An International Christmas in Second Life

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

It’s that time of the year again, it seems like it was here only yesterday!

We wonder where the past year has gone…

We look forward to the winter solstice…

And, with of all of this, some of us look forward to Christmas!

(I reassure Significant Other that a certain list has been received.)

In Second Life (SL), Christmas is very much alive just as in Real Life (RL).

But, perhaps, no more so than in Mieville where the indefatigable Perryn Peterson, its Mayor, and his elves have been pulling extra shifts to get ready for the Christmas Holiday inworld!  

In Christmases past, Mieville has been host to A Christmas Carol, an Elizabethan Christmas with a frozen River Thames, and a winter wonderland to name but a few themes.   

Perryn and his band of merry elves have not been lacking for ideas for this year’s Christmas. 

Its theme is a World Winter Festival.  And, it’s all waiting for you to come and enjoy!

Come see Christmas from Mexico, Africa, Australia, Japan, Germany and North America!

There is much to see and do as always!

Visitors will be able to visit merchants in over one hundred booths and wagons peruse their goods.  There'll be entertainment, gachas, ice skating, dancing, food and drinks, and much more! 

And, of course, don’t forget the new and improved mini-hunt where each merchant will have a surprise gift hidden in their establishment for shoppers to try and find. 

Mieville wouldn’t be Mieville without new and magical attractions.

This year has almost all new buildings, gorgeous landscaping by Mike Olbracht, beautiful dance area, wintery rides and much more!  

They’ve outdone themselves as usual!

(Yes, admittedly, I’m biased.  But, given the wonderful experiences which Perryn and his team produce consistently for their visitors, I think I’m entitled!)

I heartily recommend visiting Mystic Yule in Mieville which runs from December 1^st to 31^st and can be located here! 

Maybe you’ll even run into me there!

I’d like to thank Perryn and his elves for another wonderful seasonal event and for

assisting me in preparing this story for all my loyal readers!  (All three of you!) 

I’d also like to thank The Companion who took all the beautiful photos used in this story and the others which can be found on this flickrpage.  

Happy Holidays to all from Significant Other and me! 

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

            If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

            Open roads and kind fires!

Are You Going to Renaissance Faire VII in Second Life? (I Sure Hope So!)

But life is never a material, a substance to be molded. If you want to know, life is the principle of self-renewal, it is constantly renewing and remaking and changing and transfiguring itself, it is infinitely beyond your or my obtuse theories about it.

Boris Pasternak

It’s that time of the year again!

Leaves turn color and fall to the ground. 

The days grow longer.

The oncoming crispness in the air can almost be felt.

And, my old Second Life (SL) friend, Perryn Peterson calls me.   

Perryn is the Mayor of Mieville inworld and impresario extraordinaire for all that happens there.  His merry band helps him in all his adventures and there’re a lot of those to be had!

The reason for the call is the Renaissance Faire which takes place every autumn in SL.  This year is the seventh event and it promises to be the best ever!  (Significant Other is curious where Perryn gets all his ideas from.  I attribute it to natural talent.)

Renaissance Hunt & Faire VII, to use its full title, is celebration of the Renaissance inworld (Why the Renaissance you may ask?  Well, it was certainly more fun than the Dark

Ages and Perryn would tell you its costumes were more colorful.) and the SL community.  Merchants bring their Renaissance themed merchandise and SL residents come from near and far to participate in the all the fun ‘n frolic.

This year’s theme is Kings, Queens, & Fools!

The venue for this year’s Faire has been totally redone.

And, when Perryn and his crew redo something, they really redo it!

The Faire occupies a full sim and takes full advantage of the all the new allowed prims. 

The new landing zone is in the middle of town.  From here, a visitor can meander through its streets and wander off into the countryside and down to the sea shore.  Hills, dales, and mountains await the intrepid explorer. Lush forests and meadows break up one’s walk.  Waterfalls, brooks, and streams add a peaceful serenity. 

