Review of August

A brief look back at August

It's been another month. And like in the months before also today a review of the previous month. Of course we asked ourselves whether we would be able to build on the results of July, which is our most successful month although we are in summer time and therefore the vacation time. You can read it again in the Review for July. Our concept is simple. New and varied, interesting events, which we announced earlier than usual and published in the SecondLife calendar early. Thus we wanted to compensate the losses by the summer slump and also win new guests. 

But this month our luck seemed to be running out. After a very good start we seemed to arrive in the middle of the month in the summer hole. But at the end we were able to turn the tide again and finish this month very successfully.


At the beginning it looked really good. We started the month very successfully and thought we could easily repeat the success of July. We went to the "Red-Light District". Here we built a street matching Amsterdam's streets or Hamburg's Reeperbahn around the Burlesque Palace and celebrated this rather sexy theme. And it was really a good event, everybody had a lot of fun. DJ Valantine is usual good, but in she sent us in a Night Club with an amazing and sexy set in this night. 

And also our 2nd event one day later was special. After a longer break we went back to the Realm of Shades and celebrated the event "Dark Magic". It was darker and scarier. An event in the old church ruin is always special. It was really breathtaking, and many guests came.  We had built a dark forest with eerie sounds around the churchyard. DJ Yuimetal entertained us with a very good set, and because Polpeta wasn't able to login she played the After-Party too. So we already had 120 visitors on the first weekend in August, but could hardly win new guests.  Nevertheless we looked optimistically ahead into August.

Then it went with the new week once again to a party in the Sunshiner's Pub. We searched for a theme that fits to the National Root Beer Float Day and decided to have a College Frat Party. Many people didn't know what to do with this topic because it is very American. But we all still like to remember the casual time in college and celebrate everywhere, even without the frat houses. But since that night the Sunshiner's Pub is the fraternity house of the Sunshine Rocker Group. Of course there was also a Beer Pong table and enough beer to celebrate and DJ Yezika really rocked the pub. It was a nice event, and we had the pub really full. Altogether there were almost 70 guests, and almost 60 at the end also in our decorated pub.

But then the summer slump caught us and we were not really satisfied with the following event. Many of us are all football fans and the NFL pre-season has started. And we had events around the NFL or College Football before. And from previous experience, the sporting events are always well attended. So we have done everything right this time as well. We even built a new soccer field for it, and prepared ourselves with the matching clothes. And our "Pre-Season Football Party" started with DJ Valantine. We had a lot of fun at the event, but the visitors didn't come. And this despite the fact that new members joined our Sunshine Rocker group at this event. At the end there were only 41 guests who visited us, and 36 were together on the field at the end. So despite the interesting topic the visitors almost halved compared to the weekend before. 

But we really had a lot of fun, laughed and teased each other. Team Conner for the Seattles Seahawks stood against Misty and me with the Bengals. And it was positive that we could win new members. So we smiled and hoped that the next events would be better attended, we could inspire more people with our topics.

Now the whole weekend should become sporty, and also for the following day we had thought up something. We wanted to go bowling with our guests. "Let's go Bowling" with DJ Yumetal. Well, this topic was also more difficult for me, I have never seen a bowling hall from the inside, but we had built our own bowling hall the week before and were now curious. We couldn't change much anyway, the event was planned, we had built the place and everything was published. The hall was a bit big, but Misty had built wonderful bowling alleys, so we had a lot of fun here. And somehow all our friends had managed to come up with their own ideas about this topic, which probably belongs in the past, and came with funny outfits. For the guests we had said: "Mainly sneakers. Otherwise you won't get on the Lane".

But that didn't really help either. We had Saturday, and some more guests. But it stayed with the trend and with just over 50 guests we could by far not follow up on the previous weekend. Despite the high jackpot of 2,500 L$ there were only 44 guests at the end. This weekend has thrown us back.

