With the Teardown postponed for a day, the Relay for Life Weekend's track saw more activity as people took the time to both visit builds they hadn't yet seen up close, and to hold impromptu parties. Individual teams held small gatherings at their camps, which sometimes attracted well-wishers dropping in. Plus there was the event held by T-1 Radio on Wednesday afternoon.
At the Relay station's record player build, Trader Whiplash played the tunes while the Relayers danced away. People talked and joked and cheered one another, congratulating one another for a job well done.
Thursday was The Teardown. While a few builds remained up until late in the day, most were down or were in the process of being taken down by the time some American Relayers were getting home from work.
Hey folks! As we move in the wrap-up of Relay Weekend I want to take a moment to say thanks for making this year's track such a success and so easy to maintain! I barely had to ask anyone to move their items back onto their parcel! YAY! I'm tearing it all down now so be advised I will be returning items on the track to their owners. Later tonight, we will return any builds that have not been removed in order to prepare to return the regions to Lindens and hopefully, be ready for next year! Thank you!
I was able to see some members of Team Aether Chrononauts making an event out of their teardown, taking parts of their build, hoisting them into the air, unlinking the prims, and letting the pieces drop. But usually camps were taken down quietly without any announcement.
And so comes the end of another Relay season. While technically it won't be the end until the official wrap-up party in August, for most Relay volunteers this is the end of the long event. A few were talking about the Relay in the InWorldz Grid, or the Christmas Relay Expo.
The Relay wasn't all fun and games. There was a griefer incident involving "sim crashers," which was quickly squashed. There was also a protester against the American Cancer Society mentioned in Relay chat, but witnesses were saying he wouldn't offer any evidence of his rants. A couple teams also told me of nerves getting frayed and tempers flaring a little as the Relay Weekend approached and it was crunch time, but differences were patched up.
But for just about everyone, the 2014 Relay was a happy time, which left happy memories, and will be missed. At least we have records of it.
The Newser will soon have it's show of scenes from across the track. For now there are other links one can go to.
http://wildstarbeaumont.blogspot.com/
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/wildstar_b/
http://www.softpaw.org/LJimages/SL/RFL14
https://www.flickr.com/photos/softpaw_sommer/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/feelingdoing/ (DrFran Babcock)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/danielvoyager/
The Relay Weekend was the last event of it's size in Second Life until Burn2 in October.
Bixyl Shuftan
For me, the Relay Weekend and it's aftermath mark the end of the "busy time." June has the Newser's anniversary and the Second Life Birthday, both June and July have Relay for Life events, and July has the setting up of the Relay track and the Relay Weekend. As a Second Life resident, I've found both with lots to see. The SLB has lots of exhibits, while the exhibits in the Relay are larger and to see everything you often have to get in there and root around. Some people celebrate the SLB with reserved enthusiasm, their love of Second Life compromised by Linden Lab's questionable customer service and it's seemingly indifferent attitude. The Relay in contrast has many residents with seemingly boundless enthusiasm as they're at the high point of a long event in which they raise funds for a cause practically everyone believes in and have lots of fun doing it.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to pic a weekend in which one can have the most fun in Second Life, this is it.
But life, and Second Life, goes on. Some of the core Relayers are talking about the InWorldz Relay Weekend next month. The Steelhead and Sunweaver communities have began moving on in their own ways, the latter with a new surfing hangout where one can grab a board and hang ten. For this fox reporter, it means catching up a bit on news articles that accumulated in the "IN" box as I was busy with the Relay. The "busy time" for me is not yet over.