By Bixyl Shuftan
At Haven Woods is a new venue, The Purrl Ballroom And Champagne Beach, sometimes just called "The Purrl." The place is owned by Miss Karlie Cobalt (karliekarliekarlie Resident). I recently met up with her, and we had a talk about the locations.
We met up at a beach. Karlie was with two other women, Bird and Fawn Cobalt. She greeted me, "This is our Champagne Beach & Merquarium," she explained, "We also have The Purrl Ballroom and Casino on sim. We alternate shows between the two."
She would say they had been around for four months, "Built the sim on the land an older club let go. They closed down on a Friday and we opened on the Monday. Of course, it wasn't quite as detailed as it is now." She would say events were held on both the beach and club, "The beach is beach party and pop singers. The ballroom is more traditional jazz, blues and standards. But we welcome people anywhere on the sim. If people want to sit on the beach and enjoy the night, or swim in the merquarium and listen to the music, we encourage that."
Karlie pointed out some spooky pumpkins and dancing skeletons nearby, "We just decorated for Halloween here over the weekend, still working out what we're going to do for Halloween inside the ballroom/casino, but it will be very tasteful. ... We're planning some unique Halloween events and contests."
She pointed out a lounge chair large enough for a couple, "The Purrl Ballroom & Casino and Champagne Beach & Merquarium are open 24/7 for anyone who wants to either snuggle on the beach with their loved one to some jazz, or play at the casino. The entrances to the beach and from the beach to the ballroom are now more clearly marked to help people around the sim."
Karlie showed me what looked like a giant fishtank, with arches, corals, and numerous fish and other critters inside, "The merquarium gives a full view of Champagne Beach and the glass is two-way at the front. We have photo poseballs set up, and water dances." Because the water dances involve lots of swimming around, it's recommended girls in short skits using them wear "dance pants" panties.
"The merqarium is a Safe Waters Foundation approved hangout, and is designed for merfolk," Karlie would say, "but anyone can swim in there if they choose to."
She would then take me to the club building, "Welcome to the Ballroom and Casino." After we got past a few paparazzi bots, she pointed to one corner where there were a few casino games, "We have games for one to six players. Right now baccarat, roulette, and slots. But will be adding video poker this week." After someone nearby made a joke about strip poker, there were a few minutes of chuckles.
Then Karlie cleared her throat and pointed to the dance floor, "We have dances for 50 couples available in the ballroom, and 60 or so singles dances." I also saw a couple formal outfit givers, one for men, one for women. She would add, "The build was designed around having as little lag as possible. Every running script has been minimized to consume the smallest resources. We've had 72 people on sim without an issue, even with the light shows." After asking me to set my viewer to Midnight, she took down the roof, and launched one, adding, "If you cam out, you'll see the beach fireworks."
She would also say, "We have a unique 'flower drop that showers the ballroom floor at the end of the night with flowers. We also have a stage with setup for full band, rezzable guitars, stage animations, piano, drums. ...We have many live singers."
Karlie would say, "The club sims are part of the Black Purrl Group, which also includes two airlines, a bus line, boat tours, rail travel, and vacations through the Travel & Adventure group. ,,, we also have a purpose built live restaurant. One of our pilots fly couples to the restaurant sim, and they're greeted by Rolls Royce and driven a short distance to the restaurant and served by live service staff. The restaurant is La Perle Noire. It's booking only, which we drive from announcements here at the club."
Karlie had been on Second Life earlier, but ended up taking a break that lasted close to ten years. Coming back, the obvious difference was there was a lot more mesh and working mirrors. But she also noticed somethint else, "Places and groups have become more insular, less welcoming, which is one of the drivers behind opening The Purrl venues. It's also way more XXX driven than before. Almost every sim is setup for that these days. We don't have any adult furniture here on sim, because we want to encourage romance and relationships over anything else. I would like The Purrl to be a melting pot of people of differnet experiences and walks of life, all under one roof to enjoy the music and atmosphere. And learn how to love again not hate."
In the future, Karlie plans to have some Christmas events after Halloween. She also plans to offer a little more for the tinies, "We have a fair sized dinkie community here. Unfortunnately, I don't have any dinkie offerings right now."
"What we're really looking to do is create a warm, welcoming environment for music lovers in all different shapes and sizes. And, hopefully, bring a little sparkle into people's lives."
The SURL for Champagne Beach is :
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Haven%20Woods/218/29/22
