Zyx Loves the Arboretum

Zyx Flux, the Chief Gardener at the Bay City Arboretum of Rather Atypical Vegetation (SLurl), explores a lot on her days off but it isn't unusual to find her hanging out at work anyway. That she lives in the barn behind the main building might explain it.

She tells me that she's very happy with the current exhibits, recently refreshed in a fit of activity that involved lots of blood, sweat, and dirt.

Bay City Valentines Event

Following is a press release from the Bay City Activity Center for a Valentine's Day event:

Valentine's Day was first associated with "romantic love" when the tradition of courtly love was first flourishing in the Middle Ages by Geoffrey Chaucer, who is thought of by many as the greatest English poet of his time. In many classrooms today children decorate shoe boxes to exchange valentines cards and treats with friends.  Join us at the Bay City Activity Center (SLurl)  for a fun tradition everyone can enjoy!

SCHEDULE:
Feb  1st-10th - Contestant Submissions Accepted
Feb  11th-13th - Judging
Feb  14th - DJ Crossfire + Winners Announced!

RULES:
-Shoe Boxes must be mod/trans.
-Shoe Boxes cannot be scripted.
-Shoe Boxes must be decorated in a PG style.
-Shoe Boxes must fit within the boundaries of a standard prim.
-Shoe Boxes must be under 15 land impact.
-Texture size must be 512x512, or under.
-Only one entry per avatar.
-Last day to submit house is February 10th.

PRIZES:
Best Overall        Most Creative       Most Original       Most Traditional
1,000L                500L  1st Place     500L  1st Place    500L  1st Place
                          250L 2nd Place      250L 2nd Place    250L 2nd Place
                          100L 3rd Place      100L 3rd Place      100L 3rd Place
All contestants will receive a special gift from the residents of Bay City!

Please send your entry to Ayame Kintsugi (AKA Zombiegal) and be sure permissions are set to mod/trans. Full Perm is preferable, but we understand if you do not want to do this.

Winning shoe boxes will be announced on Valentine's Day, with prizes distributed to the winners following announcement. All contestants must submit their finished shoe boxes before February 10th to be eligible for winning prizes.

􀀀

Just want to see all of the lovely entries? Stop on by!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bay%20City%20-%20Orleans/122/93/26

More information about the Activity Center can be found in our FB group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BayCityActivityCenter/

More information on the card exchange:
Participation in the shoe box decoration contest is not necessary to exchange valentines. If you would like to exchange valentines, just come and join us for a fun social hour and great music on Valentine's Day at noon!

If you are participating in the shoe box decorating contest, here's how it'll work for you: All contestants' decorated shoe box entries will have a script added to them to receive valentines that have been dropped into them. A copy will be sent directly to the participant, as well as a copy saved inside of their shoe box as a keepsake. If an item is dropped into a shoe box that is No Copy, it will be sent directly to the user with no copy saved inside of their shoe box.

# # #

Mole Day 2015

BAY CITY, SL (26th January, 2015) - It’s nearly that time of year again when we look for furry little shadows. You do have your shadows enabled, no? It's not about groundhogs -- it's about the Moles of the Linden Department of Public Works!

Initially honored in 2010 by Residents of Bay City, Mole Day is set aside to show appreciation for The Moles and their many contributions to Bay City and the rest of the Second Life™ Grid.

This year’s annual Mole Day will again take place at the Bay City Fairgrounds (SLurl) February 2nd commencing at 5:00 p.m. SLT. The event will feature DJ GoSpeed Racer of KONA stream followed by Marky Helstein performing live at 6:00 p.m. SLT.

"Moles" are members of The Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW). The LDPW is a program focused on improvements related to the experience of living on, or visiting the Linden Mainland. The LDPW organizes teams of Resident builders, artists, and scripters (the Moles!) to create new content on Linden Lab's behalf and to the benefit of all. These Residents have the last name “Mole.”

Moles essentially build all of the grid’s infrastructure: the public roads and railways, items in our coastal waterways and protected lands, and even larger scale projects like the Linden Homes regions, premium content and experiences, and much more.

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 group for Residents of Bay City.

For more information, or to participate in the event, please contact Marianne McCann.

