Press Day at Burn2 "Carnival of Mirrors"

By Gemma Cleanslate

The Burn2 Carnival of Mirrors opened its doors to the press Friday and I was glad to get a preview of it. Burn2 is always a busy Second Life event and very crowded at times. So it is a treat be able to dash around to see all the marvelous builds that creators have been working on for weeks. There will be parties all day at the stages too starting from the opening October 17. 

Since I used to be a ranger I know all the work that goes into the preparation . The sims must be set up with the roads and plots. The Man has to be created to be seen from all sides so the burning will be visible from a distance in case the nearby sims are full as they usually are. The Temple also takes precedence over other plots and burns the day after the Man. 

To really understand this event, it is good to check out the website that will tell you the history of the real Burning Man every year in Nevada USA. http://burningman.org/  It is a huge event drawing visitors from all over the country and the world. Burn2 has a history in Second Life too for the past years involving many Lindens http://burn2.org/burn2-history . “This year’s theme is about mirrors and masks, mazes and merger. It will be a kind of magic show that takes the form of an old-­fashioned carnival. This Carnival of Mirrors asks three essential questions: within our media­-saturated world, where products and people, consumption and communion morph into an endlessly diverting spectacle, who is the trickster, who is being tricked, and how might we discover who we really are? “ Those words were for the creators and their designs. 

 On arrival I was greeted at the entrance and offered my press kit of information. I picked up some nice freebies just outside the tent. Don’t miss them. I took off to view the Man and there he was tall and straight waiting to burn. My next visit was to the Temple which is absolutely gorgeous. It was built by Toady Nakamura and so fits the theme. I checked out the Center Camp where many events and parties take place and it looks very comfortable as usual. There is another stage also where parties will take place .

I ran into Yman Juran riding through. Her CHANGHIGH SISTERS FIRESHOW of Light, Life and Love will be performing Saturday the 17th at 1:00pm slt and again at the same time on saturday the 24th. The show fits the theme so well,Carnival of Mirrors .Try to see it. There are invited and juried artists who have lovely plots and I will write about them during the week.here is the list Juried and Invited Artists: Johannes1977 Resident, Ilianexsi Sojourner, Marianne McCann, Daark Gothly, Kerrryth Tarantal, Caro Fayray, Galatea Gothly, Secret  Rage, emilia Avindar, Attica Bekkers ,Veleda Lorakeet, Alesha Hax, Jce Emoto, Leondra Larsson, iSkye Silverweb, Quinny Placebo...Some familiar names and some new. 

The Playa looks wonderful from all directions. The street signs are topped by jaunty top hats or masks . The Lamplighters will pass along the roads daily to light the lamps and  Skye Silverweb told me “ and something special this year with Lamplighters:  I should mention...on the 25th which is Temple Burn day, the Lamplighters will have a special procession 3 times that day, 1 hour before each burn, and we will feature a Fire Dance in Center Camp for about 10 minutes as part of our processions.  Processions at 5am, 11am and 5pm.” I am glad to hear that . I could never seem to make the lamplighters procession  last year because of the time it was held and it is a favorite of mine. 

A wonderful way to get an overview of the Playa, all six sims, is to hop on the balloon tour that starts not too far from the entrance and is visible . I stopped and looked at the cute circus tent of Coяᴘᴛєᴅᴅʏ Aяᴀωɴ (corpteddy) who is in the burn2 for the first time. Make sure you look around for gifts as you pass through the builds. Many of the artists leave items for you . I picked up a windturbine at corpteddy’s site . The greeters at the gate have a whole back pack of goodies . The BURN2 Carnival of Mirrors opens to the public at 12:00pm SLT  October 17 and will be kicked off by a Lamplighters procession. You have a whole a whole week to visit and enjoy before the Man burns and the next day the temple. The schedule will be found on the website above . Here is the gate.  More to come.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Deep%20Hole/153/245

 
Gemma Cleanslate