This Saturday at The Science Circle

 

Saturday May 16

 

    ~*~

 

At 10 AM PST  

 

The Orange Gene in Cats: A Genetics Quest

By Mary Anne Clark, Phd

 

SURL: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Science%20Circle/59/128/29

 

    ~*~

 

    NOTE: Non-members required to register once

    IM Jes Cobalt or Nymf Hathaway

╚══════════════════════════════ The Science Circle (72,129,30) ═╝  

  

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.  

 

Press Release: Bay City's 18th Anniversary Celebration.

BAY CITY CELEBRATES EIGHTEEN YEARS

This Classic City Area was the First “Mole” Project

BAY CITY, SL (30 April, 2026) - The Second Life® mainland community of Bay City reaches the eighteenth anniversary or its initial release this May, and Bay City Residents are once again hosting their traditional parade down the city’s Route 66, followed by a live music event in their fairgrounds.

The first project of the Linden Department of Public Works, Bay City opened in May of 2008 to initial viewing. In 2011, its land mass doubled, as it absorbed the copy of Bay City that existed on the former Teen Grid. It has developed into the largest community-focused virtual urban area in Second Life.

Parade participants are asked to gather at noon SLT/PDT on Sunday, the 17th of May, to lineup at the band shell in Bay City - Harwich. The parade will wend its way down Route 66 beginning at 12:30 p.m. SLT/PDT, and will conclude at the Bay City Fairgrounds in the North Channel region. 

A music event will kick off at 12:30 p.m. SLT/PDT at the Fairgrounds with DJ DJ GoSpeed of KONA Stream providing music leading into the event until 1:30 p.m.SLT/PDT , followed by AleyKat (Aleylia Resident)from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. SLT/PDT, Jesie Janick from 2:30-3:30 p.m. SLT/PDT, and Raspberry Rearwin from 3:30-4:30 p.m. SLT/PDT.

All Residents of the Second Life grid are encouraged to participate. Celebration goods, including parade float bases and ideas, are available at the Bay City Community Center, in the Daley Bay region for those who wish to be a part of the event. Ample viewing areas are provided for all. The music event is also open to all who desire to attend -- not only Residents of Bay City, but the entire grid is welcome.

Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab® and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life® and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest Bay city group, and home to most Residents of Bay City.

For more information, contact: Marianne McCann

 

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.

 

 

RFL Sunbeamers: Bid Me Ringtail

 

 Team Sunbeamers has one more Bid Me fundraiser this month. This time it's intrepid reporter, Bixyl Shuftan, has stepped forward to put his looks on the line in "Bid Me Ringtail."

 

The rules are fairly simple. There are two kiosks at Club Cutlass in the room behind the dance floor, a default one on the left, and a change one on the right.  For every three thousand Linden dollars donated to the right kiosk, rounded down, Bixyl has to spend a week as a ringtail. 5999 Linden dollars would mean one week, 6000 L would mean two with a stripped long tail. For those wanting to keep the fox reporter foxy, they can donate to the kiosk on the left. It it's total is higher than the right one, he stays as he is. 

 

People have until Saturday May 23 at 8PM SL time to head to Club Cutlass and donate. At that time, all results will be final. 

 

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunweaver%20Bay/114/117/757 

 

Go Sunbeamers! Go Relay!

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Events This Week at the Sunweaver and Montecito Bay Clubs, Furry Fashion, Urban Furry, and Club Scorn

 

Here's what's going on at the Sunweaver, Montecito Bay, Furry Fashion, Urban Furry, and Scorn clubs.

Club Cutlass: The 80s, Modern Classical, TBA

Happy Vixen: DJ Scratch, DJ Umbra, TBA, DJ Khyra

Club Zero Gravity: DJ Snowy - TBA

 

Bouncing Bunny Beach Club:  DJ Snowy - TBA

Xanadu: DJ Jesse 

 

Montecito Bay:  CAYA, After Dark

Club Scorn: Th 8-12, Sat 2-12

 

Furry Fashion: Blue, TBA, Jungle Animals

 

Urban Furry :  DJ Charlee, DJ Emma, DJ Emma

 

Read the schedules in SL Clubbin'

 

 

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

 

FRL Announcement: Antiquity ACTS Week Safari Racing

 

 Get ready!!!

Antiquity ACTS Week starts Monday...May 11th!  It's gonna be...WILD!

First up:
Monday, May 11th

11am slt  Opening Dance Party with DJ Skar!

12noon slt Safari Beetle Car Racing!!

All welcome!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Antiquity%20Britannica/161/104/2002

 

The BBB Gazette Says Goodbye To Patch

 

A couple days ago on Saturday May 9, there was an article in the  "Gazette," closely associated with the Belliseria Bureau of Bureaucracy. Written by Liberty Fairelander, it was a goodbye to a longtime friend of the BBB, who made news the week before due to his sudden exit from Linden Lab, "Farewell Patch Linden."

 

 From our vantage point, Patch was never just a name on an org chart. He was a builder of worlds. Not in the abstract. Not in a distant, corporate sense — but in a deeply tangible way residents understand; coastlines we walk, homes we love, communities we belong to. Bellisseria did not simply appear one day — it was cultivated, expanded, and protected by vision, persistence, and an uncommon understanding of what residents actually needed. Patch brought all three.

He was a friend to the BBB. He had one of our first passports. We worked alongside him in big and small moments. From major celebrations where he stood with residents as one of us, to quiet conversations that helped shape experiences behind the scenes. He listened, and then he acted. Not symbolically. Practically. That matters more than people sometimes realise. 

 

... Patch showed up. Again and again. For residents. For events. For the community. Whether it was a formal appearance, a colleague’s birthday surprise or a moment of shared laughter at a gathering, he never felt distant from the world he helped steward for nearly twenty years. That’s not something you mandate in a job description. That’s character. That’s commitment.

 

... Patch’s legacy is not a single project or initiative—it is woven into the everyday experience of Second Life® itself. So, from all of us at the Bellisserian Bureau of Bureaucracy—leadership, ambassadors, and bureaucrats — we offer both our gratitude and our respect. Thank you, Patch, for the worlds you helped build, the communities you helped nurture, and the countless moments — seen and unseen — where your work made a difference. Wherever your path leads next, we have no doubt you’ll leave it better than you found it.  

 

The article in it's entirety can be read in The Gazette. 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

SL Video: "Gone But Not Forgotten"

 

(click here if the video does not play)

 From Blue Storm Productions on  September 2025, "What a time to come out of my hiatus just to create a sad video. My friend, Lexy Amore, passed away September 24th, 2025. In remembrance and in tribute to her memory... I put this together. Many tears were shed during the creation of this video. Hopefully, down the line. There will be much more in your face and high energy videos to come."