News
Winterfest Shops, Destination Guide, and Traditions!As the Winter season makes way to the northern hemisphere, we have some big events planned and many ways for you to participate in this year's Winterfest! Please read on to learn more about Winterfest land auctions, how to submit content to the Winterfest Destination Guide, and a little bit more about Winterfest traditional events on their way!
Winterfest Shops
Linden Lab is pleased to announce Winterfest Shops! To complement the overarching Second Life Winterfest, we've created a small number of parcels available only via the Second Life Land Auctions page starting on Saturday, November 28th and ending December 5th. Auctions for parcels on Dasher, Prancer, Donner, Blitzen, Eggnog, and Turtle Dove will start at only L$1. In order to participate in auctions, Residents must have a premium account at least 14 days old. For only the price of a winning auction bid and no recurring land fees, you can have your parcel until February 26th--about 80 days!
If you win a parcel at auction, you may open your shop and hold events and gatherings on your land. Winterfest Shops merchants are more than welcome to direct shoppers to their larger outlets in other Regions ("If you like what you see here, grab this landmark and visit my larger store!"). At the four corners of Dasher, Prancer, Donner, and Blitzen is an iced-over pond where a spectacular "Skating Under the Stars" event will be held from December 21st-23rd, making it a prime location for Winter themed fun!
Winners are allowed a rental of the parcel they win, but do not own the parcel they are given use of. Land rental lasts until February 26th, 2010. After February 26th, all land will be returned to Linden Lab and all remaining objects will be returned to the winner. No adult content please. All builds must conform to our Terms of Service and Community Standards.
Don't forget to check out the Second Life Land Auctions starting Saturday, November 28th for your chance to win! If you have more questions, check out the Second Life Knowledge Base entry at the wiki.
Winterfest Destination Guide
The Destination Guide (inworld displayed as the Showcase section of Search) has been updated with a Winterfest category, and we need your help to populate it! What are the wintertime traditions in your part of the world? If you are planning a winter extravaganza in your region that demonstrates your traditions, read on to learn how you can have your location highlighted in the Destination Guide!
Just like last year, keep these guidelines in mind when you plan and execute your winter builds: We will be looking for builds that are engaging, well made, available from December to February, and that present your regional sights, sounds and traditions of winter. We will bypass builds that are commercial in nature, so if you're basically decorating your store for the season, that's great, but it's unlikely to be in the Winterfest Destination Guide. Think of your build as a gift, freely given, to your fellow Residents, not as an opportunity to sell something. You are also welcome to submit winter related events that are open to public!
As submissions come in, we will send out Lindens with snowshoes to check out the locations and bring back their recommendations for the Destination Guide, due to be populated on December 6th. While space in Showcase is limited, we will try to fit in as many submissions as we can, with potential to rotate the listings throughout the Winter season.
Submissions end on Monday, November 30th, so please check out the FAQ to learn about how to submit an entry to the Destination Guide editors for consideration. In the subject line of your submission email, please mark whether your location is a "Winterfest Event, (dates/times)" or "Winterfest Location." (Please note, not all correspondences will be met with reply.)
Winterfest Traditions
Of course, what would Winterfest be without Second Life traditions?! This announcement comes early so you can mark your calendars for some end of December fun!
On December 21st to the 23rd, get out your winter gear and join us for the "Skating Under the Stars" event at the Winterfest Shops regions, where a central bonfire will light the midnight sky and music will be provided for during select hours each day. For further details, keep an eye on the blog for an update mid-December to learn more!
From December 28th to 31st, get out those mittens and join us yet again for the battle of the year: Residents vs. Lindens, in a snowball fight showdown! Designated times during those days and locations of the event will be announced mid-December as well.
Winterfest Spirit
In keeping with the spirit of Winterfest, it's important to remind about our previous announcement involving our partnership with Kiva.org, the world's first personal micro-lending Website that empowers everyday people to lend to working poor entrepreneurs around the world. Content creators are encouraged to create special Winterfest Wreaths and enter their designs in the Winterfest Wreath Competition, sponsored by Linden Lab, hosted on XStreetSL.com - see the submission form here. All submitted wreaths will be displayed inworld at the region Zermatt. Though the competition ends November 23rd, all Residents will have an opportunity to purchase the six (6) winning wreaths on Xstreet SL through December 31st, 2009. All donations from sales of winning wreaths will go directly to help support Kiva's operational costs as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.