Relay Track Sneak Peeks: Fantasy Faire, Seekers of Hope

 

 Taken at the Fantasy Faire's exhibit in RFL Research. 

 

 Taken at RFL Reflection, the Seekers of Hope's camp, "Everyday Warrior: By Anya Stanwyck. This picture is up for bid in their silent auction.

 

 Bixyl Shuftan

 

SL Video: "2026 Fantasy Faire - MerryJest: The Book of Tangles"

 

 (click here if the video does not play)

 

 From Bain Finch on May 10, "MerryJest performs The Book of Tangles at 2026 Fantasy Faire. Inspired and dedicated to the blessed memory to dear friends."

 

 

Fantasy Faire Ends

 

 It's been a great twenty days. But all good things come to an end. And aside from staff and those who remained in the sims after Midnight (or perhaps logged in when you were last at one of the sims soon after Midnight), the Fairelands are now closed to the general public. The 2026 Fantasy Faire is now officially over. And once the sims fade away, all that will be left are the items in our inventory, the screenshots we took, and memories. 

 

People in the Fantasy Faire group are continuing to chat, about the good times they had, the sights they saw, the items they got and found a place for, and more. And it will likely keep going for many days. I've talked to a few Relayers who have somewhat mixed feelings about the Faire, as it means smaller crowds for team events while it takes place. There's also that those with slower computers often have to wait until the evening to avoid the crowds, and lag. But practically everyone who's been at the Faire has fun with the sights, events, and/or shopping.

 

This year's Faire will be known for a few things, the "Children of Stories" roleplay in which a character died a heroic death, the Fairelands Quest with a faithful goat companion in which you try to get a sacred forest going with a single seed. Sadly though, this Faire had a shadow over it, the sudden departure of Patch Linden who many here saw as a friend and supporter. 

 

For most Relayers, it's time to move on to another few weeks for team events, then focus turns to the Relay Weekend on June 13 and 14. For other residents, there's also the Bay City parade and Second Life Birthday, followed by the Fourth of July and the remaining summer months. But for the core fans of the Fantasy Faire, while some other events are still fun, there's nothing quite like those magical two weeks in late April and early May. And they'll look back on the last one fondly while looking forward to the next one. 

 

Safe and exciting travels, Fairelanders,

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

*Update* The Faire raised a total of 23,914,480 Linden dollars.  

 

Cartoon of The Day: Missing Key

 

 Taken at the Fantasy Faire. One woman was standing next to a raccoon burying a key. So what could be happening here? I could think of one situation.

 

By Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Last Day For The Fantasy Faire

 

 It's the last day of the Fantasy Faire, and the last day in which you'll be able to enjoy the Fairelands for this year before they close to the general public. One can do a little sightseeing, like I did.

 

There are also impromptu events and gatherings. I missed the Centaur Parade, but I did catch a "Mad Dragon Party" at the Fairechylde following a dragonflight.

 

 I continued to come across avatars of all kinds. 

 

I would end up doing the rest of the quest, finding the last of the ingredients ...

 

 And after finishing the ritual, one flash of light, and the quest was complete. 

 

 And a trip to the final area to get the prizes. 

 

Enjoy the last day of the Faire,

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Reader Submitted Picture: Party Bus

 

 From Morgaana Gould, when she and a number of others, including Merryjest Starchild, were riding the Fantasy Fair's party bus from one sim to another.

 

 

The Fantasy Faire Winds Down

 

 

The weekend of May 9 and 10 would see the last of the Faire's official events, aside from ongoing ones. Among those on Saturday May 9 was a showing of a stage performance at 4PM, "The Book of Tangles" with Justine Johndory as Alice and Merryjest Starchild as the Cheshire Cat (natural choice).

 

 Close to about eighty saw the show, and the cast got a roaring round of applause. There was a video made, which should be available for the Newser soon.

 

 Sunday May 10 would have fewer official events. The big one was the Live Auction at the Golden Hour sim. The place was packed with well over a hundred present. 

 

 On Monday May 11 was "The Final Ravedown," which on paper ran from 11 AM to 7PM, though probably went on longer.

 

 Avatars of all shapes and sizes danced away, regular humans being a tiny minority from what I saw the short time I was there. Supposedly glowsticks were not allowed because of a certain incident, one that supposedly happened again last tear. But I doubt anyone was paying attention.

