Burn2 Summer Event: Circus of Fire And Fun

 

By Gemma Cleanslate

Time to visit a Circus! The next fun event now that the SL22B is over and only a wonderful memory is the Burn2 Burning Man Virtual Regional summer event, Conception. The theme this summer is ‘Circus of Fire and Fun’. 

I stopped over to see if the Playa is ready and it sure is. Outside in the town of Gerlach all is in place. 

If you are new to Second Life in town are tips to help you on moving around, getting outfits, and lots of gifts. If you are new to Burn2 there are information booths to check out that will link you to the websites that will tell you all about it. Stop and see them. Click Language help to read the 10 Principles if Burning Man in any language you choose.

The entrance itself is spectacular as are the gorgeous installations inside the gate. Those I will leave you to explore over the weekend and a few days after they will remain in place. The lamplighters will open the event at 5pm slt “Friday 25 July 2025 at 5:00PM SLT. Join the Lamplighters on a walk-on for a little tour of the Playa, ending up at the Circus Main Stage to kick off the event!” Saturday morning at 8:45am slt there will be a short parade of the event participants and again at 5:45pm slt. I recommend getting there to see the parade a little early.

I ran into Jeff Olhoeft (jolhoeft Resident) , who built the effigy that will burn Sunday at noon slt and again at 6pm slt to close the event. He was working on and testing the burn which you will have to come see for yourself. There will be parties at the stages over the weekend and notices will go out to the BurningMan2.0 group. Join the group and you will not miss the fun! There are several ways to get around the Playa once you enter the gate. Look for art car rezzers and choose one to use. I have a feeling we will have a running train. Riding a horse is always a great way tp get around.

I am a Ranger at Burn2 . You can learn more about what Rangers do by stopping over at the Ranger Station on the playa while you are visiting. Take an ice cream cone or a glass of lemonade and click the wall of our portable station to learn about us. The manual that we train by is on the table . Check that out and see our work to be able to help everyone who visits and needs information or assistance. I don’t usually dress for work like this but wanted to " feel in" the circus atmosphere.

Here is your landing point. See you on the Playa! 

 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Deep%20Hole/146/30/24

Gemma Cleanslate 

 

Paradise Fire Benefit Party

By Bixyl Shuftan

Earlier this month the wildfires in California made front page news when they burned the town of Paradise to the ground. Scenes of the devastation were shown in print, television, and Internet media. In Second Life about a week ago on Sunday November 11, there was a benefit party at The Golden Tambourine for Bella  Kross Swordthain (bella1 Abbot), of the Bonanza Country Club and the Captain of Team Bonanza of the Relay for Life. In the Relay group, people were invited to come over and donate to help her get back on her feet.

Join us at Golden Tambourine for Bella Abbot Benefit... Bella lost everything in Paradise CA Fire this week   Coral Sunset (224,208,22)   Captain of Team Bonanza - Cancer Survivor - Join Us as We Take Care Of Our Own!

In group chat, people talked about how bad the situation for the people was, Sara Llewellyn (Sarandel Llewellyn) saying "Here's a glimpse into what used to be Paradise for 27,000 people: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zJfPjB8_30 . " Sara Llewellyn (Sarandel Llewellyn) told the group about the firefighters combating the blaze, "Picture this: You're on an airplane. You look out and see a wildfire below. Your job is to jump out of your plane into the path of a raging inferno There are no hospitals for a hundred miles, no roads out of the area, and no water to be had. You have to put this monster out with just a shovel and a pickaxe. Just another day in the life of a California Smokejumper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0a-UcqrYFg ."

Dropping by, I was greeted with a hello, and saw a number from the Relay there, such as DJ Madonna and Trader Whipladh. "Help us help Bella, donate to the mushroom tip jar," someone spoke, directing attention to a tip jar on stage. Chipmunk Zhong, the owner of the Golden Tambourine, encouraged people to give, "All donations will go to Bella directly. ... She lost everything in real life, she staying with her sister and mom, her real-life hubby jojo and the doggie." She would describe a recent conversation with her, "when I had a chance to talk to her ... she kind of chuckled amongst her tears. She said, 'at least I don't have to worry about the skunks under my house anymore.' But deep down she is devastated." Shawna Love Compton (Shawna LittleBoots) spoke, "Well the fire took her home, But with Jo jo being hospital it saved there lives. I am sure God works in mysterious ways, but then there is other things that happen not so God. But I know he loves us all all the time."

