The Relay Wrap-Up: The RFL 2014 Season's Official End

Sunday August 31st marked the official end of the Relay for Life season in Second Life. Since March 7, the Relayers have had numerous events raising funds for the American Cancer Society, and having fun doing so. The season's peak, and the second to last big event was the Relay Weekend on July 19 and July 20, after which most teams ceased activity or held just one more event. Finally at 10 AM Sunday, the Relayers came together for the last time for the 2014 season.

Unlike the Relay Weekend, not so much grey showed up in my pictures, so I was able take clearer ones. This was despite the more than 45 avatars present, according to Daniel Voyager. I was in my skunk avatar, as both a tribute to "Stinky the Skunk" and a reminder of the "Bid Me" events my team the Sunbeamers did. Dr Fran Babcock was there along with her team captain Shawna Montgomery of the Relay Wizards.

On stage was the Relay Committee, speaking to the crowd over the radio. They gave their congratulations for a job well done, and announced various awards. And there was reason for congratulations. A whopping $415,422 US dollars had been raised. This amount made the Relay for Life in Second Life not only the top charity in Second Life, but a leading one worldwide.

Of the awards, there were many.

The Gordy Klatt Award: Dwen Dooley

Community Champion Award Recipients: Wildstar Beaumont, Saffia Widdershins, Daniel Voyager, Stingray9798 Raymaker

The Spriti of Relay Award (Team): Tribute City Relayers

The Spirit of Relay Award (individual): Cuddle Waffle

Top Team Conventional Fundraising: 3rd Place Relay Rockers, 2nd Place Circle of Life, 1st Place Harmony of Hope

 Top Individual Conventional Fundraising: 3rd Place Cesta Franizzi, 2nd Place TS Darrow, 1st Place Blynn Heron

Conventional Website Participation Award:

3rd Place--Unmasking a Cure, placing second with the number of team members registered (15), along with an average of 5 gifts per email.
2nd Place--Harmony of Hope, registering the most team members (20) and sending the second highest number of emails (59)

1st Place--Relay Rockers, sending the highest number of emails (107), and receiving 17 gifts.

Top Team Fundraising Award:  3rd Place Goreans in Relay For Life, 2nd Place Relay Rockers, 1st Place Amaretto Ranch Breedables

Best Man and Maid of Honor Recipiants:

Ahoffman Philly
Ava Jhamin
Bainfinch Resident
Cashew Writer
Chevelley Resident
CiaraNiamh McDonnell
Chipmunk Foxtrot 
CodyPason Resident
Cuddly Waffle
Daiseze Dahlstrom
Dawnbeam Dreamscape
Debi Dastardly
Dianna Wycliffe
Dwen Dooley
Eugenia Burton
Fizban Underwood
Fuzzball Ortega
Gem Sunkiller
Henrietta Demina
JIhan Wonder
johannes1977 Resident
Kaila Mahoney
Lanai Jarrico
Mackenzie Metall
Madonna Milena
MamaP Beerbaum
Mary Teodosio
Nikki Mathieson
Oldesoul Resident
Panza Elde
Prettykitty Gumbo
Rob Fenwitch
Rowena Dubrovna
RoxyLee Rayna
Sarandel Llewellyn
Sasha Fairywren
Sidonie Carlberg
Sienna Thor
Sigh Underwood
Sue Peregrine
Suzetta Moonites
Sylisan Resident
Tiviyah Resident
Trader Whiplash
TS Darrow
Valkyrie Twine
Vickie Maidstone
Zaphara Cazalet

The Clown Awards Recipients:

Twerking for a Cause--Saffia Widdershins
Most Drenched Dragon Rider--RoxyLee Rayna
Sit on a Tack Award--Dawnbeam Dreamscape
It’s Not Always Fuzzball’s Fault Award--Sigh Underwood
Keeping You in Stitches Award--Cody Pason
7Seas JailBird Award--Dallas Russell
Strange World Award--Rowena Dubrova and Cuddly Waffle

Finally the theme for next year was announced: "The Future is Now."

Following the announcements, there was music and dance. At 11:30 AM Singer Max Kleene performed live for the crowd, and at 12:30PM, Trader Whiplash DJed a set of tunes.

And so another Relay season had come to a close. But in the next few months there will be other cancer fundraisers, such as "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Across Second Life," "Relay for Life in InWorldz," and the "Xmas Expo and Breedables Fair." And of course the Relayers anxiously await March 7, 2015, when the next Relay for Life season begins.

Bixyl Shuftan

Looking Back at the Relay Weekend 2014

Saturday July 19 and Sunday July 20 were the Relay Weekend in Second Life, the climax of the Relay for Life fundraising season. The  24 hour walk on it's track of over 40 sims was one of Second Life's biggest events this year, in terms of both attendance and size of the area involved. For participants, and there were many, it was probably the biggest two days of their time in Second Life. So before we head on to other topics, one last look at the Relay Weekend and it's exhibits.

At 10 AM was the opening ceremony. This is how it appeared on my own computer. With a few exceptions, it was a multitude of grey and rezzing avatars. Yours truly can be seem waving the yellow Sunbeamer flag.

Wildstar Beaumont had this much more crisp picture from a distance away, though it doesn't quite show everyone.

Bain Finch took this picture, also from a distance.

Blue Myanamotu's simple ribbon avatar probably helped her in rezzing sooner, in addition to standing out.

Cynthia Farshore, the main builder of our camp, and I represented our Sunbeamers team.

Bain and Panza Finch

Avariel Falcon, the dark unicorn of the Relay

Even as the opening ceremonies took place, members of Team Sunweaver began appearing at their camp, at about the midpoint of the northern length of the track. In years past, there was an official starting line at the Relay Track. But lag resulted in bottlenecks, so the starting spot was left for each Relayer, usually at their camps.