 

 While some no doubt partied for hours, others were shopping, casually exploring the sims, or doing the Fairelands Quest, part two taking place in Kallissaya. 

 

 There are some obstacles to overcome, such as finding the elusive Boyd the bird. For those who get stuck, there's often a helping hand in Fairelands chat. 

 

And on Wednesday at 12 Noon is an encore performance of  "The Book of Tangles" for those who missed it the first time or just want to see it again.

 

Enjoy the rest of the Faire,

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Patch's Jail and Bail

 

On Friday May 8, the Fantasy had it's Patch Jail and Bail. There were close to a hundred people in the sim, and the place was so laggy many avatars wouldn't rezz or were half-rezzed. To those who don't know, Patch Linden's Jail and Bail had been postponed twice, then was thrown up in the air when he was dismissed from Linden Lab last week. 

 

One more for the road! Let us take this opportunity to welcome a new (but oh so familiar) friend to the Fairelands. You may think Linden, but we say Pawtato. Either way it’s still the same old Patch so whether you are coming to say farewell or welcome, grab a friend or two and come party with Patch! 

 

Some people would rezz. Many had the tag "We <3 Patch." And I wasn't the only one having trouble seeing some avatars, "I seee.. ummm so many naked people, hehe."

Unfortunately for me as a photographer, the former Patch Linden, now Patch Pawtato, would only be a fraction rezzed, not much more than his nametag showing up in my viewer. He was in a jail cell made from peppermint bars and other candies. 

 

There were also some items up for sale, such as boopie dolls, duplicates of the candy jail, pink flamingo balloons, and more.  "I gotta get that Boopie, I'm a Boopie addict!" Someone was passing out cutouts of Patch for free. 

 

There were numerous jokes such as licking the cell bars and poking fun at Patch's surname, "lets do the hot potato," "All this Pawtato talk makes me hungry for some Pawtato Chips," challenges made by people to match donations, more joking comments, "I reject the Unweaver! I also reject the underwear." "Oh, Emm, Gee! Elayne will end up in the poor house after today!" Patch himself was licking the bars, even after a wolf was, "Someone seal that door shut with more royal icing. Don't let Patch escape!"

 

Patch also promised to get the Lindens to extend the Faire if the kiosk reached 800,000 L. It was, to Wednesday May 13, and the amount donated to the Relay kiosk continued to climb. People asked for "Fairelander" to be available once again as a choice of last name to choose to, but I never heard an affirmative to that. 

 

There was a griefer who tried disrupting the event. He was quickly ejected, "Kick that f**ker!" 

 

Eventually, the two hour mark was reached, and Patch was let go. Over a million Linden dollars were donated for the event, plus over a hundred thousand chipped in the vendor kiosks. 

 

 A video of the event was also done. 

 

 Stingray (Stingray9798 Raymaker) would say,  "Thank you again Patch -- not just for today, but for over 20 years of supporting ACS/RFL/Fantasy Faire in Second Life. Your commitment to our mission is a BIG reason why we've raised over $6 Million USD since 2005, why Fantasy Faire is one of the top Relay For Life 'team' events in the U.S. every year, and have consistently ranked among the top 20 Relay For Life events in the world for the past 5 years!! "

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Cartoon of The Day: Little Dragon

 

 Taken at the Fantasy Faire. One woman had with her a pet dragon, little and cute. But when they're no longer little, not so cute. Some dragons would know this.

 

By Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Fantasy Faire Extended, Weekend Schedule

 

 Good news for fans of the Fantasy Faire. The time the sims will remain up has been extended.

 

Thanks to the generosity of Lindens past and present as well as the cumulative goodwill of Fairelanders everywhere, Junction's gate will remain open to welcome shoppers, questers and explorers through the end of day Wednesday, May 13. Remember to check out the World Builders Wootable Collection located on the Fairechylde, and the Silent Auction before it closes at 1pm SLT on Saturday, May 9.
 

It should be noted that the time of official events has not been extended. But there is more time to shop around, enjoy the beauty of the sims, *maybe* enjoy an impromptu event or two, and of course finish the Fairelands Quest.

