Winter Burn Aurora opened at 5 Friday and will be open until after the Effigy burn and dancing on Sunday at 12:00 . Be sure to visit to see the spectacular builds , and attend the fun parties on the ice at the glowing stage by Ben Tenk. Saturday the stage event begins at 10 am slt.
Outside the gate before you enter check the gifting table. Also near by you can learn more about Burning Man and Burn2 , a regional in Second Life. Then enter the majestic entrance and see the Burn Effigy in the distance. Inside Cuga Ragal has some fun sleds to rezz and slide on around the regions, or stop and grab an art car to travel.
There is a massive skating pond where you will also find the lovely crystal stage for parties. The pond winds over the playa which is usually dust. All the builds fit the winter scene but with twists, There is a lovely half globe containing a winter lounge with comfortable seating around a fire where visitors can warm up and have a hot drink and converse. Under another half globe I found a steaming hot tub so it is not all cold thought I suggest one dress for the frigid weather outside. I saw a few avatars that looked like they were on a sunny beach and shivered. Get there early to enjoy the skating and more.
Besides
greeting and attending a few Lab Gabs and stage parties at the SL20B, I
made it to several events occurring at the Arboretum. Burn 2 held an
informational meeting at the Performance stage . Each lead of the
various departments explained what the department did at all the events
during the year.
They also brought in
their own video of past events at Deep Hole where most of the events are
held .They explained the 10 Principles of Burning Man of which Burn2 is
a regional member. It was most interesting to the audience and offered
invites to join in at events as volunteers or creators of the
installations on the Playa at Deep Hole.
The
Belllisseria Bureau of Bureaucracy ,known as BBB , held the largest
gathering that I can recall at their Space ship high over the regions of
the SL20B . Both the opening party and the closing party were terrific!
Above is a shot of the Back to Earth party on July 11 taken by Martina
Voxel.
It was barely large
enough to fit all that attended and was great fun. Frank Atisso offered
tunes the certainly fit the occasion . I felt like we were on our way to
Mars. Several Moles dropped in as they have been doing at many events
during this past two weeks. One thing that I have enjoyed enjoyed while
greeting was the variety of avatars that came in to visit and explore . I
took some photos of the array that I encountered.
Last month from Friday October 7 to Sunday October 16, the Burn 2 art and music festival took place. A virtual reflection of the yearly Burning Man event that takes place every late summer in Black Rock Nevada, it's been one of the more notable yearly events here in Second Life. It's been taking place for over a decade, following the change from the "Burning Life" festivals that were sponsored by Linden Lab but stopped in 2010.
The theme this year was "Waking
Dream."
As usual, there were greeters near the entrance during the hours most dropped in.
There were numerous parties at the sims.
And there were numerous art exhibits.
Among the artists there was Moya, who has gotten the attention of the Newser a few times.
There were vehicle rezzers from the Department of Mutant Vehicles, including smaller ones for tinies.
I noticed an arena in the grounds.
Some of the grounds around the middle of the area looked fairly empty.
The most noteable and important of the builds was "The Man."
Inside the base were a number of pictures.
The other very notable build was the Temple.
I would see one dance being carried out there.
Which included one tiny participant.
Speaking of tinies, the wee folk of Raglan would have liked this exhibit.
Marianne
McCann, better known for her Bay City events, would hold one party at
Burn2 on the night before the burning of "The Man."
A smaller "man" would be burned down at her event, the "Mini Man Burn."
Saturday October 15 had the Man Burn, preceeded by a Lamplighter show by iSkye Silverweb (iSkye Silvercloud).
Standing over the people watching, The Man remained as it had throughout the event, for a time.
I had my attention turned away for a moment, and it returned to see The Man ablaze from his legs to his chest.
It's left arm lowered when the flames reached the shoulders.
And it was soon completely on fire.
Eventually, the flames started turning the wood to char and ash.
And it was falling apart.
Fire doesn't travel down as fast as up. But the base eventually was ablaze.
And "The Man" was eventually just a pile of burning char and embers.
Eventually the all clear was given, and people went to walk and dance on the remains.
The burning of The Man would be recorded on Youtube (link).
There would be one or two other burns of The Man. The following day was the Temple Burn, which I was unable to attend.
I would explore a little more on the last official day of the festival on Sunday the 16th.
There were a few last-minute events, plus a few impromptu unscheduled ones in the following few days, plus a "Thank You" on Saturday the 22nd.
Burn2 was a good event, but not all was well. Maybe it was the empty space, but things seemed a little smaller. I didn't notice as many of the whimsical porto-potties as before. And some of the optimism I saw at previous events, "It was better next year" was tempered. What is known that a number of artists over the course of several months before the event either left or were dismissed from the Burn2 groups. Many would have their own event that began just as Burn2 was finishing, the "Renegade Burn."
Still, it was an event like no other, and looking for the one next year.