The original goal was to try to get a total of 100,000 Linden dollars donated, Trader Whiplash reminding everyone, "L$100,000 = about $400. That will help in so many ways. Let's make it happen!" People would talk about the wildfires in Paradise and other parts of California, "Just the Paradise fire alone the death toll is 23 people, 20 percent containment. And that isn't a complete count." "Yeah - they won't know the full impact until its over." Sara Llewellyn (Sarandel Llewellyn) talked about another disaster, "I remember watching a live stream last summer of the eruption of Kilauea - this man allowed a local news team to set up 24/7 video on his back porch. Could see lava fountains shooting up some 200 feet.....few days later they were all forced out of the area...he moved to the mainland ...month later his house/farm was wiped out by lava flows."

Shawna would request, "Bella's favorite song when I sang was 'One Day at A Time' by Chirsty Lane, if you could please play this for her because this is how her life will be now." Other songs played included "We Take Care Of Our Own" by Bruce Springsteen, and "I'll Be There For You" by Bon Jovi.

As time went on, the amount donated grew, "Please did deep in your pockets and donate to the mushroom tip jar." Finally at 1:35 PM, Chipmunk announced, "We made 100 thousand Lindens!" "Amazing!!!  L$100,000!" Trader then challenged everyone to reach a new goal, "L$25,000 more makes $500!" Others were up to the challenge, "Let's make this happen!" And the donations continued to come in. And at 1:58, two minutes before the party ended, Trader announced, "WE did it!" There were cheers all around.

After the party, there would be an announcement in the Relay group

"A big thank you to everyone for your love and support. I revived the Lindens raised, and will put them to good use to getting Jojo some toys and the things that wee need. The love and outpouring from my SL family and RFL family is amazing. You guys rock! Thank you again.

Bella and real-life family.

Another example of the generosity and camaraderie of the people in the Relay and Second Life.

Sources: Fox News, The Atlantic 

Bixyl Shuftan 

Burn2: Getting The Burning Man Alight

By Klaus Bereznyak

Saturday 28 October at 1600hrs the traditional Man Burn ceremony started on the Burn2 playa with the lamplighters turning out to dance to eclectic ethnic beats provided by Dj Cuga Rajal.  Each year, the festival reaches its climax and conclusion as the landmark Man and Temple are set on fire and burned to the ground in separate ceremonies. To give organizers the best chance of success at the Man Burn, scheduled for 1700hrs, the Black Rock sim was closed to all but the Man Builders and Burn2 Rangers. Spectators gathered at strategic vantage points on the edges of adjoining sims where a good view could be had of the flammable wooden Man in its surrounding 'Temple of the Golden Spike'.

However, after the lamplighters had walked off the area, leaving it to the Man Team to start the fire, crews ran into technical difficulties with scripts on the sim. A lively camaraderie settled on the crowd, waiting in the certainty that it was going to be an "awesome burn". Calls went out for builders on Black Rock to temporarily turn off scripts on their builds, AVs shed their Animation Overrides to minimize lag, and spectators were requested not to try camming in and touching the Man while the team was working on it.

To pass the time, refreshments and other free stuff was shared among the punters, and helpful suggestions about rubbing sticks together or throwing a zippo out to the team were made. Someone was even picking a banjo. Generally everyone stayed upbeat and, as one AV commented, "I'm content sitting here in the glow of radical inclusion." Down on the ground, over in Black Rock, the Man Team worked steadily in the dark at the base of the Man, who continued to defy their efforts to set it alight.

At 1738hrs, nearly 40 minutes after schedule, iSkye finally announced, "BURN IS READY!". The crowd primed their cameras and, moments later, a series of explosions went off around the Man, followed by the red flicker of a flame. The whole structure was quickly engulfed in flames and began to break apart as ground crew hurried out of the way of falling debris and the crowd whooped with delight. It was over in a few minutes; the remains of the man lay smoldering on the desert floor and everyone agreed it was a great "burn!"

