Saturday, April 25, 2015

The Merry Month of May in Second Life


 
As full of spirit as the month of May, and as gorgeous as the sun in Midsummer.

William Shakespeare

  

          It’s May!

          For those of us in the northern latitudes in Real Life (RL) this is a welcome relief from the recent winter.  (Although, spring is a little off its game this year so far!)

          But, not only in RL but in Second Life (SL) there are signs of new life and the end of winter’s oppression.  (Significant Other while agreeing with my opinion of winter does thing my prose is a bit florid.)

          One sign of spring’s arrival inworld was my recent receipt of a note card from my good friend and the Mayor of Mieville, Perryn Peterson, announcing the Merry Month of May
in Mieville!

          While I enjoy all the Mieville events staged by Perryn, freezing the River Thames, the Chinese Lunar New Year, and Mardi Gras all reminded me of what winter can be.  (Yes, I know!  Some people enjoy these festivals in RL in subtropical temperatures. Alas, I’m not one of them.  Mine are more like conditions on the Ice Planet Hoth.) 

          Anyway, back to May!

          The Merry Month of May is a celebration of the return of Spring in all its wonders to both SL and RL as only Perryn could arrange. 

          (Julie Andrews singing The Lusty Month of May from Camelot springs to mind!  No pun intended!) 

         
The festivities will be a riotous collage of all that is medieval, fantasy and spring!

          There will be over 100 booths where wonderful items will be for sale.  There'll be lots to see and do, a Mini-Hunt, entertainment, gachas, shopping, a huge maypole, dancing, tons of freebies, food and drinks, and much more! 

          Recently, Perryn was kind enough to give me a private tour prior to the opening of the event.

          We began at the arrival area and walked through the lower grounds where there are many of the merchants’ shops and booths, entertainment areas and beautiful landscaping. 

          Mieville’s natural beauty seems to always improve from one event to the next.

          The natural realism and attention to detail make a trip to the site for visuals alone
worthwhile. 

          Mike Olbracht and Jalynne Ohmai have worked their usual magic in bringing Mieville’s venues to life. 

Climbing into the surrounding hills, Perryn takes me the gacha emporium which is downstairs from one of the most realistic taverns I’ve ever seen in SL.  The stained glass windows with their lighting effects have to be seen.

          The upper elevations also contain Unicorn Castle which is Perryn’s pride and joy.

          Unicorn is large, multi-storied castle with many nooks and crannies.  The dance floor for the festival’s parties is located here.  (Watch for a separate story on this edifice alone in the not too distant future!)

          The imposing May Pole is located in front of Unicorn Castle and has wonderful dance
animations crafted by Cyneswith Luik within.  (No, there won’t be pictures of Perryn and me dancing around it.) 

          Situated across the sim are several towers which give wonderful views over all the festivities and I recommend these to anyone looking to take in all the fun before getting started. 

Cierra Anatine of Kismet, Miss Lunar Tripsa, and Tamiron Landar are well established merchants at Mieville festivals and are returning with impressive merchandise for discerning shoppers. 

Mostal Resident of Dragons Are Too Seldom and Shilan Folger are just two of the new merchants at the festival and are well worth a visit. 

          Mike Olbracht now does oil paintings and has his shop on the lower grounds. His works are beautiful and I highly recommend for anyone looking to fill a space on a wall in
their SL home. 

Ktahdn Vesuvino will be part of the scheduled entertainment and will be providing period music. Don’t miss him! 

          Apologies to all the other wonderful merchants and entertainers who will be participating, it’s just not possible to list all of you! 

          But, I encourage visitors to support as many they can because without all the efforts of these creative people we’d never have festivals like this.

          Mieville’s Merry Month of May will be a fun filled opportunity to meet others inworld and do a little shopping.

          It represents the best of what a community is all about in SL!

          Please come and enjoy yourselves and maybe you’ll see me dancing around the May Pole! 

          I’d like to thank Perryn Peterson for his time and hospitality in showing me around and all the others whose hard work makes these events possible!

          The Merry Month of May runs from April 25th to May 19th and can be found here. 

          Tell ‘em web sent you!

          Additional pictures from my visit 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!

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