Fantasy Faire 2024: Growanda

Growanda was an Arts & Entertainment Region, with only one shop, The Primly Little Souvenir Shop,  by Haveit Neox. 

Region was made by Lilias Artis & Haveit Neox and sponsored by The Akipelago.

The original landscaping playful, colorful, and cheerful, but later when I went back to try to photograph it towards the end of the Faire, Haveit Neox and The Bearded Guy were both there so I left and came back later. When I returned the landscaping was even better, with a new art installation that had spilled onto the beach viewing area and into the surrounding water.

The spectator area on the beach was overrun with tigers, giraffes, and strange blue ladies.

Offshore, a giant figure and a fantastic ship.

In the shallows, a magical procession.

Haveit Neox and Lilia Artis are two of my favorite artists, and I periodically visit http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ACC%20Alpha/212/41/28 ACC Alpha City.

Fantasy Faire 2024 in Second Life: Plankbarrow Harbor

Plankbarrow Harbor is a shopping Region, sponsored by ::Static::, and created by Nama Gears (Owner of ::Static::).

The floating shanty town, made of a jumbled pile of lost ships and other marine debris, only drifts close enough to reality for mortals to visit every hundred years.... A truly original Region with many interesting shops to explore. . I regret that I am running out of Lindens...

Fantasy Faire 2024 in Second Life - Last Stop

 Today I did an in-depth exploration of Last Stop, a Region sponsored by Teegle. 

Most of the build was submerged, with a deserted subway tunnel snaking along between scattered shops. It was all absolutely beautiful.  The Teegle fish swimming back and forth among the plants added a nice but not too in-your-face ambiance, I can remember when SL fish were just flat shapes, these Teegle fish looked real and three-dimensional. 

Subway Tunnel at Last Stop

Fish in subway tunnel, Last Stop

I made a quick run through of all the stores.I paused at DFS because they had something I hadn't seen before: llamacorns, and I wanted to make a Relay for Life contribution from the shop to show my appreciation for their humor and creativity. I couldn't find one. I think every shop at Fantasy Faire should have a way you could make a Relay for Life contribution without buying anything.

Llamacorns from DFS at Last Stop

I did buy a Sass gnomie. You can never have too many gnomies. I also bought a Teegle dog

One store confused me. It didn't have a name - just a logo, and I didn't find out what it was they were advertising until I clicked on the free gift.The info card explained that this shop was advertising the Akipelago Group:

"secondlife:///app/group/165c25d2-7ff3-e3a6-54a3-2ff7bdb71010/about

The Akipelago is a not-for-profit group of sims is dedicated to artistic and natural beauty in its many forms including:    multiple worlds of breathtaking vistas; interactive and immersive sim-wide exhibits;  particle shows; music and dance performances; and of course, galleries of portraits and sculptures.   It is also a very large playground !  The Akipelago is comprised of:  Akijima, Akimori, and Akimitsu.  For any questions or concerns please let me know, and thank you for your time here in the Akipelago.  Everyone is welcome!

  - Akiko (◕‿◕)♡"

The store decor was very nicely put together, and I was impressed that it looked like they could communicate in six different languages. I hope to visit their Regions after Fantasy Faire.

On the surface The Last Stop was mostly water with some rocky outcroppings , and the rails heading out over the water to the horizon reminded me of a scene in Spirited Away.

Last stop at Last Stop

My favorite Region so far. 

The only negative was a store that disguised its exit as a solid wall. It was not alone among stores in doing that, but it is annoying. I'm wondering if they are thinking that visitors will get trapped when they can't find their way out and buy more things?

 

Fantasy Faire 2024 in Second Life: Help With The Quest

Fantasy Faire 2024, Using a flashlight in Thunnus Bay

Even after years of doing the annual Fantasy Faire Quest and other hunts, there are still times I have problems finding everything. I confess that my secret talent seems to be 'ignoring the obvious', whether it is the unicorn in the garden or the glasses on my forehead.

Here are some you might try to make the Quest easier.

Join the **Fantasy Faire Fans** Group. It is fun to listen to and participate in the chat, and you can always ask for help.

Try to be as low lag as possible. While I love to see elaborate Faire costumes, I know that rendering them can slow things down so I try to dress conservatively. You don't really need to wear your toenail color Hud.