The Temple Burn was scheduled for Sunday, beginning with a lamplighter's procession at 1000hrs. The Temple burns at (approximately) 11:00am and this was preceded by a public readout of all the messages that had been posted in the Temple Censer during the week. For those missing the first event, there was the chance to see that again at 1600hrs, with the Temple being ignited at 1700hrs. The best view of these was from Black Rock, along the sim edge.

Although the events schedule concluded on Sunday, all the builds are staying up through to the 4th November for visitors to admire and enjoy, and 'Skin Burn', a reprise of the Man Burn, will take place on Saturday the 4th at 1100hrs and 1700hrs.

The Temple SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Mirage/116/80/24
The Man SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Black%20Rock/113/153/25
Main Entrance SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Deep%20Hole/117/18/25
Events Program: http://www.burn2.org/calendar
Flickr Group: https://www.flickr.com/groups/burn2/pool/

Klaus Bereznyak

* * * * *

Addition: Bixyl Shuftan contributed a few pictures.

 The crowd just before the burning of "The Man."

"The Man" just before the burn. "Should we save The Man from being burned?" the crowd was asked, "Or do we let him burn?" The crowd of course wanted fire, "Burn him!" "Let him Burn!" One person spoke, "Yes, let him burn, but burn him with *love.*"

 The first few lights.

And "The Man" becomes aflame.

 The fire quickly spreads.

And it isn't long before "The Man" is in pieces, sooner than in most previous burns Yours truly remembers.

The supporting structure continues to burn.

Marianne McCann and Pygar Bu watch the fire from next to the plunger, which they apparently pressed to start the fire.

 Those nearby are invited to go up and enter the fire.

"Anyone up for a game of pickup sticks?"

Burn2: The "Burning of The Man"

Burn2, the Second Life reflection of the Burning Man festival in real life, is the largest annual art and musical festival inworld. This year, it took place from Saturday October 15 to Sunday October 23, with the builds remaining up for several more days. The high points of the festival were the "Burning of The Man," and the "Temple Burn."

When I had first visited the Burn2 grounds, I wasn't sure where "The Man" was as he's usually standing tall. As it turned out, he was build smaller and mounted on a wheel to reflect how the real-life Man of 2016's Burning Man festival was constructed, to reflect the theme of honoring Leonardo DaVinci. In real-life, the mechanics broke down and The Man remained static. Here, the scripts remained intact and "The Man" could occasionally be rotated.

But on Saturday October 22, it was time for The Man to face the flames. As 12 Noon approached, people gathered to watch the structure get set on fire.

Some time after Noon, the flames finally started.

 And it didn't take long for the fire to spread over the small structure.

Before long, parts of the structure and the building underneath began to char.

 The fire began charring more wood, and pieces started to fall off.

It wasn't long before quite a bit had fallen off.

Me and the others continued to watch from a distance.

 And soon, the wheel that held The Man began to crumble.

And crumble some more.

And finally it fell, on top of it's supporting structure.

And soon that fell to the flames as well.

 Pygar Bu of Bay City was the volunteer who checked out what was left of The Man, getting a little close to the flames.

 And the all-clear was given for the Burners to go into the flames.

 Some looked more suited to handle fire than others.

 Someone set loose some kind of lightning bolt, briefly illuminating the area. After it faded, it was back to the flames on the burning wreckage and embers. I had to teleport to other events that day, but it was obvious what would happen later: the flames dying down and nothing left but embers, charred pieces of wood, and a few parts that had fallen off, seemingly untouched by the fire.

The "Burning of The Man" would take place again at 6PM. In the past, both The Man and the Temple had three burns on their respective days, sometimes called the Pacific, European, and American burns. But this time there would be only two

The following day would be the other highlight of the festival, the Temple Burn. This will be in another article.

Bixyl Shuftan

Burn2 in Second Life

by Grease Coakes

Burn2 in Second Life was an exciting event to participate in. Not only did I DJ a few times at the dj stage which was a large wooden ship I also was in the lamplighter procession traveling from sim to sim. In fact I had to end my dj set at 11am SLT for the procession between the sims to begin.

