Weefolkenshire

A hillside village on the edge of the sea was the first destination for the Fall 2023 season of HG Safari. We're on Discovery Grid, one of a handful of grids that require you to make a quick trip to their website to accept the terms and conditions before you teleport over. It's a small and painless step, and you only have to do it once, on your first visit, but interestingly, the idea can be off-putting for some grid jumpers. That's a shame because Discovery Grid contains some gems well worth seeing. We were on Discovery for both destinations, something that rarely happens on Safari where we tend to jump about like crazy. 

If you're thinking of opening your region to a Safari trip, that's great news! Please don't hesitate to get in contact. Please also read and review carefully the 6 main points explained on this page. They are the fruit of many years experience of group hypergridding, and will offer some simple low tech tips that will improve the Safari experience for both yourself and your visitors.

Here we are, a cloudy but enthusiastic crowd, in the main town square of Weefolkenshire

ShalHeira Nailo: I want to thank everyone for joining us today, it really means a lot

Getting Hie in Opensim

 October means beer, pumpkin spice cheesecake, leaf peeping, and gearing up for Halloween with outrageous sims and costumes. This year, add HIE to that list.  

HIE = Hypergrid International Expo
It is a weekend event from October 6 - 8 and it's part conference, part performance, part exposition. oh, and part party. It's not a music fest, although there will be music. It's not an art show, although there will be art. This is a conference and Expo where opensim residents - not 'hobbyists' or 'amateurs' but everyday users - Natives if you will - share their experiences of  life on the grids.

Maybe you know that for over a decade, each year, the English-language Opensim Community Conference allows folk from all over opensim to tell about their projects, art, inventions and work experience in opensim. 

The HIE is kind of the same, but focused on Opensim residents who are more at home in other languages - French and German, Italian and Spanish.

Safari in the Fall!

 Back on the trail! Here are some commonly asked questions or curiosities.

When is the Safari?

HG Safari returns next Wednesday, September 6 with another stellar lineup of destinations in OpenSim. We visit two different places each week, staying for an hour with each of our two hosts.

Each season of the Safari is 10 weeks long, this season will end on November 6.

Our trips begin at 12 noon Pacific time - called 'SLT' or 'Grid Time' by some. That works out as 3pm Eastern US time, 8pm in the UK, and 9pm in most of Europe.

Angkor Wat on Craft Grid

How long are the trips?

Nyx's Numbers

 From ancient runes to modern architecture, through fortune telling and religious bliss, the mysteries of the natural and supernatural, number symbolism is a potent and pervasive thread running through so many forms of creativity and mystical thought. 

On Pangea, Nyx Breen's latest creation Zahlensymbolik - German for 'number symbolism' - places you directly on a stone hand, the palm uppermost, in a sort of nest of light. 

The 5k of AviWorlds

A nice big crowd is assembling over the next few hours -Rogue Galaxy is the headline performer - for the big party happening over on AviWorlds today, at login.aviworlds.com:8002:AviWorlds Club

The reason? It's all about celebrating 5000 members of the grid! 

The party is on a cute wooded island, with a super yacht moored close by, if you're in the mood for some five star floating.... 

but most of us were drawn to the tunes expertly spun by the lovely Candida Campese, who got the party started.

5000 is a huge number, and considering the grid is only a little more than 4 years old, and it was nice to see such a crowd of locals and outworlders come together to mark the event with grid owner Josh Boam. Here's what a few of them had to say.

The Art of the Wolf

 Wolf. There, quickly. What comes to mind? Perhaps the sleek fur, an indomitable intelligence, a pack working together. Or something shadowy, sinister, threatening and scary. Is the wolf for you part of the realm of the supernatural, part of endangered nature, or is it all these things? The relationship between man and wolf is as old as humanity, and wolves stalk world languages, popping up in metaphors and idiomatic expressions, proverbs and poems.

No wonder they make such a good starting point for AI art, which you can see - along with some original work by Lone Wolf, on the welcome sim of Wolf Territories Grid.

When you first arrive on Wolf Territories Grid, you'll find yourself in a circular space, full of information about how the grid works, how you can be part of it, how to get help, information, and find your way around this vast grid, which seems to be growing every day. 

OSFest is Coming...

 Osfest is just around the corner, and people are getting busy preparing their exhibits, temporary shops, artistic installations, and theatrical and musical performances. 

A dedicated grid is being set up to host the event. There are a lot of moving parts as ever, and a theme that encompasses music, art, culture and history - plenty of scope to play with ! And  just in case you're curious, here is a little bit of a glimpse into the thoughts and experience of three participants, all doing something slightly different, to make this event shine.

 DJ Sofee is a familiar figure over on Alternate Metaverse Grid, along with the delightful Ted Junior. You may have read Sofee's monthly journal BlaBlaBla, it's full of news about AMV's people and places. Perhaps you've attended one of her FunSize Dinkie events on AMV, or seen her spinning tunes as a DJ. She's going to be part of the party at OSFest.

Sofee Giano: This year I was asked by Rosa Alekseev if I would like to DJ at the OSFest 2023 on the 26th and the 28th at 12noon for one hour on each date, I told Rosa I would love to, but going way back to 1860 to 1970 is a bit out of experience and knowledge of music for this genre and style which the OSFest is doing, so I will be playing more modern style Jazz with a twist to try to fit into this years theme.