We wanted to leave this weekend behind us quickly. And the coming week was a special one. We started it again with a pirate event. While searching for ideas we came across the National Rum Day. And even if we brought the event forward, that was the origin of the idea. After the success of the event "Buried Treasure / Pirates" where the pirates had searched for their lost treasure on our beach, they should now come back through a breach in time to search for the rum hidden on the beach. The first event was a huge success, the theme had attracted many. And everyone could use the same clothes again. With this event we would make up ground again. We believed it.

But also here we remained behind the expectations. There were more than 50 guests, and at least 44 were together on the beach. But we had expected more. It is difficult, in summer in SecondLife. But we had fun. But, we had fun and will certainly plan another event around the topic pirates soon. And it was Tuesday, most of the time the events are not as well attended.


And then came the peak of the month. The legendary Woodstock Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary. And like the first moon landing, which took place in the same year, we wanted to organize a special. We had already built a festival place last year and celebrated the 49th Woodstock Anniversary with 2 events. At that time many guests had come, and also this year we had hoped for many visitors. All seems make right. In any case it should be something special. And so we built a special venue again this year and planned two events here. 

We built the new festival place on the square of a 1/8 Sim (some pictures in a Google Images Album). In the back there was a cow farm, there was not missing the tractor, but also the cows grazed behind the fence. On a sandy way, which extended through the Sim, we passed the farm. On the other side was a field of sunflowers. The hippie time is the time of the flower children. And sunflowers are like a symbol of joie de vivre. And that's what we wanted this weekend, lots of fun and free love. Behind it was a large meadow with the main stage. So that there was not such a mess as in 1969, we had also set up toilet houses. 

And also the stage had a lot to offer with the two cantilevers, the roof and huge loudspeakers. It was the biggest stage we have ever built in the Sunshine Realm. Beside the set for a band there was a lot of light and fog effects, so there were also beautiful effects to see during the two days. It was going to be a special weekend, we spent some hours and bought a lot of new stuff. And also the tour bus and the Carawan trailer for the bands behind the stage was not missing of course. As a highlight there should be fireworks on the last day.

On August 16th our first event took place. Our friends came and we had a lot of fun. There were a lot of wonderful outfits and the spirit of the festival had reached the Sunshine Realm. DJ Valantine entertained us with a set of music from the Woodstock time. We also had 50 visitors, but we didn't reach our very ambitious goals. But that didn't break the mood at all. It was a wonderful evening, and a 2nd event on Saturday would follow. 

On Saturday we met for our 2nd anniversary event. Before we were in the ClubR Room and arrived shortly before. DJ Yuimetal had put together a set with many originals and entertained us with their stream. There were also more than 50 guests and we increased the jackpot to 1,250 L$. Of course there was a firework display that bathed the whole place in a beautiful picturesque light. The after-party with DJ Polpeta was also very good. And so we started in the typical colorful hippie clothes, and after 4 hours we danced almost naked.

That's how Woodstock Weekend ended. We had to realize that we were far behind our expectations. We had invested a lot of L$ and time, but didn't get the people to visit our events. But there were a lot of pictures, some came into the Sim to take pictures. And we had spent 2 wonderful days with our friends and guests. So also this weekend was a successful one, and we do the events also for our friends and somehow also for ourselves. This weekend ended with smiling faces.

That's how we cleaned this place up. We deleted everything to make room for something new. And we had to accept that we couldn't join July and that the Sunshine Realm arrived in the summer slump. Hopefully it wouldn't take so long, as we wanted to build the base for the fall. So we looked to the future, as we had some nice and exciting events planned for August.

On August 20th we had planned another special event. Who hasn't put on a lumberjack shirt or a boyfriend's shirt? The well-trained men who cut down trees in the forest with an axe. This is very special and we were all looking forward to the "Lumberjack Day". We had chosen the big meadow in front of the Trails End Music Hall Club for this event and added a stack of wood and felled trees. Everything was prepared and just the Sunshine Garden with the Trails End Music Hall Club is one of the most beautiful places in the Sunshine Realm. 