The landscaping alone is worth a visit to this year’s Faire and It’s all the handowork of Mike Olbracht, Perryn’s SL partner.  I must stop here and call out his work.  Mike worked for weeks to create the natural settings for the Faire and he has outdone himself!  (Perryn and

Mieville have a knack for attracting some of the best talent inworld.)  Mike’s trademark inclusion of natural wildlife in on display throughout the Faire and trust me, you can’t miss them!  (Like my old friend, Donkey!)  BTW Mike is available for private assignments when he’s not working in Mieville somewhere.  Anyone thinking of doing any landscaping or terraforming inworld should definitely look him up! 

Several other Faire participants whom I’d like to call out follow with their acheivements.

Miss DragonLady Majestic, an old friend of Perryn’s, is giving away dragons which you might see some flying about down by the harbor!

The popular Rennie dances by Miss Cyneswith Luik, who isn't inworld as much since her lovely, little Real Life (RL) daughter was born, are back again.

Ktahdn Vesuvino's area, the Faire’s DJ has a spot and he'll have Music Nights there on Sunday evenings, during September.

Artorius Constantine is the brilliant designer of the Tarot reader in the Gypsy camp (my favorite spot).  He has male and female ones.  They are amazing fun!

One of this year’s new attractions to the Faire is a mini-hunt based on acorns which disappear and reappear elsewhere at the Faire.  This has been designed by Tailahr Winnikow, who is brilliant with this type of work.  Regular visitors may recall her Great Pumpkin patch from Halloween a few years ago.  When players have accumulated enough points by clicking acorns, they click a sign and it gives them all of the prizes.  (Where’s the sign?  Come on now, I can’t give away all Perryn’s secrets!)

Sadly, we remember a member of the Mieville community who passed away in RL since the last Renaissance Faire. 

Kaydge (better known as Kage), partner of Seth Stratten, made and donated a whole slew of buildings to use at the Renaissance Faire.  They are located down at the harbor.  He

died in RL not long ago, in his late forties, far too young.  His buildings and the harbor are named after him, the Kage Memorial Harbour.

Rest well old Friend and thank you for all your work and friendship over the years!  Your creations will stand in memory to you! 

As always, Renaissance Faire is lots of fun!

Another new addition this year is jumping in the leaves!  (Significant Other’s eyes roll.)

Apple bobbing is available too! 

Fortunes will be told at the Gypsy camp which looks a lot bigger this year.  I think wandering inworld is becoming more popular! 

There will be music and dancing not to mention a tavern with a barmaid who serves your drinks!  (Please remember not to touch her and to tip well!)

The Maypole and tree house are back as well.

And, of course, there will be gachas!

Renaissance Faire VII runs from September 1^st to 30^th and can be found here.    

Additional information can be found on their website. 

I encourage everyone who can to drop by and visit the Faire!

Whether it’s to participate in the Hunt itself, the mini-hunt, join the revelry, or just

appreciate the beautiful scenery, don’t this miss this opportunity to meet a great group of people and have some fun as autumn draws near. 

Renaissance Faire is fun and challenging, come on down!

Additional pictures of Renaissance Faire VII can be found on this flicker page. 

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

            If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life  please click here.

            Open roads and kind fires!

Are You Going to Silk Road Hunt VIII in Second Life?

Writing for children is as easy as describing the history of the Byzantium in three words.

Mo Willems

Another year has flown by!

Yes, my misadventures in Real Life (RL) have contributed to this.  (Significant Other nods for emphasis here.)  But, I didn’t really appreciate this until my old and good friend in Second Life (SL), Perryn Peterson, dropped me a line reminding that it was time for Silk Road VIII inworld!   

True to form, Perryn and his Merry Band in Mieville have come up with another

marvelous theme well suited for SL.

This year’s theme is Byzantium!

Yes, the ancient and long-lived successor to Rome is next in Perryn’s homages to long, lost empires and forgotten treasures! 

Past Hunts have had Xanadu, the Roman Empire, and Ali Baba as their themes. 