# # #

New Year's Prim Drop in Bay City

Bay City is one again preparing for their annual "Prim Drop" on 31st December, with festivities commencing at 11:30 pm SLT. Festivities will take place at the Bay City Fairground in North Channel (SLurl) with a brief music set presented by Marianne McCann as well as fireworks and other fun. Food and drink will be provided.

The event is themed as an outdoor, wintertime soirée, and black tie attire is recommended. Nevertheless, all Second Life® Residents are welcome to attend and mingle with Bay City's high society.

This will also be the last event in Bay City this year for donating to Child's Play Charity (www.childsplaycharity.org). Child's Play is a 501c3 non profit organization offers online communities such as ours an opportunity to help seriously ill children around the globe during their hospital stays with the purchase of games and gaming equipment.

As of the 24th of December, Bay City has raised a staggering L$355,273 for Child's Play Charity through their annual silent auction and tree lighting concert, a Christmas tree sale, and other events (emphasis added).

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 group for Residents of Bay City.

For more information, or to participate in the event, please contact Marianne McCann.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Santa wishes everyone in Bay City and all of Second Life a Merry Christmas!

I had fun posting pix of the jolly elf in Our Fair City to the Bay City Post Twitter account (@BayCityPost) through the last month and I hope you enjoyed seeing his travels.

Bay City Activity Center Gingerbread House Competition

The following is a Press Release from the Bay City Activity Center:

It is believed that the tradition of decorating gingerbread houses started in Germany in the early 1800's and is often attributed to the famous Grimm's fairy tale story of Hansel and Gretel. Join us at (SLurl) for a fun holiday tradition!

SCHEDULE:
Dec 15th-20th - Contestant Submissions Accepted
Dec 21st-23rd - Judging
Dec 24th - Reading of "Hansel & Gretel" + Winners Announced!

RULES:
-Houses cannot be scripted. -Houses must fit into standard prim.
-Houses must be under 15 land impact.
-Texture size must be 512x512, or under.
-Only one entry per avatar.
-Last day to submit house is December 20th.

PRIZES:

Three Categories with prizes of L$500 for 1st Place, L$250 for 2nd Place, and L$100 for 3rd place
Most Creative
Most Original
Most Artistic

Best Overall = L$1000

All contestants will receive a special gift from the residents of Bay City!

Send entries to Ayame Kintsugi (Zombiegal Resident) with a notecard specifying the name of your creation to be displayed on an index card alongside it. Please note that this means your entry must be transferable. 

Winning houses will be announced on Christmas Eve, with prizes distributed to the winners following announcement. All contestants must submit their finished Gingerbread Houses before December 20th to be eligible for winning prizes.

Just want to see all of the lovely entries? Stop on by (SLurl)!

More information about the Activity Center can be found in our FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BayCityActivityCenter/

# # #

Santa, Ever, and That Poem

While I was walking back from the Real Life pharmacy it seems that I missed another visit by Santa to Bay City but a reporter for The Post was hot on the jolly old elf's trail and posted the appearance (original here) at Ever Dreamscape's memorial in Bay City - Dennis (SLurl), giving the big guy some private time.

Readers of this blog probably remember that Christmas 2013 was Ever's last with her friends and family in Our World and in Real Life so they probably can imagine that this holiday season is that much less festive without her. It was also last year that Ever let me post a copy of her special adaptation of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement Clarke Moore. I ran across it the other day and thought of sending a copy to the Bay City Alliance group (and still might) but after talking with a few people I thought it would be okay to freshen Ever's work a little to reflect the changes in Second Life over the last year. So here goes ...

A Visit from St. Ebbe 

Twas the night before Christmas and all thro' the lot,
Not a creature on radar not even a bot.
The stockings were rezzed by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Ebbe soon would be there.
The moles were nestled all snug in their dens,
While visions of mesh danc'd in their heads.

 My alt, who was ruthed, and I in bald cap,
Were just logging off for a long restart's nap.
When out on the sculpty lawn there arose such a clatter,
I stood from my totally G-rated bed (“honest”) to see who was griefing with pixellated matter!