 The Sunweaver camp was made like a park.

Around a pink fox memorial to our late friend Artistic Fimicloud, there were scenes of our times as both the old Passionate Redheads team and the more recent Sunbeamers.

The place was for one to relax, with swans swimming about in the water, and a few squirrels chittering about. 

One could just sit and chat for a while. Some on the team with lag trouble stuck around the camp, having come mainly as a show of support.

There was also a ride where people could get on vehicles for a ride.

The first lap was the Survivor/Caregivers lap, and the Sunweavers cheered them on.

Gemma Cleanslate was among those on the track. 

It was soon time for the Teams lap, and off the Sunbeamers went, with Rita in the lead.

We passed by a number of camps, such as the Dr. Who Fans.

 

 

 We soon came to the northeast corner, and an underwater sims.

 We had to disable the "walk and talk," as it made us move oddly and slowly about underwater, what another Relayer called "dip or skip."

 Back on dry land, we encountered the derpasauruses.

We passed a clinic, Amethyst City, of a future time in which all cancers could be cured much like other ills today.

 "Stinky the Skunk's" forest, less smelly than the "Bog of Eternal Stench" last year.

The southeast corner, and another underwater sim.

Sims going offline was an occasional nusciance, resulting in some of those going forward in doing the "walk of lag," and sometimes a kind of hop-skip.

During the "Crazy Hat" Lap, it wasn't just the hatwear on some that was nuts.

 Soon came the cartoon/anime themed lap, which included avatars like this mesh Hulk.

DJ Hollocluck Henley in a cartoony shirt.

Safra Nitely of the Giant Snail Racing team in a "My Little Pony" avatar.

 Then came the Sci-fi/Fantasy lap, and Avariel, Falcon

"The Pink Dalek" makes its rounds.

A knight on horseback.
 

Camp Rainbow of Team "Kidz of Second Life." Pooky Amsterdam was there interviewing one of the counselors.

The campsite of Team Strange Journeys

Charlene Trudeau, the owner of the Skybeam Estates, the onetime home of Second Life Newspaper

The campsite of the Snail Racing Team.

Making a contribution in a luminaria for a late real-life friend.

 At 9PM, the track turned dark for the hour of remembrance.

Some of us sat by the track to reflect.

Others walked on, but all of us kept in mind those we knew whom had passed away.

 The Krypton Radio station, with it's Fortress of Solitude. Though at the moment there's not much solitude.
The butterfly girl is Softpaw Sommers, whom also photographed the scene.

 Superman (Kalel Venkman) and Baron Wulfenback (KlausWulfenback Outlander). I was too far away to pick up the chat, so you the readers are left to imagine what kind of conversation the superhero and the "reluctant tyrant" had.

 A larger view of the media area.

 T1 Radio's record-player stage.

Kal-El faces down a dino at Krypton Radio's camp. He would later tell me Krypton Radio had a bit of a history behind it. He explained t had started in 2009 so the JLU could present it's side of news stories "without being overwhelmed by the griefers, who were running rampant through SL press at the time. ... But over time, we spent more and more time concentrating on the stuff sci-fi and fantasy fans like, and we got popular. ... We're heard in 83 countries around the world. ... So now we're incorporated and we have a staff of 22 people, including a pile of writers, an editor in chief, deejays, and everything else."

 The following morning, I appeared back on the track for the International Hour, and the Coffee and Donuts Hour.

 The dino again, with an Australian flag.

Stopping for snacks and a coffee refill with Holocluck Henley and others at Amethyst City.

 On the Formal Hour at 9AM, time for me to put on something formal fitting for my avatar.

 The camp of  "Friends Fighting Cancer."

The Second Life Cheerleading Squad. Maybe they mistook me for the guy getting interviewed on T-1 Radio at the time.

 The Second Life Coast Guard display.

The "Too Tough to Die" area.

One of the more flashy exhibits was the "Fantastic Journey" by "Aliens Love Ta-Tas Too."

There were bots fighting "cancer monsters," which left one to wonder, "Hey, did we just go through a giant breast?"

The most award-winning camp was "Harmonia for Hope."

It had a wilderness obstacle course that required swimming in places ...

 And climbing in others.

It could get quite confusing at times, not knowing which way to go.

In the Activities area in the northwest, there was a Relay Museum with various event posters, team flags, and other knick-knacks of Relay seasons past. Among them was Fuzzball Ortega's "The Hair" from the 2011 Relay season that established him as a Relay legend and brought his Steelhead Salmons team into the spotlight.

 Gemma Cleanslate at the RFL Welcome Center.

 All good things must come to an end, and it was soon time for the closing ceremonies. From my own point of view, laggy as heck.

 Daniel Voyager managed to get a picture without any grey.

And Daniel managed to show up in one of mine.

The Empty Table, a reminder of those whom passed away in the previous year, picture by Bain Finch.

And with the ceremony's end came the fireworks.

 Many of us continued to walk around the track, seeing what earlier had been obscured by lag, or just didn't want things to end.

 And so, another Relay Weekend had come and gone. Within days, the track would be gone, but there would be many pictures taken, and of course the memories.

For more pictures check out

ttp://wildstarbeaumont.blogspot.com/

https://secure.flickr.com/photos/wildstar_b/

http://www.softpaw.org/LJimages/SL/RFL14

https://www.flickr.com/photos/softpaw_sommer/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/feelingdoing/ (DrFran Babcock)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/danielvoyager/
 

See you next year.

"Go Relay!"

Bixyl Shuftan