to discover the best in housing designs ans itself, there will be a wide range of events going on through the two weeks of HGE, including talks, classes, entertainment, the Expo hunt, a fun fair with bumper cars and a rollercoaster, gachas and more. For details on everything that is going on, please refer to the HGE website’s events schedule.
This year also sees artists exhibit at HGE, and I’ll be taking a look at who is exhibiting during the course of the exhibition.
Home and Garden Expo 2016 – the Prim Perfect auditorium, once again home for this year’s featured HGE talks
Monday, February 1st, 2016 marks the official opening of team registrations for the 2016 Relay for Life of Second Life season. This year, core fund-raising activities will take place between March 6th and August 14th, 2016. The theme for this year’s season is “Once Upon a Cure”.
As with last year, teams are required to have Team Captain and Team Co-Captain, but this year, teams must comprise at least 5 people (inclusive of the captains), although it is not necessary for teams to already have 5 members when they register; additional members can be added to a team post registration. There will be exceptions made for smaller teams but prior approval from the Steering Committee must be obtained.
For 2016, teams will have the opportunity to attend a class with RFL of SL’s Fund-raising Advisors, who are tasked with primarily helping Team Captains become better fund-raising leaders for their teams. Classes will cover a range of topics, including setting and achieving goals, event promotion, using the fund-raising tools, etc.
An option is included on the team registration form for teams to indicate whether they would like to attend a class, which the RFL of SL Steering Committee note are a requirement for all teams participating in RFL of SL for the first. In addition, the Steering Committee note that other teams may be required to attend, based on their previous fund-raising totals.
RFL of SL 2016 Key Dates
February 28th – March 6th: Paint it Purple
March 6th: RFL of SL Kick Off
May 14th / 15th: Half Way There
July 16th / 17th:Relay Weekend
August 14th: Wrap Up
About Relay For Life of Second Life
Relay For Life of Second Life is an annual activity that takes place in Second Life in July each year. Volunteers form or join teams to have fun while fundraising and raising awareness from mid-March through mid-July. In July teams build camp sites and walk a track, just like a Real World Relay. Since 2005, Relay For Life of Second Life has raised almost US $3 million for the American Cancer Society.
About the American Cancer Society
For more than 100 years, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has worked relentlessly to save lives and create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Together with millions of supporters worldwide, ACS helps people stay well, helps people get well, find cures, and deal with their journey against cancer.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 