Tag: SL SF Con + Expo

Now open through until the end of the month  is the SL Fandom Con, a new Mega Event for Relay for Life of Second Life and the American Cancer Society, and one not to be confused with the Sci-Fi Expo / Con events many of us are likely familiarly with – although there is a good degree of cross-over.

SL Fandom Con is using the love of stories, comics and all forms of art to bring people together in the virtual world of Second Life while supporting the American Cancer Society’s mission to lead the fight to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. The SL Fandom Con is a fan event bringing you various roleplay groups, resources, shopping, and entertainment from across all of Second Life and we are proud to be part of a community of courage and caring in Second Life.

[It is] A social event focused festival with wider inclusivity for all genres of anime, comics, movies, RL & SL artist creator content, video and tabletop games, pop culture, SL Film Festival, and a specific emphasis on RL & SL Costumes and Cosplay.

– From the SL Fandom Con website

Active across seven regions circling out from and back to the American Cancer Society 2 island (which itself forms the convention’s eighth region), the SL Fandom Con mixes the “traditional” SL approach for such events through the use of sponsored / themed / entertainment regions, with something of a physical world convention feel. By this I mean that as well as American Cancer Society 2 forming the primary landing point for those visiting the convention, it also presents two large convention halls  of the kind generally seen at sci-fi, comic, gaming, and so on conventions in the physical world. As with their physical counterparts, these two halls offer a mix of exhibitor booths as a part of the Rep Your Fandom contest, together with activity space.

The main landing point includes information boards where people can obtain teleport / guide HUDs, links to relevant parts of the event’s website where information on shopping, activities, etc., can be found. Experience activated teleport portals flank one side of the landing point, awaiting those who wish to get on with their wandering through the rest of the event regions, while on the other side of the landing point sits the Memorial Garden, ready for those wishing to remember someone they’ve lost to cancer.

Foot access to the adjoining shopping regions – Space and Underwater – can be reached through the two convention halls. With clear roadways / footpaths directing people through each region and on to the next. The region names themselves tend to give a clue as to their main focus (e.g. Space includes a heavy space-based sci-fi focus; New Tokyo a lean towards Japanime, Japanese franchises, etc.) – although none are entirely exclusive to a specific theme of store.

Most of the shopping regions also offers a themed mode of transport as well – little flying saucers at Space, for example. These can be used to travel through each region, with rezzing points at either entry / exit point to a region, with some regions offering additional vehicle rezzing points for those who hop out of their vehicle to explore the local shops, but wish to resume their rides afterwards. Some of these vehicles, frankly, work better than others, but they all offer a potentially different means of skipping through regions.

Entertainment stages are located throughout the regions and feature a range live performances, dance troupes, DJ events, whilst the Con also includes its own auction, hunt and contest (the Rep your Fandom Contest, mentioned above). The auction – which can be entered at the main landing point – includes a series of special prizes courtesy of Linden Lab, comprising:

• One annual Premium Plus subscription.
• Two annual Premium subscriptions.
• A Full private region (20K Land capacity) for 6 months free tier.
• A Homestead region for 6 months free tier.
• Two Name Changes (using the currently available last names).
• One Name Change as a gift for a friend (using the currently available last names).

SLurls and Information

• SLurls (all event regions are rated Moderate)
  • SL Fandom Con main landing point (including auction and teleports)
  • Lost in Time (Fracti Tempus – shopping)
  • New Tokyo (Akira – shopping)
  • Noir New Orleans (Aldermore – shopping)
  • Size is Relative (Magnitudo – stage and activities)
  • The Kraken (Octololligo – stage and activities region)
  • Underwater (Le Mertica – shopping)
• SL Fandom Con website
  • Schedule of Events
  • Rep Your Fandom Contest (registrations closed)
  • Lindens at the Con (auction prizes and Fashion Show details)
    • Fashion Show Registration (still open at the time of publication)
  • General region information

The 2022 Second Life Sci-Fi Expo launched on Friday, October 14th, 2022, and will remain in orbit through until Sunday, October 23rd, in aid of The American Cancer Society and the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer (MSABC) campaign.

Active across four regions located alongside the American Cancer Society Island, this year’s even carries the theme of Voyage Through the Stars. These four regions are arranged as a single structure representing The Nexus, a massive space vessel and “crowning jewel of the United Earth Council fleet as it explores the vast reaches of interstellar space.”

The core of the build appears to be the vessel’s propulsion system, around which the almost spherical ship is constructed. Level with the mid-point in this vertical core is a broad deck ring running around the the circumference of the ship, which serves as the shopping precinct and home to the main event locations.

The latter form a set of four smaller domes, comprising the the main landing point and information centre; the Raffle and Silent Auction, the ACS information hub and Memory Crystal garden, and the entertainment dome. All of the domes are connected via the shopping precinct, while the landing point dome has a set of teleport portals that can deliver visitors directly to any of the other three domes or to the main ACS island.