(I suspect that when Perryn runs out of known ancient empires for his themes, he’s going to start looking for some lost even to the history books.)

In a way, Mieville reminds me of Byzantium.  A corner of creativity, commerce, and orderly life surrounded by the chaos of an encroaching anarchy.  (Significant Other’s eyes roll at the analogy.  But, hey, have you wandered around SL lately?)

As usual, Mountain Rose is a major contributor and participant in the Silk Road Hunt.  Its Imperial, Byzantine palace alone is worth making the journey inworld to see.  The

grandeur and attention to detail here remind me of earlier, long lost builds in SL.  The sim is a major stop along the Hunt’s way!

Mountain Rose can be located here. 

Dozens of other merchants are participating this year and there gifts for intrepid hunters can be found here.  Look for their mini-hunts as well! 

Silk Road Hunt VII runs from June 1^st to 30^th.

            Inworld, the Silk Road Hunt begins as it did in previous years at the Asian Victorian Garden in Mieville.   (Before going into the pavilion and starting the Hunt, take some time to stroll the beautiful gardens created by Mike Olbracht, Mieville’s floral wunderkind.  His garden layouts have to be seen to be believed!)

            Perryn’s purpose with hunts like the Silk Road Hunt is to showcase the merchants of SL and their wares, to help residents (hunters) meet merchants, and to get out onto the Grid

and have fun!               

            Hunter information is available here. 

            I heartily recommend all dropping by and having some fun!

            Who knows?

            You might set the record for completing the Hunt!  (Or, ever run into me!)

            I’d like to thank Perryn for his time and assistance in helping me to prepare this story, not to mention, his choreographing another spectacular event inworld! 

            Additional pictures of the Hunt can be found here.

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

            If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life  please click here.

            Open roads and kind fires!

A Mystical Christmas in Second Life

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more! 

Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

It’s that time of the year again.

We wonder where the past year has gone…

We look forward to the winter solstice…

And, with of all of this, some of us look forward to Christmas!

(I reassure Significant Other that a certain list has been received.)

In Second Life (SL), Christmas is very much alive just as in Real Life (RL).

But, perhaps, no more so than in Mieville where the indefatigable Perryn Peterson, its Mayor, and his elves have been pulling extra shifts to get ready for the Christmas Holiday inworld!   

In Christmases past, Mieville has been host to A Christmas Carol, an Elizabethan Christmas with a frozen River Thames, and a winter wonderland to name but a few themes.   

Perryn and his band of merry elves have not been lacking for ideas for this year’s Christmas. 

Its theme is Mystic Yule which as Perryn puts it is, “A full sim of snowy, forested, magical, faerie Christmas and Yule delights!”  (The man does have a way with words!)

And, it’s all waiting for you to come and enjoy!

There is much to see and do as always!

Visitors will be able to visit merchants in over one hundred booths and wagons peruse their goods.  There'll be entertainment, gachas, ice skating, dancing, food and drinks, and much more! 

And, of course, don’t forget the new and improved mini-hunt where each merchant will have a surprise gift hidden in their establishment for shoppers to try and find. 

Mieville wouldn’t be Mieville without new and magical attractions.

This year has almost all new buildings, gorgeous landscaping by Mike Olbracht,

beautiful dance area, wintery rides and the Wizard's Tower!  (Hint: Which you can find your way out of by following the "down" doors which are clearly marked!)    

Perryn and his crew wanted to do something faerie-like and mysterious, home in on the mystical nature of Christmas, and to cater to their large fantasy following.

They’ve outdone themselves as usual!

(Yes, admittedly, I’m biased.  But, given the wonderful experiences which Perryn and his team produce consistently for their visitors, I think I’m entitled!)

I heartily recommend visiting Mystic Yule in Mieville which runs from December 1^st to January 1^st and can be located here! 

Maybe you’ll even run into me there!

I’d like to thank Perryn and his elves for another wonderful seasonal event and for

assisting me in preparing this story for all my loyal readers!  (All three of you!) 

