Light Entertainment

Getting back into the swing of things after the break for the holidays is always tough. I for example forgot to turn on 'Save Local Chat' at our first stop on this week, but the visit was unforgettable. 

A good sized crowd showed up to sample the joys of Luminaria a region on Littlefield grid that opens only for a few days a year. But before we got to the good bit... it was get the LMs time!

We began as ever at the Clubhouse and it's always interesting to see who had acquired a new look and who is just the same as ever. Our avatars really are a reflection of our personalities and habits! James wins the prize for 'most easily recognizable by his footwear' as always.

Once we all got our act together (well, apart from me) we headed off to stop number one. There were about twenty of us, pretty impressive for the first week in the year. To meet us, on the region, were grid owner Walter Balazic and the creator of this region and many others, Camryn Darkstone.

Here they are in the aurora borealis on the sim - Blizzard is recommended as the windlight, a sort of misty twilight. Luminaria is a celebration of light and brings together traditions of Twelfth Night, and the magic of fire and starlight in a snowy setting. Camryn explained that Walter is very fond of Christmas so this sim was a gift to him, the magnificent conclusion to the season. She drew her inspiration for Southern USA traditions including something from New Orleans called 'Baby Cake' which sounded delicious and gruesome at the same time! Do you know this Christmas classic ? 

Arriving on Littlefield was painless and a quick rez for all. The vast majority if not all of the sims on Littlefield are of standard size and most were built to be non-contiguous, which means they are surrounded on all sides by the Opensim Ocean. In these days of 1024 draw distance being the norm for many people, it's a joy to be in a place where you can lower it to 256 without missing anything. This more manageable size helps a lot with lag, and it's a more livable space especially for a big group. 

The main feature of the sim is the dance floor and the skating possibilities but in fact there's a candlelit trail around the sim (Walter had never walked it before!) so this being Safari, we wanted to do the hike, and we discovered lots of little details hidden in plain sight around the region.

The region is in fact very much a family space, although open to the public it has lots of memories for the core members of Littlefield. Camryn mentioned that some of the effects on the sim were made by the legendary Ada Wong, one of the greats of making content in Opensim from the very early days, and then also this lovely little snowglobe. 

Our guide Camryn Darkstone with Jupiter Rowland

Our opening Safari destination gave us all a chance to talk about the many places to visit on LFGrid and beyond. Littlefield is well known for the Nicola Tesla region, it also has a great Dr Who sim that we visited not long ago. Of course, the two Beatles regions by Mudpuddle Cleanslate in collaboration with Chelsea Louloudi remain some of the most loved places to visit here. 

Trust George to find somewhere warm to sit!

We learned that Ruritania by Xi Shi is gaining a residential sim, and the Mexico Lindo enclave on the region continues to grow and be popular. Walter told us that together with scripter extraordinaire Dirk Mathers, he has been building a working bowling alley, which sounds like fun, and thanks to our conversation, he got the idea to build a Pink Floyd region... between these thoughts, and the many regions Cam mentioned, it sounds like LFgrid remains a very interesting venue not just for Safari trips but for anyone who wants to see something worthwhile in their virtual adventures.

Humbletim proves that lizards do well in a cold climate

After hearing about all the upcoming stuff, I asked Walter what are the best ways to find out about upcoming events in Littlefield  He mentioned three: to join their group on Facebook, to check Events on opensimworld, and to jump over to the LIttlefield Welcome region, where news is posted.

All in all what a fun and charming way to begin our new season. Low stress and plenty of friendship and jokes to warm the cockles of our hear. And for sure we will be back!

HG Address: 

since Luminaria is no longer online until next year, here are the addresses of some other LFGrid regions of note (there are many more!)

Welcome region where you can find news of upcoming events

 lfgrid.com:8002:Littlefield Welcome

Beatles fan regions

lfgrid.com:8002:All Thing Must Pass

lfgrid.com:8002:Pepperland 

Tesla region

 lfgrid.com:8002:Wardenclyffe