Third Annual Hot Bay City Nights a Roaring Success

by Celene Highwater

  Set between 1940’s and mid-1960’s America, Bay City is a sprawling city with forty regions, with 24 of those regions containing land owned by residents. And as its time period suggests, this metropolis takes us back in time before computers, fast internet, color TV and missions to Mars. And every August, this mid-century city seeks to bring together the finest car designers in SL for an unforgettable exhibit of classic cars from decades that car lovers consider the hay-day of classic autos.

  These cars are on display for a reason. They are quite realistic. It is obvious from looking at them that the designers take a lot of pride in their creations. Most if not all of the models at this year’s event featured working lights, doors that opened, realistic steering, multiple speed andturn settings, and customizable license plates. These vehicles came in a wide variety of styles and colors. I even saw a light pink Cordail that I was highly tempted to purchase!

  Some of the companies featured in this exhibit were Bull God Choppers, Alkloto Fun Cars, GEMC,  Cindy Henusaki Custom Cars,, What-Iff Motors, and CHC.  Launched three years ago by the Bay City Alliance, this event is produced by Marianne McCann, a city resident.

  Recently I sat down for an interview with her in which she explained a bit about Bay City and its events. “The land is Linden-owned and used by the Bay City Alliance for local events, such as Hot Bay City Nights, our annual Tree Lightings, Mole Day, our anniversary, etc. Bay City is mainland. We all own our own parcels here, though about half of the infrastructure is owned by Linden Lab and used by all Bay City Residents. Well, anyone on the grid, really.”

When I asked how the event got started she said: “About three years ago, we did our first Hot Bay City nights. The idea for it is simple. We invite in some of the best vintage car designers in Second Life to show their wares. No cost to them. They can show and sell the best of what they have. We just ask that they keep it in the "theme era" of Bay City, of course, which is 1940-1965. Then we as a community hold car washes throughout the week, to raise money for charity.”

Those car washes were very successful, with L$115,900 raised for ChildsPlay, a charity that provides toys to sick children who are hospitalized. And this, it seems, is what the residents are most proud of. Childsplay.org is the charity’s website, and Marianne says that with such low overhead cost, the organization is very effective.

She went on to discuss another highlight of Bay City Nights: the crowning of Miss Bay City. “We have our annual Miss Bay City competition, where one lucky contestant will be crowned.” This year’s winner was Uccie Poultry-Seale, a Bay City resident herself.

At the conclusion of our interview, when I asked if she had anything to add, McCann said “just thanks for all who did participate in hot Bay City Nights, from Linden Lab for their help in promoting, to our car designers, to all our Residents who came out to wash cars, participate in Miss Bay City, and just enjoy the event.”

Pictures by Bixyl Shuftan, Uccello Poultry

Celene Highwater

The Hot Bay City Nights

As a man (or furry) with five years behind me in Second Life, there’s things to be seen still. I heard about a classic car show held at Bay City so I checked it out. I was greeted by a nice lady named Uccle Poultry who told me all about it. Walking in, I saw cars from the 50’s that reminded me of the movie Back to the Future starring Michael J Fox. Also by dumb luck I met one of the Lindens, Tommy Linden. He was quite happy to give me his teddy bear and participate in the event. Anytime you meet any Linden, ask him or her for their teddy bear.

Besides being a classic car show, it was also supporting Childsplay, a charity that buys video game systems for children in hospitals. You can learn more at http://www.childsplaycharity.org/ One of the car sellers named Anthony who makes 2zoetic Motors cars said that half his profits will go this charity. Wanting to support Childsplay I bought his Regalla car for 750L.

An event I wished to see but was too late was a “Miss Bay City” Bikini contest held on the 18th. I’m writing this article on the 20th. Doh!


The car show is being held August 17th to the 26th. One of the main events that I was told about was a car wash being hosted  by Pygar Bu on Wednesday August 22nd that also supports Childsplay. His car wash is 10 till noon. If you happen to miss that car wash, you can still catch another the same day at 6-8 hosted by Ever Dreamscape. The last car wash is August 2-4 pm, also hosted by Ever Dreamscape.  The car wash donations go directly to Childsplay. I might have to check out one of the car washes with my new car.  The last day has a party with Benny the Boozehound  at 5-7 pm SL time the 26th.

Doing a random search I found a raceway to test out my new car. There were speed controls on the hud and also the option to change color of the car. Matching my white griffin self I kept the car as the original white. It was a thrill to both support Childsplay the nonprofit and drive around in a vintage car for kicks.

The car washes are hosted by Bay City volunteers ready to greet you and to wash your car.
Bay City is still looking for more volunteers to help with this event. Anyone who is interested is donating their time contact Marianne McCann or Ever Dreamscape.

If you get the chance check out the Hot Bay City Nights event. I had fun browsing around looking at the stylish cars, and actually buying one. Or if you have a SL car already, go to one of the car washes and get your car clean and support the charity Childsplay.
http://www.childsplaycharity.org/

Grease Coakes