Virtual Harlem is Growing

Virtual Harlem is an educational sim representing Harlem, NY as it existed during the Jazz Age of the 1920s and early 30s. This environment is designed to encourage interaction between students, business owners specializing in items related to the period, educators and researchers working on a team to add educational and experiential content to the environment, developers working to make the environment more efficient while offering the widest set of possibilities, entertainers interested in exposing an audience interested in early 20th century Jazz Culture, who are all interested in working within a representation of American, African American and Parisian Jazz culture.
Virtual Harlem has expanded to a second sim! Come by and visit this historical recreation of the site of the Harlem Renaissance, and see the streets of the Manhattan neighborhood where artists and writers like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, and James Weldon Johnson walked and worked and partied. There are lovely brownstones available for rental, equipped with fireplaces and charming hardwood floors, and commercial spaces as well, perfect for galleries or designers of vintage clothing and antique furniture. Enjoy the educational displays on all facets of this important and vibrant African American cultural movement--the literary and visual arts, performance in dance, jazz, blues, dramatic plays, musicals and early independent motion pictures--and the people whose commercial and creative talents helped make the Jazz Age possible. Slip into your best flapper dress or vintage tuxedo, and stop by the Apollo Theater for poetry slams and other live performances; celebrate in more sacred ways at the Abyssinian Baptist Church where Adam Clayton Powell once preached. This space serves as a welcome center for Virtual Harlem 2 http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Harlem%202/177/189/30/
The National Black Programming Consortium/Black Public Media.Org has exhibit space here, and live music performances are also staged at the Cotton Club. The Cotton Club has a very elegant retro vibe perfect for making visitors feel like they are experiencing the best that SL has to offer; a dance floor is well-equipped with couple dances, and a HUD is available for teleporting across the Harlem sims, as well as the planned addition, Montmartre. This new addition represents the close connections between Harlem's political and artistic elites with those in France, students, musicians, and writers, both American expatriates and French colonial citizens pushing for independence, who would go on to create a movement of their own, Negritude. Right on Seventh Avenue across the street from the Cotton Club, my friend Eladrienne Laval pays tribute to her grandparents in her store atELier, featuring her beautiful designs for dresses perfect for stepping out when stepping back in time! I am looking forward to seeing what the manager here, Candace McMillan, will be adding next, and if you are interested in having an event here or renting commercial or residential space, contact her by IM or notecard. Upcoming events include an in-world class on African American culture on June 22 at 0800 SLT and a Second Salon book club discussion on June 28 at 1230 SLT. Look for historic characters who reside in Virtual Harlem: W.E.B Dubois, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Charles S. Johnson; the Virtual Harlem Trolley Tour is ongoing... just sit on the trolley in order to take the tour around Harlem. See the Lafayette Theater, the Savoy Ballroom, and the Schomburg Library, all places rich with history!
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Harlem/204/78/30/

The Red Door Lounge and Lupus Fundraiser

The Red Door Lounge is a wonderfully elegant space for dancing and socializing, but don't let the gloss fool you. The owners and managers, including Cleopatra Kellman, Yali Magic, Jewel Twine and Angel McMullen, also have their feet on the ground, and their ears open to the RL needs of the black community, and this includes their awareness of lupus as a disease that disproportionately affects black women in the US and globally. They are currently holding a fundraising auction and are also accepting donations on behalf of the Lupus Awareness Foundation. Lupus (SLE) is a serious health problem that affects mainly young women. Nine out of 10 people who have lupus are women, and typically, seven of those are of African descent. This group's purpose is to increase awareness, support survivors & fundraise for Lupus Charities around the world; so far, they have reached 50% of their goal of $50000L. Among the items available for auction: a portrait session with Elegant Images, the stylish Grayson prefab home, which uses 208 prims (furnished) and requires a 1028 lot; the Eden Waterfall, "a spectacular cascading waterfall, softly illuminated in moonlight and featur[ing] crystal clear water tumbling into layered pools that are draped in flowering vines and ferns," modifyiable to allow terraforming landscaping options; a romantic waterfall garden designed by Amethyst Jetaime; and a two-hour event package DJ'd by and OX Radio affiliate, along with a two-day live broadcast on 101.7 FM promoting the event. Get your winning bid in by Sunday the 25th; prizes will be awarded during a formal party to be held from 4 to 6 pm SLT on Sunday. Kellman, as a Lupus survivor, knows directly how debilitating this illness can be, and invites visitors to the Sister of Eden sim to drop by the Information Center sponsored by The Red Door Project. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sister%20of%20Eden/251/127/22/

