The Little Dove RFL Steamclub Opens

 
The Southern Colorado sim is noted for being a location for Relay for Life events, notably Hope Gardens. It now has a new place to hold events. On Monday March 5th at 4PM SL time, Club Little Dove held it’s Grand Opening.

Club Little Dove’s creation is due to one lady: Nydia Tungsten. She constructed the club in four levels, with the top level originally a pilothouse, but later changed to a landing field. The place was designed with a Steampunk look (for those unfamiliar with the term, think H.G. Wells and Jules Verne). There were features such as the main dance floor showing turning gears underneath, 19th century dials and huge lightbulbs making up much of the equipment, carved wood and stained glass making up much of the walls and furnishings, the occasional steam-age gadget or vehicle, a few hookahs around the place (the Victorian-Era had a libertarian view on drugs, and in some ways encouraged their use), and others.

The official name of the club is Her Majesty’s Airship Little Dove, or HMAS Little Dove. Club Little Dove is named after a former resident in Second Life, who sadly passed away last year. She was the real-life partner of a close friend of Nydia's, “she was devastated.” Nydia saw the naming of the club in her honor as, “just the right thing to do.” Nydia is part of the "Passionate Redheads" Relay group, but says the club is open to all RFL groups.

On Monday, the club was up and ready for it’s opening event,Relay for Life’s Daaneth Kivioq sending out an invite, “Commodore Tungsten invites you aboard the HMAS Little Dove, now flying high above Hope Gardens in the beautiful Colorado Sim! We will be celebrating the Grand Opening of this new venue with a Steampunk Ball. Music will be provided by two of SL's finest DJ's - Dusk Griswold from 4PM to 6PM, and the Commodore herself, Nydia Tungsten from 6PM to 8PM. All Proceeds from this event will go to benefit the American Cancer Society. Please join the Passionate Redheads as we launch the HMAS on her maiden flight!”

And so after 4PM SL time, the dance floor was soon full of men and women, both normal human and furred avatars, dancing away. There were no tip jars out. There was only the Relay for Life kiosk, which people chipped into. Although the theme of the party was Steampunk, which called for Victorian fashion, the music as thoroughly modern with a variety of music from the 70’s to today. “Rocky Mountain High” got a few chuckles, “Appropriate that we play this song, as we’re in the Southern Colorado sim.”

And of course, “I Run For Life” played as well. It played twice, the second time near the end, with Nydia calling out, “I run for life ! I run for Little Dove! I run for Fimi! I run for my Stepfather! Run for them all, and remember them all!”

Club LIttle Dove is in the Southern Colorado sim at (187, 37, 1002). During it’s construction, it’s location changed from where it began.

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Relay Raiders Charity Dance Goes on Despite SL Troubles, Makes Goal

At  Haute Style & Co. in the Haute Couture  sim, Nevar Lobo, Bcreative Wilde, and the Relay Raiders held a charity dance for Relay for Life. But events made it more than just a simple fundraiser.

An announcement Nevar made gave the fundraiser extra meaning, the passing of Teri LaFollette, "... most of you know a very good friend of ours passed (away) on Thursday ... this event is to help celebrate her life..."

The dance began at 6PM April 4th Friday, and continued through the night with Bcreative as the one and only DJ. Then on Saturday came another problem. The dance had the ill fortune to be scheduled at the same time as  the login mess as the Second Life gird began going haywire at 7:30, and soon after no one else could get in. "I was one of the lucky few who was stuck online," Bcreative explained.

Nevar spoke highly of Bcreative, "she got almost 200 US dollars in online donations for the Raiders ... on top of what is (already) here. She had them listening on winamp and we managed to stay online until they finally closed the grid."

At 9 AM Saturday, those still on were booted out. It wasn't until about 1 PM in which people could log back on, and there were still problems for some hours. Despite this, the Raiders came back on and continued the fundraiser, calling on people to come over and donate for charity.
Pips Fetid remarked, "When the Raiders have an event, they have an event, whether or not SL cooperates."

At 6:30 PM, the Relay Raiders made the goal of passing what the McDunnough Team raised in 2007. By 7 PM, they had passed 300 thousand Lindens. The final total was 304,121L.

After staying up for the 25 hours, BCreative finally hung up her virtual headphones just after 7PM SL time, "(I) was begining to think this was going to be a big flop, but you guys pulled through in the end. ... I love you guys. You guys are my heroes. ... We were up only a quarter of the time. I almost did quit. But you guys kept me going."