Set up folders in Inventory ahead of time and put items away while they are still listed as "Recent"

My folders are: "Fantasy Faire 2024" with two subfolders: "Quest Items" and "Shopping".  By the end of the Quest you will have dozens of prizes, so it is always a good idea, if you have the time and discipline, to open your prizes right away and send thank-you's to the makers and givers of things you especially like.*

Use the "Help" button on your Quest Hud. It has some good information. This year I learned that if the Hud suddenly doesn't show everything you've collected so far, the first thing you can do is reset it.

Can't find the Queen?  Try using your map to see if there is a cluster of green dots away from the main area. 

Listen to the Quest characters and to your companion animal.

It's OK to ask for a hint in chat. I asked for a hint about finding the last ingredient, and had over a half-dozen people send me clues via IM.

Do not curse the Quest Organizers**.  There have been times when I thought that the hints were misleading or mean, but I have come to realize that they are just coming from a different perspective. We all see things differently.  Be prepared to encounter a few glitches. Try to stay calm and enjoy everything you see along the way and be glad you're not one of the dedicated volunteers who had to set up the Quest.

Know what you are looking for.  In many SL hunts the hunt object is always a specific item, in this hunt the thing you are looking for comes in many shapes.  Once you've found the first item, examine it and its surroundings. Who made it? Who owns it? How big is it? How far was it from the spot the hint directed you to?  Was it named as a hunt object, or something like "I'm just a rock"?

Take time to let the hunt object materialize. Depending on lag time, it can sometimes take minutes for a hunt object to show up. If all else fails, go away and come back later. Also, sometimes objects won't show up until you are almost on top of them so don't rely on camming around from one corner of the Region.

If you can't see, lighten it up. This year some of the Regions were very dark. In the ink I saw a few avatars with their facelights turned up to "stun" and one resident who was wearing a large shining globe as an avatar. There are things you can do to improve your vision:

• Turn up your computer screen brightness
• Use 'Environment' settings and see if you can set the world to mid-day.
• Turn off "Use Shared Environment" and choose a brighter environment. In one Region, I had to change the water to "Lassies Clearwater" to keep from bumping into things. (Be sure to change settings back afterwards.)
• Temporarily de-render things like underbrush and pesky buildings.
• Use the 'search area' option if your viewer has it. If you click on an item on the list and select 'edit' it will show up better.

Thanks to Ryan Schultz for some great tips on his website.

If all else fails, during the last days of the Quest you may be able to purchase an "Express Quest" HUD for $L5000.

End of the Fantasy Faire Quest 2024

The Fantasy Faire Quest is always one of the best hunts in Second Life, and I would like to thank Aisling Sinclair, Terra Volitant, Judi Newell, Cayenne Republic and Bitsofthisandthat for their outstanding job this year.

Have fun!

*Says she, who just noticed she had a few items from SLB20 in her inventory, unopened.

**I apologize for saying "I hope that when she tiptoes past the bears, she is covered with honey and the bears are awake and hungry."

Fantasy Faire 2024 in Second Life

 

In Duskfall Court at Fantasy Faire 2024

I've been gone from Second Life for a while, but I came back for Fantasy Faire, one of my favorite events. I love to see the new worlds born of the creative imagination of residents, and see what is new.

Read about it here.

This year the Faire has 20 Regions and over 300 merchants. 

The event will last through May 5th, and there will be film and dance, large and small quests, and much more. 

I started by stopping at Fairelands Junction, picking up a teleport hud, and doing a click-tour of each Region. Then I signed up for the Fantasy Faire Quest.

This year the Quest is titled "The Seven Layers of Joy". The Regular Quest package gets you the Quest Hud, which helps you navigate the Quest, but the Deluxe Quest package includes unique clothing for dinkies, tinies, and human avatars. This year the costumes were made by Grasshopper Street http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gallimaufry/135/175/32  .

Above: Wearing Grasshopper Street Juliet gown on off-the rack avatar. Although the costume came with a coif, I prefer the Dreaming Thicket Queen Anne's lace hair piece. Below: Avatar with Theo, the Quest companion, and a frog.

Duskfall Court Region is sponsored by Quills and Curiosities and Cryptic. The Region, buildings and landscape were crafted by Dacien & Marcel Blackwood, Crow, and Lemony Nova. 

A big frog in a small pond.