As with previous years, the expo presents a broad range of science-fiction related merchandise and daily entertainment and activities. The website sees a change in approach this year, with some information coming in the form of re-directs to Facebook pages, however, for ease of reference, here are the core links:

• Event Calendar
• Participating merchants.
• Via re-directs to Facebook:
  • Partial shopping guide
  • Silent Auction items
  • Raffle prizes
  • Quest prizes

The website is perhaps a little light on specifics in places – a list of SLurls on the home page would be nice, as would actual details on the Quest – I can tell you it is called The Captain, the Governor and the Greslock, but little else other than you can join this in-world via the Quest vendors and point you to the list of prizes on Facebook, per above. Similarly, while events in the calendar can be clicked on for more details, a SLurl to the entertainment dome is sadly absent. But that said, the best way to appreciate the Expo is to pay it a visit, and I encourage all sci-fi fans do so!

SLurls and Information

• SLurls (all event regions are rated Moderate)
  • Sci-Fi Expo landing point (Sci-Fi Expo)
  • Entertainment dome (The Nexus)
  • Memory Crystal garden (Aperture)
  • Raffle and Silent Auction (Meridian Point)
• Sci-Fi Expo website

The 2022 Second Life Sci-Fi Con departed spacedock on Wednesday, May 18th, 2022, and will remain in orbit through until Sunday, May 29th, 2022 in aid of The American Cancer Society.

Now in its 14th year, the Sci-Fi Con is taking place across 9 regions (including the main hub, and carries the theme of Brave New Future.

The Sci-Fi Con is … the largest gathering of science fiction fans, role-players, creators, merchants, and entertainers in Second Life! The Con covers sci-fi and all its sub-genres like horror, steampunk, post-apocalypse, cyberpunk, superheroes, and even a little fantasy thrown in for good measure. We all come together in peaceful unity to celebrate the things we love, the possibilities of the future, and most importantly, to support the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Second Life’s quest to achieve a world without cancer.

– from the Sci-Fi Con’s website

For this year, each of the eight shopping regions for the convention carries its own theme (the Hub region also feature the main event stage):

• Auxentios Barracks – Steampunk – merchant map
• Cheeseburger – Super Heroes – merchant map
• CircuitJanes – Cyberpunk – merchant map
• Forestalgia – New Future – merchant map
• Kaylon – Silver Tech – merchant map
• New Xantis – Space Western – merchant map
• Petrolgeist – Dieselpunk – merchant map
• Violet Streak – Eco-Tech – merchant map

All of the regions can be reached via the teleport kiosks at the main hub, or by walking between them, with most following a broadly similar layout with their landing point / info area towards the centre, and the merchant and group stores set out around it within an environment intended to reflect the region theme.

The best place to find out about planned events running throughout the convention – DJ sessions, movies, quizzes and more – is via the Event Calendar (all times SLT).

This year’s convention includes the Stargate Hunt: stargates are hidden in plain sight throughout the convention regions. Touching them when found will give you a number. Get all six numbers, and use them to dial a secret gate address at the main stargate dial home device (DHD) to travel to a secret location where you can claim your prize.

Those who wish can also purchase convention T-shirts both in-world at the convention, and out-world as well, or pick up a convention bag.

So, prepare your away team / landing party, set phasers on fun and head over to the Sci-Fi Convention.

SLurl and Information

• Sci-Fi Con landing point (Aperture, rated: Moderate)
• Sci-Fi Con website

I am very late in getting to this – I’m not entirely sure how I missed it,and my apologies to the organisers for only getting to it now –  but currently in progress until the end of Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 (SLT), is the 2020 Second Life Sci-Fi Expo in support of RFL of SL and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer (MSABC).

Not to be confused with the annual Second Life Sci-Fi  Convention, which this year took place in May, the Sci-Fi Expo has generally been a smaller event (in previous years referred to as the “Mini Expo”), but this year has been taking place across five regions.

All five regions are packed with all things sci-fi, with each of them having a specific theme, a central hub providing an anchor point for explorations. The regions are packed with all things science fiction, with information available on sci-fi goods and services, role-play, communities, and more (including a hunt).

As it is late on in the event’s run, I’m not going to dwell too much on things – the best way to appreciate what is available is to hop over and immerse yourself; particularly if you are a science fiction fan. What I will do is refer you to the event’s Exhibitor’s List and Shopping Guide.

What I will say is that when exploring the regions, you’ll find a rich mix of merchants, role-play groups and more, together with the major franchises from media sci-fi: Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, etc., whilst those who have done six impossible things before visiting might want to consider breakfast at Milliways: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

So, 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 Expo in the next 36 hours.

Related Links

• 2020 Sci-Fi Expo website
• Event Hub SLurl (SE Utopia, rated Moderate)