For those who might not know, Burn2 is the inworld version of the Burning Man festival, an annual event in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. It’s based on a few principles such as "radical" inclusion, self-reliance community cooperation, civic responsibility, gifting, decommodification, participation, immediacy and leaving no trace and self-expression. It’s based on a temporary community of sharing art through music and sculpture all for bringing pleasure to the participants. Burn rangers and other avatars rented the sims every year for this grand event.

Second Life has brought that same atmosphere to inside your computer as I was a DJ to share my music. To adhere to the principles, I wasn’t allowed a tip jar and I was not allowed to ask for tips. I was sharing my music as part of the Burning Man theme.

Timothy S. McTaggart (tsmt01 Resident) said he himself has been to Burning Man and he had this to say as he was one of the builders, “Dusty and crazy but worth the trip.” In addition, he said, “This is the only real-life Burning Man sanctioned regional that burns 'The Man.' ” In other words Second Life is the only other place Burning man is allowed.

The Burning man is exciting even in a virtual universe and was fireballs of fun. If you get the chance come participate in Second Life or if you’re lucky go to the real one in Nevada.

As my DJ set ended, Burning man requested that the limbo sim be cleared for the lamplighters to prepare their parade like procession rangers guided us from one sim to the other. It was fun as they asked me to help carry the lamps Fifi Candyfloss and Franja Russell were lamplighters and firedancers among others. One of the burners Ratatosk Independent wrote this poem as self expression.

 Eye music
------------
Firework is like music for the eye.
Flowers and thunder in the sky.
Magicians send up flowers with ease
Patterns and wonders and buzzing bees!
It's one of humankind's better invention!
Love and laughter its only intention.

Laura loves the Fire Workers of Burning Man 2015

As I carried the lamps I heard drums like native American music with chants and rhythmic beat that was entrancing. Towards the end I was watching the fire dancers do amazing dances with torches. It was a no brainer that Burning Man was a hot event when I was djing and watching the fire dancers

Near the end of the event on Saturday there was an effigy burn as part of Burn2, the "Burning of the Man." There was avatars EVERYWHERE. Everyone and their dog was chanting BURN HIM. Based on "The Man" from this year's Burning Man, the wooden figure was smaller than on most years, but it burned hot and bright just the same.

For those who haven't been to the Burn2 area, or haven't seen the whole thing yet, the art exhibits will still be up for two or three days. You can marvel at the drawings of Leonardo DaVinci's genius come to life, or rezz a mutant vehicle and have some laughs as you drive around in a martini glass or red wagon.

Grease Coakes

Burn2: The Burning of the Man

By Bixyl Shuftan

Saturday October 24 was the day of the "Burning of The Man" at the Burn2 Art and music festival. In the Burning Man Black Rock sim, the effigy of "The Man" was set up on top of a maze of circus signs, made to look like a wooden structure lit up by neon tubes.

The maze was made of of signs from carnivals and freak shows of old. Though a few were just parodies of them done to poke fun at things.

Underneath "The Man," a couple of the volunteers were presumably making last minute checks to make sure all was set.

The map showing the numbers of people in the surrounding sims. The greatest number were in Looking Glass, the closest to the effigy.

Many of the onlookers in Looking Glass were on this walkway near "The Man."

 Me with a couple friends, watching as sparks of flame appear.

Just sparks at first, but they'd soon grow.

An explosion sends fire and smoke around The Man.

And the first supports of the structure begin to fall off. Unlike The Man in previous years I've seen, the neon tubing stayed lit.

 More pieces began to fall. Once again, a difference from previous Burning of The Man events becomes clear. It's not falling apart from the head down, but all over.

A major piece of the head falls off, though the rest is still atop the burning the structure, refusing to fall.

More parts of the effigy fall as it burns.

Another explosion, but still The Man maintains it's basic shape.

By now, it's clear in real life, The Man would have at least partially collapsed.

 The head of The Man continues to defy gravity, even as most everything else is burned away.

 Finally the structure is completely down.

The head, usually the first big piece to fall off, was among the last this time.

Dawn begins to break as the Burners are invited to head to the wreckage and dance among the flames.

 Looks like one Burner made an ass out of himself.

The burning of The Man didn't go completely as expected. I guess someone like me who's been to several is just used to the structure falling apart from the top down like it would in real life. Still, it was an enjoyable event well worth going to. And there was the Temple Burn which would take place the next day.

Bixyl Shuftan