Away to the teleport I flew like a flash,
Clicked on my mini map, and waited to crash.
I turned up my draw distance and opened an AR,
With graphics on high I could really cam far.
When what to my V3.67891-2a did soon rez,
But a sleigh full of prims and eight noobs (one wearing a fez)

With a prim-endowed driver, probably named Luv4Debbie,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Ebbe.
More rabid than vampires his coursers they came,
And he gestured, and shouted, and call'd them by name:
"Now! dasher101 now! dancer22 now! prancertheromancer13 and hotchickvixen24
"On! cometcutie92 on! cupid4U69 on! donder95 and blitzenishawt;

"To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
"Now animate! Animate! Animate all!"
So up to the skybox the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of premium gifts — and St. Ebbe too:
And then in a frame, I heard on the roof
The freebie clicky heels of each little goof.
As I opened my pan zoom, and was camming around,
Down the teleport St. Ebbe rezzed with a bound:

A new shopping bag was rezzed on his head,
And he look'd like a newbie confused and full of dread:
He was skinny and tall, sliders raised to the max,
And I activated my laugh gesture, then waited for rez of my new mesh slacks;
A wink of his eye, wow he must have a face animation
Made me wonder if I 'd be better off gaming on Playstation.

Not a chat or IM, he went straight to his work,
And rezzed freebie crap all over; wow what a jerk,
And after his avatar had seemingly froze
He walked into a wall, then up the teleport he rose.
He sat on his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle:
But I then heard him shout, ere he drove off the sim,
"Happy Second Life to all, don't leave for Skyrim!"

Best of the season to everyone from The Poultry Report. Treasure your family and friends as they are they best gift you can ever receive in any world.

The Tree Lighting Report

BAY CITY ANNUAL TREE LIGHTING A SUCCESS

Fifth tree lighting raises an amazing L$277,371 for charity

BAY CITY, SL (7th November, 2014) - The annual Tree Lighting event held by the Bay City Alliance on Saturday, 6th December 2013 was a huge success, with the silent auction raising a whopping L$159,271. This, coupled with donations into the bins of L$43,100 gives the event a grand total on the day of L$202.371, and a new record for the event. Another large donation on the 7th raised the total up to L$277,371.

The winning bids are displayed at the Bay City Fairgrounds in in North Channel (SLurl), and the donation bins are still out an active at that location for additional late donations until the 1st of January. A lighted boat parade and skate party, as well as the New Year's Eve Prim Drop, are still forthcoming at the venue this holiday season.

All proceeds from the silent auction and from donation bins will go to Child's Play Charity. Child's Play is a 501c3 non profit organization offers online communities such as ours an opportunity to help seriously ill children around the globe during their hospital stays with the purchase of games and gaming equipment.

The Bay City Alliance wishes to thank all of those who donated goods and services to the auction: Vick Forcella, Robin Sojourner, Flowey, Pygar Bu, Whiskey Monday, Uccello Poultry, Benjamin Wahl, Zen Creations, %Percent, Lightning Video, Echelon Sands, ADudeNamed Anthony, and Black Tulip, as well as Apple Fall for their generation Linden donation.

Thanks also to our performers, Beth Odets, Christov Kohnke, and GoSpeed Racer of KONA Stream, Marianne McCann for organizing the event, Kinnaird and Rachel Seelowe for helping arrange for donation items, to Kriss Lehmann of Botanical for providing the tree and lights, residents of Bay City for their tree ornaments, and finally, thanks to to each of you who donated, participated in the silent auction, and came out today to participate!

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 group for Residents of Bay City.

For more information please contact

Marianne McCann
Bay City Alliance
marianne.mccann@gmail.com

Bay City Charity Auction

Readers of this blog may recall that around the time of the American Thanksgiving holiday I posted a press release for Bay City's annual tree lighting event and charity auction (see here). The party will take place on Saturday, 6th December 2014 from 1-4 pm SLT at the Bay City Fairgrounds, in North Channel (SLurl) and will feature DJ GoSpeed Racer and live performer Christov Kohnke. Additional activities will include ice-skating, dancing, refreshments and lots of other fun.

Did you see the word auction up there? Here are the items that you can bid to win!

You can visit the fairgrounds (SLurl) anytime starting NOW to see the prizes and bidding should start shortly.