 

This weekend's events are as follows:

 

Today, Saturday May 9 

 

8am

PoetryFest: Poets Plunder with Klannex Northmead

10am

DJ ᴄʀᴀɪɢ ᴏʙꜱᴄᴜʀᴇ (Craig Obscure)

10am

Arts & Entertainment: SL ISO & Fly Kugin

10am

Film Festival: Golden Wafflies

11am

FilmFest: Golden Wafflies After Party

12pm

DJ Recki Laville

12pm

Arts & Entertainment: InMotion

12:30pm

Silent Auction Ends @ 1pm SLT

1pm

LitFest Tour: Bến Tôm Rơi

2pm

Arts & Entertainment Region: SHEEN Encore

3pm

TheatreFest Seahorse Valley Production

4pm

Arts & Entertainment; Merryjest Starchild

4:30pm

DJ ѵιϲτοrια ακεϻι κεrrοη (Victoria Bennett)

5pm

Cole Marie - Audio-Visual Performance

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ben%20Tom%20Roi/61/127/71

6:30pm

DJ Rïïρṩ (Torn Snowflake)

8:30pm

DJ Sin (Sin Enchantment)

10:30pm

DJ ラパ (Rapa Tone) (Day 1/2)

 

Sunday May 10 

 

10:30pm

DJ ラパ (Rapa Tone) (Day 2/2)

10am

Arts & Entertainment: The Night Theatre

10am

Seahorse Valley Performance

1pm

Live Auction on the Golden Hour

Showing events until Jul 20, 2026.

 

 

 

Update on The Patch Linden Jail And Bail Today, Friday May 8, At 11 AM

 

It seems Patch Linden, or simply "Patch" as he's being called, will get his goodbye party after all.

 

Patch Linden's Jail and Bail had already been postponed twice. Then his dismissal from Linden Lab seemed to doom it. But the entry for his scheduled one on Friday May 8 remained unchanged. Then this morning, the announcement had changed to the following:

 

 Friday, May 8th, 11AM – 1 PM SLT on The Golden Hour

One more for the road! Let us take this opportunity to welcome a new (but oh so familiar) friend to the Fairelands. You may think Linden, but we say Pawtato. Either way it’s still the same old Patch so whether you are coming to say farewell or welcome, grab a friend or two and come party with Patch!

 

So it seems the event has been changed from a jail and bail in which he was offering perks from Linden Lab to a farewell party. Once again, at The Golden Hour sim in the Fairelands at 11 AM SL time.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Reader Submitted Pictures: The Basement Kitties of Doom Jail and Bail

 

 From Kamida Delec. On Sunday May 3, there was a RFL Jail and Bail for Clover Denzo and "The Basement Kitties of Doom."  It started at 10:30 AM SL time. 

 

 "Quite a crowd."

 

The Newser does not know how much was raised, but "Jail and Bail" events at the Fantasy Faire can bring in many thousands of Linden dollars.

 

Cartoon of The Day: Mushroom Hat

 

 Taken at the Fantasy Faire. Someone had on a mushroom hat. Why this particularly odd-looking headwear? I could think of one reason. And no, it wasn't "using mushrooms to expand one's thinking."

 

By Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Happy Star Wars Day

 

It's May the Fourth, also know as Star Wars Day : "May the Fourth be with you." Going about the Fantasy Faire, someone was going about in Mandalorian armor with a "Baby Yoda"/ Grogu beside him. So the fan holiday is alive and well inworld.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

The Fairelands Quest: "The Pilgrim's Forest"

 

Among the things to do at the Fantasy Faire to do is The Fairelands Quest.  Part story, part game, one  gets prizes for completing parts as one progresses, and gets a large amount at the end. The theme is year is "The Pilgrim's Forest." 

The Bard Queen has good news. Possibly great news. A cache of soul-seeds has been found.

The ancient seeds could be the key to creating a powerful force against the Unweaver. But who can know if they’ve held their magic after so many years? That can only be discovered if Fairelanders – as many as possible – are willing to take on a pilgrimage to bless the seed, prepare it for planting, and solve the riddle of the ritual that will awaken a hallowed forest.

And so the Bard Queen asks, “Will you take a seed and try?”

To play the quest you need the HUD. You get it at one of the various HUD vendors across the Fairelands sims. The ones at Fairelands Junction is at (148/161/19). If the sim is busy, try one of the others such as Moonfleet Bay (133/154/76). The vendor with the Basic Hud needs 250 Linden dollars. If you want the Deluxe HUD, which also has an outfit you can do the quest in, that takes 350 Lindens. 

 

 Once you have the HUD giver, you find it in your inventory, click on it and select "add." It, in the form of the Faire symbol, will appear in your hand. Click on it, and a folder will appear with the contents in your inventory.

