Tag: SL SF Con + Expo

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)