Press Release - Bay City's Annual Tree Lighting 2014

Bay City's Annual Tree Lighting 2014, the fifth of this annual celebration, will take place on Saturday, 6th December 2014 from 1-4 pm SLT at the Bay City Fairgrounds, in North Channel (SLurl) and will feature DJ GoSpeed Racer and live performer Christov Kohnke. Additional activities will include ice-skating, dancing, refreshments and lots of other fun.

As part of the event, a silent auction supporting Child's Play Charity (www.childsplaycharity.org) will be held. We are asking Second Life™ designers and artists to participate by providing fun, interesting, unique, or other transferrable items (or a no-copy object that the auction winner can give to you to redeem their prize, if the item(s) have to be no transfer). Please contact Marianne McCann to participate.

The Auction will end at the conclusion of the event. All proceeds from the silent auction and from donation bins at the venue will go to Child's Play Charity. Child's Play is a 501c3 non profit organization offers online communities such as ours an opportunity to help seriously ill children around the globe during their hospital stays with the purchase of games and gaming equipment.

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 group for Residents of Bay City.

For more information, or to participate in the event, please contact Marianne McCann (marianne.mccann@gmail.com).

#  #  #

Miss Bay City 2014

The judges have spoken and for good or for ill, Miss Bay City 2014 has been chosen and she is me. Looking at the list of entrants and thinking about the wonderful answers they gave to Event Emcee Pygar Bu's questions I'm sure it was close call for the judges.

Alyssa Elizabeth Kintsugi
Cinder Roxley
Lorna Stratten
Linsey Carter
Maureen Boccaccio
and me!

The judges were Marianne McCann, Adudenamed Anthony, and Evola Courtois.

Thank you to Pygar and the judges and many thanks to the other contestants. I had a small hope to win but I entered this year for the same reason I entered last time ... to fill out the field. Any of you ladies would make fine a Miss Bay City and I certainly hope you try again next year. If for some reason I am unable to fulfill my duties this year I leave it to Pygar and the judges to choose one of you to fill the sash.

The job is primarily ceremonial and to have fun, but I'd still like to dedicate my year to the memory of our dear Ever Dreamscape and use my office to help make Our Fair City a bit more silly in her name. She helped make Bay City a fun place to live and I'd like to officially carry on that tradition.

This doesn't mean that I will be setting things on fire, mind you.

Or does it?

Hot Bay City Nights (Official)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Marianne McCann
Bay City Alliance
marianne.mccann@gmail.com

HOT BAY CITY NIGHTS 2014

Event feature top Second Life™ vintage automakers.

BAY CITY, SL (18th August, 2014) - Now in its third year, "Hot Bay City Nights" celebrates Bay City's mid-century theme as well as its large network of roads. The event will showcase vehicle makers who create automobiles from the Bay City "theme era," stretching from 1940 to 1965. 

Established vintage automobile designers will be found in the Bay City Fairgrounds, in the North Channel region, from August 23-30 to present the best in vintage and retro vehicles for all Second Life™ avatars.

Additional events will provide plenty for all to do, including the crowning of 2014's Miss Bay City and a number of charity car wasesh. The event will raise funds for Child's Play, a charity that provides toys and games for children in hospitals around the world.

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

# # #

Hot Bay City Nights Poster

Bay City Fairgrounds @North Channel 23-30 August 2014

Miss Bay City Info

This just in ... Some details for the next Miss Bay City contest to be held during Hot Bay City Nights starting on August 23rd have been released by event emcee Pygar Bu.

This contest is for all avatars, and there are no limits on how you present yourself. However, we would like you to appear in some sort of vintage clothing appropriate for the period (1940-65).

The contest will be held during the event, hosted by Pygar Bu, and DJed by GoSpeed Racer of KONA Radio. Contestants are encouraged to "act the part" of a beauty contest participant, and will be expected to answer a pageant-style question or two.

What you get from the contest: a special group tag in the Bay City Alliance group (if you aren't a member, ask Marianne McCann for an invite), a sash and tiara, and city-wide recognition! :-D

Sound like fun? Bring your best smile, and be our next "Miss Bay City"!

The annual event will again be held at the Bay City Fairgrounds (SLurl). Creators of some of Second Life's best vintage automobiles will have their wares on display and if previous years are any indication, there may be some freebies to grab. Dances and a car wash will be held with all proceeds going to Childs Play, a charity that seeks to enrich the lives of children in hospitals.

