“Bacon of Hope” Hunt at New Toulouse

by Gemma Cleanslate

If you have the right kind of flower, Eichhornia crassipes, the water hyacinth, you can indeed exchange it for bacon, of a certain type. While supplies last.

"The Bayou Safety Initiative is kicking off its flagship campaign with help from Perrineau and Co., a local provider of innovative meat solutions. Foreign flowers threaten our domestic waterways—nay, our very way of life. Buying liberty bonds won’t stop flowers. Only hippopotamuses, and you, can help.” 

How hippos ever got into the Bayou at New Toulouse is beyond me. However, it is always a treat to visit this sultry sim, ”the city in the swamp on the bank of the Missedabracket Estuary. Loosely themed after New Orleans and the bayou, 1900–1925. “ Henri Godenot is the owner and he has assistants.Niki (Nikita Weymann) is the Estate Manager and Yvonne Follet is his Executive Assistant. You will see all the help he has when you see the credits for the hunt.

I love the Mardi Gras time here but I also love the story based hunts . This makes it much more interesting than just a normal hunt , at which I am not very good. This time I was able to do it all at one time in one day, forcing myself to forge ahead. That is much better than the three days worth of visits it took me when I did “Death Picks a Winner“ last year. This hunt, called “Bacon of Hope” takes you over the whole region searching for the pink hyacinth that is overtaking the bayou as an invasive species. At the entrance you can get your supply of bacon which seems to satisfy those who give up the hyacinth (some are not interested in the bacon at all). As usual, this invasive species is very pretty and becomes a decoration in many places.  

At the entrance room, New Toulouse (96/178/1501) , check out what you will be searching for , and be sure to look at all the warnings of hippo cows and what to do if you meet one. You can pick up your hud to wear that registers your finds. Read the note card . Then go off to your first stop in the card on your quest to get the hyacinth.At each stop you when you locate your flower a further part of the ongoing story is given to you along with your next stop on the quest. Each stop is interesting and distracting so you almost forget why you are there. There is a whole group that puts this story hunt together. 

At the end you will go to a gazebo and there are boxes of gifts from all the participants on the table there. I picked up some more boxes to open!  

I always spend extra time looking at all the interesting homes, businesses and gardens, and of course the bayou. I always go back to walk along the streets and look for new areas. 

I ran into the owner of the Tarot Tea Room, Belle (BELINA Corvale), who had just opened a new Cafe down the street. I stopped at the Le Reve de Jaques Cafe and checked it out. I also stopped into the cemetery and the Synagogue. There is so much to explore here in New Toulouse so make it part of your plan that after your hunt is done you will walk the streets and byways and discover the charms . 

The hunt will be ongoing until the end of July.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/New%20Toulouse/96/178/1501


Gemma Cleanslate

The Snowman Contest and the Holidays For Hope Ball

By Bixyl Shuftan

The Relay for Life Christmas Expo wasn't over until Monday. But Sunday December 13 was the high point of the festival. This was a day of events such as the conclusion of the snowman contest, and the Holidays for Hope Ball.

Those taking part in the contest paid a 500 Linden dollar fee, with cash prizes going to the winners. Voting was done by donating Lindens to the kiosk next to the entry you wanted. Some of the entries were fairly conventional, such as this one sitting down next to a Santa sack.

Would this guy be an "Ice Pirate?" Yo ho ho and a keg of rum.

This one was a tribute to the new "Star Wars" movie out.

And this one, either the builder was from the big city, or a "Calvin and Hobbes" fan.

"Welcome to Atlanta." Looks like this snowman didn't survive his trip.

That dalek isn't part of the display, but someone in an avatar. But he certainly gave a new angle to this entry.

Now this snowman looks downright creepy, something out of a Lovecraftian story. You don't want to end up "Alone in the Dark" with that.

And then there was this one. Cuddly Waffle called it, "very cute. This was a snowman who was taking a break from the cold and somehow managed not to melt!" Maybe he was on a beach in Alaska.

 I would later hear that this snowman, built by Thathy Slade, was the winner. Second place went to the green tentacled horror by Eclair Martinek. ArianaAstro Resident's snowman came in third. A total of 80,000 Linden dollars would be raised by the snowman contest.

Soon it was time for "the Grand Finale Event of the 2015 Christmas Expo," the Holidays for Hope Ball. This would be the sixth time this annual event had taken place. It would be held in a double ballroom.

The ballroom was created by Darkstone Aeon and the event was sponsored by T-1 Radio.

Dozens would show up at the event.

Formal attire was requested, though not a hard requirement.

There were two people in Santa outfits on the dance floor, one of whom was the one doing Santa duty at the Expo. Maybe one can call this scene "dueling Santas."

A fun time was had by all. Trader Whiplash would later announce the festival had raised over two million Linden dollars.

Congratulations To Nuala Maracas and the Expo Staff for a Job More than Well Done.. .. For an Expo that was not just a fund raising success but was a wonderful place to visit -AND- L$ 2,108,062 or $ 8,432.

And so, the 2015 Relay for Life Christmas Expo is now over. But the Relayers are not despairing. In a few months will be the the start of the official Relay for Life season. And once again, their fun-filled antics will resume.

Bixyl Shuftan