Underwater at the Lake Stage (general)

If you’re like me you tend to forget just how much of Second Life is underwater. I was reminded of this as I stumbled around trying to wake up this morning and got very, very wet.

The Lake Stage (general)

As with most of my adventures, it began innocently enough. I wanted to capture the fabulous, fantasy Lake Stage. Dancing on top of a beautiful, albeit gigantic, mushroom cap would not have been possible before mesh hit the grid. You really need to see this build!

Then I opened my eyes a little wider and looked around.

Underwater Exhibits (general)

One of the things I enjoy about the Birthday Celebration is finding a bathosphere next to the Mars Lander (among other wonderful things). You’ll find a lot of ways to get under the surface and discover the world that many of our neighbours inhabit.

Maya Paris (general)

Luckily for me Maya Paris↑ is also in this area, so I got breakfast and some much needed caffeine. Once fortified, I piled my towels on the walkway and dove back in. Make sure you check the stage and auditorium schedules↑. There’s something going on 24 hours a day if you need to dry off. :)

More Underwater Exhibits (general)

Loki’s Behemoth (general)

As usual, there’s so much to see at the event that my head is spinning – but let me share a few things with you. I love, love, love Loki Eliot’s Behemoth↑. His build is gorgeous and clever and amusing, but don’t take my word for it. Draxtor has done a nice, short machinima↑ which will explain it much better than I could. :)

As it happens, the Behemoth is part of Day 1 of the Long Walk↑, which is the diary of David Abbot’s explorations. It is also a hunt – if you follow in his footsteps you will find the occasional red X which marks the spot where a special gift is hiding. So, not only do you get advice helping you actually see everything over the course of the event, but you get cool stuff!

Voodoo Studios (general)

In addition to shadowing David’s journey I did some random teleporting. I loved the look of the Voodoo Studios build↑ and the immense and fabulous Cake Stage↑. If you’re missing the cake you just look up, way up. You’ll find it and enjoy both the music and this wonderous creation.

However, speaking of hunts (as I was) there is a dual-pathed adventure being run, in part, by my old *cough* friend Magellan Linden. I’ve spoken about our tortured history↑ before, but I’m over it (really!) so I’ll be an adult and assure you I can behave – particularly when there are puzzles and prizes involved.

Cake Stage (general)

If you have a premier membership (hey! there are a few perks!) you can participate in a series of quests to help Magellan solve a huge problem (why am I not surprised he’s getting other people to do the hard part?). It actually looks like a lot of fun, but since I’m terrible at this stuff I think I’m going to recruit some others and we’ll do it as a team.

The starting point↑ has a list of the quests, the HUD and tutorial and even tips. It really does look like fun! I’m not entirely sure why it’s on a Moderate sim – so make a note of that. If you’re 17 you won’t be able to participate. BUT! There is another part of this seeking-cool-gifts adventure.

SLB Hunt (moderate)

Heading back to the SL10B Community Celebration I discovered that Magellan might, perhaps, have mellowed a bit. Well not entirely.

You see he’s set up some vendors around the 20 sims which will dispense collectables – but each is only available for a limited time. I can’t tell you when an item will be ready for grabbing or even what might be offered at any given time. When the inventory of the object runs out the vendor shuts down and doesn’t operate again until he gets off his butt and puts another one inside.

Finding the vendors is your first task, getting lucky enough to be there at the right time is your second. I, of course, was not rewarded. It wouldn’t be personal right? I mean, it’s not like I shared ALL his dirty laundry.

Magellan’s Gift Kiosk (general)

The Man 2002 (general)

He stands on top of a hill overlooking the Welcome Area↑. He’s called The Man and he was created inworld by oldjohn Linden on July 19, 2002. Yes, there are objects on the grid that have been around since the time before the public beta↑. 

This sexy hunk of prim is just one of the nostalgic bits of our history you’re going to find at the SL10B Community Celebration↑ which opens today at noon SLT (with an official flag-raising ceremony at 1:00 pm↑).

History at the Welcome Area (general)

There are 22 sims full of exhibits and stages and fantastical things to see. Marianne McCann↑ is just one of the amazing people who have put their hearts and souls into this Celebration, but I’m mentioning her because the history exhibits she’s pulled together are fabulous. It makes sense to me to go all nostalgic on you at this point – 10 official years is a very long time in the metaverse.

Two of the regions are pure history – first, many of us have (tucked away in a special inventory file) collections of Linden Bears. The original one was created by Nicole Linden and it became a tradition that all new Lindens had to make their own. Residents who ran into a Linden inworld would ask for a Bear and receive that individual’s contribution to the growing ursine family.

Bear Island (general)

If you didn’t encounter a particular Linden, or were reluctant to IM them demanding their Bear, annual Birthdays gave you an opportunity to add to your collection on Bear Island. This included Bears created for special events, such as the one marking the one millionth resident registration. Bear Island is back and you can update (or even start) your own family of these characters. In case you’re wondering, yes, it includes Bears from Lindens who have left the Lab.

It brought me great joy to discover that the 2nd historical sim attached to the Celebration is the Corn Field↑. I, of course, was never naughty and certainly never required a time out to consider my misdeeds. Tales of hours (if not days) spent restricted to this notorious region, watching black and white tv shows based on the inevitable consequences of juvenile and delinquent behaviour, were legendary.

The Corn Field (general)

It isn’t all nostalgia at the event. The theme, after all, is Looking Forward, Looking Back and there are hundreds of exhibits with a great mix of both the past and the future. There are also 4 incredible stages. You can find the complete schedule for them and the auditorium on the SL10B Community Celebration website↑.

One of the stages I’m sure you’ve seen already on various blog posts and photo sites. Built by Toady Nakamura↑ and Flea Bussy↑, the Live Stage↑ is a extraordinary two sim turtle (tortoise?) that deserves an extensive amount of exploration on its own.  As a small personal note – the first thing I rezzed inworld was a Linden tree. This enchanting and magical beast is completely landscaped with Linden plant material – a very nice combination of the world’s history and the times to come.

I’ll show you more of the event during the week. In the meantime get down there, prepare for lag↑, hop on the pod tour, do the The Long Walk↑, and check out those stage schedules↑. It’s going to be a fantastic week. :)

The Live Stage (general)