Bixyl Shuftan

Sparks Ignite Reopens

Sparks Ignite was originally opened in the Star Bright sim by Sparklin Indigo in January 2008. Part of the inspiration for it's name came from the dance floor, dazzling stars and lightning arc effects. It did well, and hosted parties almost every night.

But at March 1, Ignite had to close it's doors and move. "I'm going to miss Star Bright," Sparks told me, " 'Sparks Ignite and Star Bright' had a certain ring to it." So she found a new place, at the Deyo sim, which may make some think of that one Jamaican song, "Daaaayyyyyo." Sparks went to work on rebuilding the club. And on Sunday March 9th, it officially reopened, with StormShadow Maertens as DJ.

The club as the same dazzling dance floor as before, along with the dance ball and several pairs of dancing poseballs. It still has the couches where one can sit between dances, able to adjust their position on them. But it also has something new, a couple of floating platforms which one can hop on and dance on as they tilt.

The parties at Sparks Ignite can range from mild to wild, themes ranging from Country Music Night, to silk dances where little is left to the imagination. The Truth or Dare question machine can certainly make for some candid moments, and a few of the regulars are known for pushing the limits with skimpy costumes during certain themed parties and occasional antics. But outright gratuitous nudity and obscene behavior are grounds for being asked to leave.

And the DJs Sparks has over are first class, from StormShadow, to Blarion Gazov, OtisDriftwood Vollmar, Nelliehope Heron, Pixiedust Darkstone, Mawam Klabov, and others.

Says Sparklin, "I want Sparks Ignite to be a place that everyone that comes here, has fun, and knows that they are among friends!"

So for a dance party with lots of spark, head to "Ignite."

Bixyl Shuftan

A Friend's Special Valentine's Day in Second Life

Sometimes Valentines Day is just a sad reminder of me not having found anyone, or as another avie put it, "Happy Stick It to Singles Day." But for a friend of mine, the holiday turned out well.

I had logged on to attend to attend a Valentines Day dance at Fortaelia. I doubted I would meet anyone for anything special, just a little time to relax. As the party called for red, white, or pink clothes (presumably only girls would be wearing the last one), I put on the fancy white outfit I had won at a contest recently, and ported over.

Shortly after arriving, one of my friends logged on and IMed me, Zeny. She had not logged onto SL for several days, and explained why. Her boyfriend and partner, Tim, was in the hospital. Although better, it was unsure when he'd be out. And it being Valentines Day, she felt alone and wanted to be with a friend.

And so we danced for a while at the party, chatting about things in both Second Life and Real life. As the Fortaelia party was starting to wind down a little, Zeny got an invitation from someone on her friend list to attend a wedding in Second Life. She was curious and wanted to go. I had been to some real-life weddings, including one with some ethnic traditions added, and had been to a couple roleplayed ones in the "Runescape" game. But I had yet to see one here in Second Life, so as I already had a fancy outfit over, I joined her in the teleport.

It took a little while for things to rez, the chair Zeny was sitting on among the last parts to appear. But the scene was quite detailed, with detailed white structures and flowers all around the walkway, which was next to a forested area. There were several bridesmaids there, as well as the best man and a few other guys. The seats, which were also white, were just about completely filled with guests, mostly dressed neatly though one lady in a formal gown still had a number of tattoos on. And of course there were the bride and groom up by the altar, holding hands.

They were waiting for the minister, and so we all waited, Zeny and I chatting a little about weddings. Then a few people crashed and disappeared, including the groom. So we waited for both them and the minister. They soon reappeared, and then came the minister. Finally the wedding could take place, "If there is anyone who objects to these two being joined, let him speak now or forever hold his peace." One lady typed *readies shotgun for anyone who objects.* And with that the wedding proceeded smoothly.

With people congratulating the couple, Zeny told me with excitement she had just gotten a call through Yahoo from Tim. He was finally out of the hospital. She was a bit quieter as she chatted with him, us following the others to the wedding reception dance. And we joined everyone else there, Zeny getting a blue gown out of her inventory.

Then someone else walked up, Tim. He had logged into Second Life, and Zeny had told him where they were. He went over to Zeny, who was next to a pair of dance poseballs, and they joined the others in the formal dance.

Together again, it was a Valentines Day for my friends to remember.

Bixyl Shuftan