Reporting for Etv News and The Poultry Report, I'm Uccie Galway.

Etv @ the Arboretum

One of the fun uses of MySecondLife.com is to quickly tell a story. If you saw these photos below posted on the site today, though, you would have seen them out of sequence. That is a frequent bug of late but at least the service is working.

Am I on?

Where are you pointing that thing?

(*whispers* in three ... two) A new exhibit at the Bay City Arboretum of Rather Atypical Vegetation has some residents worried. A new plant frightening in appareance is outside the main entrance.

So I asked the plant, who identified himself as Phil O'Dendren, "Are you, ineed, dangerous?"

Reporting from the Arboretum in Bay City - Dennis for Etv News, this ..... erggffff

(silence)

Arboretum News

Zyx Flux, the Chief Gardener at the Bay City Arboretum of Rather Atypical Vegetation (SLurl), sent this picture to me in email this morning with a note:

The delivery I was expecting was left out front instead of at the service entrance. I think it ate the palm tree that was there. I'm looking for volunteers to move it inside because I'm not going near it. We should probably put up some caution tape or something?

You never know what you'll find at the Arboretum. Have you explored Bay City lately?

SL11B - Embargo Lifted!

The official Second Life 11th Birthday blog has published more than a few sneak peek pictures of the event in the building stages as have quite a few Residents on their blogs and on their MySL pages. Many of the pix from the latter forums turned out to be more than carefully cropped previews, but no one went all Snowden on the event. Some of the mystery is preserved. I held off until today and here are some of the images I've been collecting since I was given access last week. These and more can be found in my SL11B Flickr album. Many more will be posted directly from the Second Life "Share" viewer I'm testing. The event officially opens June 22 at Noon SLT.

My job this year was to be Doc Gascoigne's body guard.
Whenever he was AFK I'd protect him with a tub of lime Jell-O®.

Pygar Bu created a lovely stage complex for the Auditorium. The detailed, bucolic setting has paths to explore, prep stages for presenters, and a spacious main stage.
Did I mention there were snacks? (SLurl)

On rehearsal day at the Auditorium I watched Hamayu Andel and a Modern Chinese Ballet go through their act. Clear your calendar for June 26th at 6PM SLT to see this amazing performance. Amazing music, gorgeous sets in brilliant colors, and a great story, too. Must See! (SLurl)

These next three images are of the Bay City exhibit (SLurl) crafted by Marianne McCann. It has a very 60s vibe to it and is a good reflection of corporate promotional style. Be sure, as with many of the exhibits, to have Advanced Lighting active to see the intricate details that Mari has added. This is the future of Second Life, people. Get used to it.

The Cake Stage (SLurl) is another amazing build. Loki Eliot is always pushing the envelope in everything he crafts and this venue is no exception. Again, use Advanced Lighting when you can.

Multi-region bridges connect all of SL11B to the Cake Stage, with lights pulled right out of the Tron movies pulsing, swirling, and flowing. Fly around out side and you'll see some cool sculptures, too.

Inside the Dome. It would be a crime if you attended an event in the Cake Stage and didn't fly into the dome. Imagine this picture in 3D and moving.

Look for the VIP boxes. There be gifts hidden in them. Plus, look a the stuff near the seats on the dance floor and click the white buttons. Heck, click everything!! Loki is a master of details.

Just wandering the regions is fun, too. Here is a typical scene. Just like Mainland SL you'll find jarring juxtapositions and harmonious habitats so wander around on foot for at least some of your visit. Many buildings are very tall so do some flying, too.

Just a street? (SLurl)

One of the Time Capsules near the Welcome Area (a treat in itself) (SLurl)

Above is one of my prides and joys, the Time Capsule for SL7B. That year I won the design contest so I have a lasting presence on The Grid. Each year some of the past Time Capsules and select items donated to these repositories are set out to show people what Second Life looked like in years past. Go here to read about this year's contest.

Lastly, a reminder to look up. Not all you can see is at ground level. Cam, climb, or fly and you might see ...

Somniatis - Ascension of the Digital Consciousness (SLurl)