Dreamings--A New Exhibit at Sunrise Mansion

Sunrise Mansion Art Gallery & Museum is featuring DREAMINGS by SISTAGRLRO WEI. The exhibit is an awesome collection of 30 abstract works by Wei, who is an Aboriginal Australian of the Weilwan and Gamillaroi Nations, and the show runs from May 17 to June 14, 2009.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Isla%20del%20Estrella/225/187/21/

Second Pride Festival and Black Business Owners in SL

The Second Pride Festival is a festival of the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transexual) Community. The concept and idea is similar to the well known Gay Pride celebrations around the world. This event does not involve people joining together anywhere in the real world, but in the virtual world of Second Life®, created by Linden Lab™.
For the duration of the event, anybody with a Second Life account can connect to the Festival's location and join the celebration. Various activities are available on site, such as visiting of the many vendor stands available to promote businesses or charities, GLBT locations and causes, discussions, debates, parties, amusement rides, and more
SP09 is working with AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL this year and their movement called Outfront to support freedom of expression of LGBT people and the community around the globe.
We want the voices of the black community to be heard during this event. If you would like to be a guest speaker on behalf of Black Business Owners of Second Life, and be a strong voice for the black community at this event by sharing your story, please get in touch with Diamond Meness in world by IM or notecard. The Second Pride 2009 HQ is http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dombersnark/195/72/39/

Rainy Season in Saminaka Begins!

Bring your umbrella (just because it looks beautiful to have one, not because you actually need it in SL); the rainy season has started in Saminaka. Among the new features, Tamzin Barzane invites you all to help weed and water the new interactive farm that has been planted. After helping the community welcome the new season and celebrate the fertility of the land, you can refuel at Eleko, a new restaurant with information about the variety of Nigerian foods and links to websites with recipes. Enjoy relaxation under a shady tree with poses set for making your scenic screenshots; watch the surf and enjoy lightening storms from the lookout rock at Anioma. Share a kiss with your sweetheart while soaking in the Wikki Warm Springs; swing under a tree or stretch out for a massage. Come and bring your friends for fun and frolic in an authentically African atmosphere--touch the talking drum, dance to Nigerian music videos, but watch out for the leopards lazing in the trees! (They will leave you alone if you leave them alone, watching their grace and beauty from a safe distance.)http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/54/160/22/

Happy Mother's Day from Sunrise

SunRise Mansion Art Gallery is having an impromptu showing of a collection of paintings by artist Indea Vaher with a tribute to mothers as the theme, on the new Safe Haven Church grounds. Please visit the church to light a candle and get your FREE MOTHER’S DAY GIFT of the African Madonna hand painted by Vaher on papyrus. This gift will be available all day Saturday & Sunday! Safe Haven Church is collecting the LM’s and information on groups that provide support and inspiration to others in SL, so if you know of any please let Indea Vaher know so she may add them to her listings. The Church is sooo cute; it’s small and perfect for quaint weddings and christenings, and can be decorated to suite any theme. The adjacent garden is a beautiful place for a reception or party. Contact Indea Vaher for more information.

Pre-Order this Book, and Help Save a Newbie!

The Teach Yourself series from UK publisher Hodder Education has published Irie Tsure's new guide, Getting Started in the Second Life World. Written by a successful Second Life resort owner, this resourceful and comprehensive guide will accompany new residents on the tricky journey from ‘Newbie’ to seasoned resident in the virtual world of Second Life. Intended to cover every skill required to enjoy and prosper within the Second Life experience, the book will follow the development and provide support for a new character, from deciding to download the software right through to proficient use of the modeling tools needed to be really creative within Second Life. Authored by an established, popular, business savvy and creative SL character, areas covered include: -What and where is Second Life (SL)-Glossary for ‘Newbies’-What can I see and do in SL-Vital skills-Modelling tools-Exploring SL-Creativity-Shopping -Land-Starting a business Most other books are written by techies or tourists, not by an author who has actually made the SL experience work for themselves, and claims to be packed with practical advice for the Second Life 'newbie'. This guide covers all of the things you need to know to live in Second Life from creating your persona to socializing and shopping, including a color plate section to show clearly the colour-coding required for the 3D modeling tools in Second Life that could be very useful to aspiring builders. There are specific chapters on preparing for, arriving in, and exploring Second Life. I suppose lag is unfortunately a big enough problem to deserve its own chapter, but more hopefully, Tsure goes on to offer advice on interacting and socializing in Second Life, because isn't that why we're all here? Budding virtual entrepreneurs can also get Irie's advice on owning virtual land and earning money in SL, while ambitious designers can get inspired by her advice on building, texturing and understanding scripting in Second Life. As a successful entrepreneur in Second Life, Irie Tsure owns and manages the popular Irie Vibes Reggae nightclub and resort. The best recommendation for buying the book and following her advice is that Tsure's Second Life activities currently create a significant real life income. What better credential does an author on SL need?