April Showers

April Showers

April Showers bring May Flowers

Yesterday was our first event in the rain, we decided to go with our guests to the Garden for this special theme. And we were very curious how people would like this theme. We are in April, and weather can change hourly in the northern hemisphere. And after the winter with snow we have often rain. But we all know, a wet spring time is the base for a good harvest and a lot flowers and blossoms. So there are many idioms and proverbs, country saying. One is: "April Showers bring May Flowers!"

So we invited everyone and used this text for it: "Storm cloud has formed over the Sunshine Gardens and the weatherman calls for rain. So get out your slickers and umbrellas and galoshes and don't be dismayed by the down pouring rain because April showers bring May flowers!"

We were really curious before and some of us had a lot fun with the preparation and finding a matching outfit. But would guests do this too, and would they following our invitation? So the first of us met before 5pm in the garden, and looked around. Especially with a slower computer, it helps later, if you come before, and everything in the environment has loaded and rezzed. 

We had the choice between the weather system "Botanical - Seasonal Weather System v1" of Botanical Outdoor and Garden Design and the system "[M3] Thunderstorm" of Magic Emerald. The first offers more options, is good for different scenarios.  However, we chose the latter because it produces more rain and there is also lightning and thunder. It also shows puddles on the ground. It just looks more like rain on the photos. So we had not only rain over the Sunshine Garden, but also some heavy thunderstorms.  Unfortunately rain in SL hinders the function of TipJars on the Contestboard, which is located in the Prim. So we followed the rain again and again with dry sections.

Already before we started, Fiona donated 1,000 L$ for the contest, so that we already started with 2,000 L$ in the evening. Thank you Fiona for your support, and that you always join us when we find new and sometimes crazy topics. We started at 5pm and Yezika came with Ruby and Vanessa to entertain us with a wonderful set.  The guests quickly followed and after a few minutes it was clear that this would be a special evening.

The rain, our clothes and umbrellas gave us a lot to talk about and laugh about. We really had a lot to laugh about. And everyone danced and had fun. So the 2.5 hours flew by. And of course it rained again and again, we danced in the pouring rain.

It was an amazing night at the Sunshine Realm, and we had more as 65 guests. With coming and leaving were 60 persons in the Garden in the end. So it was a very good result for us, especially for a simple event in the middle of the week.

Now the voting approached and slowly the tension rose. We were at least 60 people, most of them in the contest which was filled with 2,000 L$. There were 9 pages with participants. And we had really bad experiences on the weekend with our Lua. Some of our usual suspects were also back. So how would voting work?

I've opted for an unusual step. I quickly put on a short overall and picked out a rifle in my inventory. This is still from the time in "Serenity Lost", one of the best designed roleplaying Sims in SL, unfortunately Trina closed it a little more than a year ago. I wrote about it in my blog post "My Thoughts about Serenity Lost" last year. But so I was able to tell a story, and I was looking for an elevated position in front of the contestboard where everyone could see me. I tried to entertain the people and focused all at me and not the board.

After I told them that the rifle comes from the Serenity Lost Sim and actually shoots stunning darts that can really hurt. Finally I was able to get acquainted with the arrows as prey in the Sim. Everyone would be a bit disoriented for a few minutes. Unfortunately, the rifle only works in Serenity, otherwise it would be really helpful to go zombie hunting in the Sunshine Realm. Maybe I should really talk to Trina.

At least I explained again why it is so important not to click on the board several times in a quick sequence and why it has to crash. That the unvote windows blocking all, and the board will work off each click. And I've made it clear that I'm going to watch the board, and eject anyone out of the contest who tries to vote multiple times to gain an advantage. And not only that, I would throw everyone out for whom this vote series was made. Two flies with one prank, assuming that just ALT users vote that way. And I have tried to keep the attention with me, to distract everyone, so that the voting works as problem-free as possible.

And so everyone could vote without any problems. Many were surprised how quickly the board reacted and everyone was ready. Never before had we experienced a voting with so many people so quickly and without annoying delays or even interruptions. Already after 15 minutes we had recorded all 50 votes. But that again shows that our Sim works well, and when there are problems, most of them are created by ruthless guests who behave loutishly.

Of course, we stayed together a little longer. The Sunshine Realm wouldn't be the Sunshine Realm if there wasn't an after-party. Most of the guests have left us, but there are always some left. And even the rain couldn't stop us from getting rid of our clothes. So in the end we danced again with free tits, in sexy lingerie or completely naked. It was a wonderful evening, and certainly something special for us as well. That we had so much fun with this topic, and so many guests came, surprised us ourselves.

Like usual you will find more pictures in this Google Images Album. And if you watch the pictures, and you are curious. The Sunshine Realm is open for publicity, there isn't a fee to join our events or spend time with friends here. Follow this landmark and find us in the Grid of SecondLife.

Maybe we can see you to our next event this friday. We will go back to the beach for our "Surf's up! Event and enjoying the sun in Secondlife. More pictures about the preparation of this event and later about the event will you find in this Google Images Album. We look forward for this event, maybe we will see you there.