I’d also like to thank The Companion who took all the beautiful photos used in this story and the others which can be found on this flickr page. 

Happy Holidays to all from Significant Other and me! 

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

            If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

            Open roads and kind fires!

Thoughts about the New Renaissance Faire and Hunt in Second Life

 

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.

Machiavelli

 

          As I blogged a short time ago, it’s the season for Renaissance Hunt and Faire in Second Life (SL) which is new and improved this year! 

          (Significant Other leaves the room, having hoped for a new adventure.  Wait until next time!)

          The Mayor of Mieville, Perryn Peterson, with his team has done his usual superb job in laying out the new location and organizing all the merchants and events.

          This year, the Faire is at a new location in Mieville, Mieville Shelley, (accessible at a seafront town) which allowed Perryn to change things around a bit as he prepares for his fifth Faire.

           Unlike prior years, I’ve returned for a second story about this month long event running from September 1^st to 30^th to talk about the changes with some of the participants.

          What’s different?

          Well, for starters the location. 

          Then the layout has changed to accommodate the new location.

          And, as with any seismic change, new features are added while others are lost. 

          Get the picture?

          Liam Metaluna, a Tiny artisan is happy to be among other Tiny artisans in their own neighborhood.  Liam was responsible for organizing this community into the aptly named Tiny

Corner. 

          Liam loves the little things about the Faire like the frogs that follow you around. Being from the drought ridden western United States in Real Life (RL), he appreciates the harbor with all its water!

          Liam also loves the sounds from the Renaissance period. He creates music boxes with Renaissance-flair music. 

          Check him out when you visit!  (You are visiting right?)

          Mike Olbracht, Mieville’s landscaper par excellance and Perryn’s partner has done his usual superb work with the grounds for the Faire. 

          (Even if it was done under threats of virtual beatings to get the work done on time!  Perryn is a demanding taskmaster.) 

          Mike’s biggest challenge with the new location was that the original sim was devoted

to the Faire only and hence there were no restrictions.

The new location has neighboring sims so it was important that it fitted in with its surroundings properly. 

(It’s never easy inworld is it?)

          Miss Cyneswith Luik who made a new dance in addition to the three prior favorites.  In RL, she is a professional animator from the United Kingdom. 

          Cyneswith does miss the prior location. 

She had the same stall for about three years running always by the food and drink, with the music playing nearby.

However, Cyneswith finds the new location to be equally fantastic.

She loves how everything is laid out and she can still have the patch for the dances and can hear the music playing!

          Miss Moonsugah Monday has a brand new tavern!

          She is a refugee from Gor and this is her fifth Faire. 

          Moonsugah researches RL books on cooking then hunts for pictures to make textures.  She tries to make my foods realistic and sized proportionaIly to the avatar bodies, as well as historically accurate. So, she says, she wouldn’t make a smoothie to go with the medieval or Rennaissance table. Lately, she has been working more with mesh to get the desired effects. 

          Then there are things that remain the same!

          Wyvern Dryke has helped organize almost all of the events and says he only tweaked a few things. 

          His little den, a Faire tradition, can still be found on the Faire grounds if one goes looking for it. 

          My personal favorite the gypsy encampment, is still here with its vardos and hopefully a fortune teller. 

(If somewhat smaller.)

          Our old friend, Mr. Donkey, can be found grazing around the Faire with some new “critters” as friends.

          So, maybe the physical location and attributes of the Faire have changed but the people who make it all possible are still there.

          Their spirit and hard work are evident as one strolls through its streets and lanes!

          Please come by and support all these wonderful folks!

          The Renaissance Hunt and Faire runs from September 1^st to 30^th and can be located here.    

          The ongoing events during the Faire can be found on this blog. 

          The Faire is still underway so go and enjoy yourself!

          Maybe you’ll run into me!

          I’d like to thank Perryn, Mike, Wyvern, Liam, Cyneswith, and  Moonsugah for taking the time to answer my questionnaire.

          I know everyone is busy inworld! 

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!