Safari Regulars

The Safari trips have come to an end after four years. Thanks for all the kind comments and compliments - they are much appreciated. Organizing the weekly trips has been fun and fascinating and frenetic, but the purpose, and the success, isn't down to a single person, but a special group of strangers who have become friends, the Safari Regulars.
There are hundreds of posts on this blog about the builds and content creators we have visited, this is the only post dedicated to the Safari Regulars, who are also builders, scripters, coders, grid owners...

The calm before the storm - meeting at the clubhouse before the Safari starts

      
  From the very start, the emphasis for the Safari trips was on, firstly, variety - a mix of destinations, on different grids and with different themes; secondly, on constancy - the same time every week without fail (except for a few weeks off in the summer).  

But the planet is round, and full of pesky time zones, and not everyone is awake, or off work, when the the Safari headed out to points unknown.
So, every week, it was always a gamble - would people show up to grid jump ? Would they be willing to take time out of their day to go and visit other people's builds?

             We live in a pretty selfish world where most people want praise and encouragement, but don't consider that encouraging others need be a priority.

Dancing at the 3rd anniversary party on FrancoGrid

 For Opensim to be a community, not just a random mass of unconnected people, you need symbiosis, you need both the wonderful content for people to visit, and people who are willing to visit those build, to reach out. And the Safari Regulars have been just such out-reachers..

The Teravus Plaza clubhouse, OSGrid

Wizardoz Chrome has stuck with the Safari for the whole four years, and been a great friend throughout the adventure, and alongside her many others, like Aime Socrates,  Lucy Afarensis, and George Equus, who have been unfailingly generous with their time, good humor and support for so long, the Safari would have ended long ago without their company.

Waiting for the Safari to begin with Selby, Siberia, and Aime

          We've been lucky enough to have Selby Evans with us on a regular basis, and of course the great Mal Burns, both of them have done much to publicize our tours, and Mal was kind enough to give the Safari a clubhouse on his Great Canadian Grid regions. . Friends like Cherry Manga, Gill Rebetez and Nino Whitman who made our stay on FrancoGrid so smooth. Nara Malone, who helped us out with a clubhouse when OSGrid crashed in 2014, In addition, over the years, we've been lucky enough to have land for promoting hypergridding on Craft, 3rd Rock Grid, Ignis Fatuus, Littlefield, and  PMGrid.

Dancing on Guinguette, Ignis Fatuus Grid, ny Max Hill and the Compagnons d'Ignis

            There have been Safari Regulars who have have attended week after week for a a year or more before real life or other interests made regular attendance no longer possible, and their contribution has always been invaluable. Sunbeam Magic who supported us with her Visionz Magazine, and Sunshine Szavanna who helped out in so many ways with music and Notices and more. 

The group inaugurates the OSGrid yachting regions by Danger Lytton and Azi Az

          Others, including Leighton Marjoram, Spike Sol, Tosha Tyran, xSiberiax Ilfreddopurifica, Minethere Always have attended and supported the events, and have taken a great deal of trouble to feature the safari on their blogs and websites.

Truelie Telling playing on Spellscape Grid. Truelie holds the record of the most Safari concerts,
on the largest number of grids

              And who can forget the great performers who have given their time and talent to the Safari? Truelie Telling, who sang for us regularly over two years, always willing to bring her tunes to new places and to entertain us, and Art Blue, whose artistic performances were a recurring part of the Safari for most of our tenure. Whirli Placebo, Wolem Wobbit, Casias Falta, Tip Corbett, Scofi Robson, Rosy Ogrady, CelticMaiden Warrior, Torben Asp and Joao Frazao have shared their music with us, and many DJs have played their tunes, enlivening events and making them memorable.

             We've seen a wonderful range of builds, from static to psychedelic, from history to futuristic sci fi, from pure fantasy to deeply educational, from dancing to racing, from highly sophisticated to very simple. Not everything has been to everyone's taste, not every destination was up to the challenge of hosting so many avatars at once, but the Safari Regulars have faced the challenge with tenacity, curiosity and good natured humor. People like Arcanquest, Billy, Phred, Lux, Drang and Nyom, Lifted, Xirana, Flidais, Alya, Jessie, and Larysa, who week after week have showed up, and had the presence of mind to ask our hosts good questions and make intelligent observations - that has helped no end when it comes to writing this blog.