SL ARTS & LITERATURE: Samhain Festival 2011 Benefits the Make A Wish Foundation

Once more, the old year turns. The new world comes. Samhain is the end of the natural year and the birth of the new, a time to release the past and prepare for the future. Once again, we are celebrating this time with a month of live music, literary events, exhibits, vendors, freebie hunts, story telling and themed dances.  Fox Ravenheart and Serene Bechir (aka The Wild Roving Foxes), who brought the grid last December’s atmospheric Yule Festival have done it again with Samhain Festival 2011 which began October 3^rd and continues through the end of the month in Talisman.  This is the Second Samhain Festival they have presented, with all donations from this year’s event benefiting the Make A Wish Foundation.  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Talisman/28/182/22

Whether you celebrate Halloween, Samhain, All Saints, or The Day of the Dead this is a time of year of decay and connection with the spirit world.  To some it is simply a time when ones inner spookiness is recognized and embraced.  Wikipedia says this about Samhain: “A Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century. The date of Samhain was associated with the Catholic All Saints' Day (and later All Souls' Day) from at least the 8th century, and both the secular Gaelic and the Catholic liturgical festival have influenced the secular customs now connected with Halloween.

The Wild Roving Foxes event group have created an experience that it exactly what you would hope a festival of this sort to be:  A dynamic month of stories, music, poetry, bonfires to dance around, vendor booths filled with a delightful array of virtual creations from the couture of Blak Opal to wonderful creations suitable to spookify any virtual lawn.  And don’t miss out on the Black Cats!  They are tucked in and around the Festival grounds and contain free goodies.  I picked up a terrific free bonfire at last year’s Yule Festival that has come in handy many times since!

All this marvelous virtual activity has real world benefits, as donation from this year’s event go to benefit the Make A Wish Foundation, a charity near and dear to organizer Fox Ravenheart.  The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in the United States that grants wishes to children (2.5 years to 18 years old) who have life-threatening medical conditions. The charity now operates in forty seven countries around the world through thirty six affiliate offices.

The first week of the Festival has come and gone with impressive crowds gathering to enjoy the events and the ambiance. There are still plenty of events and plenty to see and do before October 31^st rolls around.  Admission to the festival is free:

THEMED DANCES:

Sat Oct 15 – 7PM-9PM – Fancy Dress Party with holiday songs by DJ Mistu Figaro. Linden reward for best costume.

Fri Oct 21 – 9PM-11PM – Violet Ormenthal DJs Jazz Night. Come in your best Jazz Age garb for a chance to win lindens.

Sun Oct 30 -- 1-6PM – Fey Dance with DJ Fox Ravenheart. Come as your best Fey or fairy or elf from any culture around the world for a chance to win lindens. Stories and Music.

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EXHIBITS:

Thu Oct 6 – 4-5PM – Allie Tomsen gives an opening tour of her exhibit, Fading.

Fri Oct 21 – 6-7PM --  Isabelle Eyre gives an opening tour of her photo exhibit, Doors and Temples of the Angkor Wat

LITERARY EVENTS

Get more information and keep up with any schedule changes at

http://sl-samhainfestliterary.blogspot.com/

~13th October, Thursday  Duos Special

7:30pm - 9pm  DJ & story teller Fox Ravenheart - music and stories of the season

          

~17th October, Monday Duos

5pm slt   Hypatia Pickens   Short Story & Poetry  

6pm slt   Derry  McMahon& Elder Priestman  Storytelling & Art

                                                           

                                                                           

~19th October, Wednesday  12pm slt  Poetry Circle Open Mic Read

hosted by:  Imarad  Breen

featuring:    Klannex Northmead

                                                                       

~19th October, Wednesday 8pm slt  Poetry Circle Open Mic Read    

hosted by:  Kamille Kamala

featuring:   Ryanwriter4 Resident

~21st  October, Thursday  Duos Special

7:30pm - 9pm  DJ & story teller Fox Ravenheart - music and stories of the season

         

~24th October, Monday Duos

5pm  slt   Leonardo Zimring - Poetry & Art 

6pm slt   Caledonia Skytower & Sangreal Arnica - Stories

                                      

                                                                                                                                                                                                        

~26th October, Wednesday  12pm  slt  Poetry Circle Open Mic Read 

hosted by:  Klannex Northmead

featuring:   CassyLark Resident 

~26th October, Wednesday 8pm slt  Poetry Circle Open Mic Read            

hosted by:  Jael Constantine

featuring:  Kamille Kamala

                                                                          

         

~31st October, Monday Duos

 1pm         Last Call - mixed media event

 2pm         Remembrance & Renewal (daytime session)

                a reading of the poetry of those who have passed into the next life

 5pm slt    Kaikilani Resident - Storytelling & Chanting

 6pm slt    Remembrance & Renewal  (night session_

                a reading of the poetry of those who  have passed into the next life

               

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LIVE MUSIC SCHEDULE:

Thu Oct 13

4:30pm – 6:00pm: Dusty Smythe

6:00pm – 7:30pm: Woodsong Zapetero

Tue Oct 18

5:00pm – 6:30pm: Kitzie Lane

6:30pm – 8:00pm: Mamaa Saiz

Thu Oct 20

6:00pm – 7:30pm: Thunderfoot Lightfoot

7:30pm – 8:30pm: Geos Copperfield

Fri Oct 21

8:00pm – 9:00pm: Bluemonk Rau (Part of Jazz Night)

Tue Oct 25

12:00pm – 1:00pm: Christopher Walmer

Thu Oct 27

5:00pm – 6:00pm: Katrose Serendipidy

6:00pm – 7:00pm: Senjetta Witt (Live Music) 

**All donations to the Make A Wish Foundation**

http://www.wish.org/

~Caledonia Skytower, Reporting

“Any ink is good ink, even if it is virtual.”