 

 

The Deluxe HUD package  has Fantasy-themed outfits for men and women, and human/furry and tinies,

 

After "click and add" on the HUD and "Hero," your companion in this quest, you visit the Bard Queen in Fairelands Junction to start it.  If you have trouble finding her, head to 209 108 95

 

 You then head to Willowton Cuthbert to see the first shrine. Once you do, you get a message from Hero, asking for you to meet up with her. 

 

You then head to Kalliaaya to meet up with Hero.

 

 You then visit the shrines across the Fairelands. After that comes the next step. 

 

Have fun questing,

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Cartoon of The Day: Schrodinger's Cat

 

 Taken at Fantasy Faire's Lilfest. This half a cat avatar reminded me of the theory of Schrodinger's Cat, that if there's a cat in a box with a 50-50 chance of dying before it's opened, it exists in a half dead and half live state. Well, this guy was half but alive.

 

By Bixyl Shuftan 

 

FF Announcement: Basement Kitties of Doom Jail and Bail. Tomorrow Sunday May 3, 10:30 AM

 

 

AKA "Clover Dezno and the Tinies"

 

"The BKODs always return to the scene of crime, case in point: the Fairelands. This time it is not joos, no. It is not aliems. Oh, no. It is technology! They have been littering the Fairelanders’ pockets with illicit phones of ill-repute that lie about your user history. It is all lies, I tell you! You can’t prove a thing! …I mean that for all this dangerous virus-driven slander Clover Dezno and the Basement Kittehs of DOOM have been caged under lock and key and only you can prevent forest fires! No wait. Virus-infected slanderous claims about your user history, that’s the one. The courtroom music provided by DJ Gem Sunkiller, come be the jury and vote in the RFL kiosks!"

 

Sunday, May 3rd, 10:30 AM-12:30 PM SLT on the Golden Hour

 

SL VIdeo: "Da Basement Underground - Fantasy Faire 2026"

 

 (click here if the video does not play)

 

 From Nitwacket on April 27, The "Basement Kitties of Doom" playing music at the Fantasy Faire. 

 

SL Video: " Fantasy Faire 2026 in Second Life, annual walk through every region"

 

 (click here if the video does not play)

 

 From Pryda Parx Studio on April 26, "This is my 2026 annual walk through every region of Fantasy Faire in Second Life. There were 20 regions this year. There were lots of shiny things, like the puddles in the library, taking advantage of PBR. Dragons of course, a huge kitsune and a huge stone elf. This is the 9th year I have filmed a walk through every region, starting in 2018. The others can be sen on my YouTube PlayList: https://studio.youtube.com/playlist/P... The timeline: 0:00:00 - Heian 0:08:09 - Stoneveil Crossing 0:13:58 - Fairelands Junction 0:29:11 - Kallissya 0:34:08 - Lost Pages 0:39:17 - Achroma 0:44:46 - Lost Pages 0:48:33 - The Golden Hour 0:55:02 - Untamed Ink 1:00:59 - Reservoir Zero 1:05:15 - Vervaine Moors 1:10:08 - Melloona 1:14:11 - Ben Tom Roi 1:19:07 - Moonfleet Bay 1:31:34 - Canny Valley 1:35:35 - Willowton Cuthbert 1:39:02 - Requiem 1:48:37 - Amon Galadrann 1:59:59 - Ebonfall Aetherium 2:08:18 - Aventurine Promenade 2:15:31 - UlimHyl 2:24:28 - Heian"

At The Fantasy Faire

 

 Sunday it was back to the Fantasy Faire, ant it's sights to see. I didn't have as much time as Saturday, but still had plenty of fun.

 

 With the technical glitches gone, the Children of Stories roleplay at 1 PM went smoother.

 

 We were investigating the mystery of the zigurat, and helping out ghosts we found, going through a portal, making a choice of which of three trials to face, and meeting the challenge.

 

Who chooseth the Gold Casket shall gain what many men desire.
Who chooseth the Silver Casket shall get what he deserves.
Who chooseth the Lead Casket must give and hazard all he hath. 

 

 

Those who chose lead ended up facing a challenge that rewarded us with a "Staff of the Fallen." But for one of us, it was so exhausting, it was back to camp. 

 

Check out today's events here: https://fantasyfairesl.wordpress.com/calendar/ 

 

Bixyl Shuftan