We had fun and DJ Yezika entertained us very well with support from Vanny and Ruby. There were some hot outfits and we laughed and joked a lot. But this event followed the series of events with themes around craftsmen. So the construction workers event was fantastic, but also the worst attended. And the "Thank you Serviceworker Day" was not so much better. And also with Lumberjack Day we were not much better, and achieved the worst visitor result in August. It was less than half of what we had hoped for. Summer slump and craftsmen, it seems a bad mix. Ok, this craftsmen events were like this one on a Tuesday, and we also usually have fewer visitors during the week. But there were also overcrowded parties on other Tuesdays.  It's hard to predict.

Also for the following Friday, August 23rd, we had thought up something special. "Motorcycle Mania", hot gals and guys in leather, patches to the waistcoats and all sitting hot motorcycles. The team spirit of an MC, the smell of exhaust fumes and burned tire rubber. This is the dream of freedom, and everyone came with wonderful Outfits. DJ Valantine entertained us again and we met on the street in front of the Sunshiner's Pub and the alcove. The stage had got a new roof and the place was decorated accordingly. We had a wonderful evening and started into the weekend. And after we made the Sunshiner's Pub our frat house for the "College Frat Party", it was more like the clubhouse with the meeting room of the chapter "Sunshine Realm".

We had 60 visitors that evening and almost 50 were on the street together at the same time. But we didn't have to increase the contest. The number of group members seemed to stagnate in this time in August. It was a good evening, but not yet the hoped for trend reversal out of the summer slump. But we were already thinking about the next day for our big formal dance prom, which we wanted to organize in the temple.

It is a secret that most women especially like these dance nights in beautiful gowns. And a dance event on a summer evening under the stars, in a light and airy, colourful gown, is an extra bonus. And the men also seem to like it when they come in their chic suits with ties or a tuxedo. And both sides enjoy the looks of the opposite gender. Of course, we also wanted to organize such a dance night in August, and started with the preparations days before.  We have a ballroom with the Burlesque Palace and could have easily prepared it. But we wanted to go back to our temple, especially here we had the most beautiful formal events this year and our Mount Olympus radiates something very special. We all love this place and we haven't been here for a while.

We also found a topic quickly. We wanted to enjoy "Venice at Night" together with our guests and friends. This old city at the lagoon at the Mediterranean Sea, which stands like no other place in the world for romance, the city that invites the loving to dream. The historic buildings with the small canals and bridges, the gondolas that invite to romantic trips. All this is Venice. And it was exactly the theme for a summer night. Only, how could we implement that as a theme, and that with the temple. A little decoration was not enough this time. We want a special place for this special evening. 

We lowered the complete area under the Temple Mount and made it free. A canal with small bridges was also quickly found. But somehow it didn't work as intended. Then maintenance work in SecondLife also set us back, for the first time we were unsure whether we would be able to do it and whether there would be enough time at the end. Were our goals too high this time? When the sim was online again, we reacted spontaneously. We lowered the panorama walls, built a port for the gondolas and added a charming little Mediterranean cafe. The flags of the historic Republic of Venice and the matching temple were redecorated. What would our guests and friends say about this place? Would more guests come again? Now we could only wait.

Of course I also bought a new dress for this special night, and I couldn't resist buying shoes that fit exactly. A proper hairstyle and makeup, I completed everything with a silver mask. This is also part of the preparation for such an event, and many of us now enjoy it. It makes the Sunshine Realm so unique and wonderful, because many of our events are a challenge for our friends and guests. You can always be curious what our friends will make of it. And some use it, and enjoy this preparation time, also take pictures. All this is the spirit of the Sunshine Family. And this evening we didn't want to think about the summer slump, not about visitors and problems. We just wanted a nice summer night with friends, nice music and dancing.

And then it became something very special, it could be felt from the very first moment. Today DJ Polpeta entertained us and she had put together a wonderful mix of mediterranean and venizian music. Many danced as a couple and it quickly became fuller. And then the really unbelievable happened. It quickly got fuller and fuller. We had almost 90 visitors that night and 74 of them were together in our temple. After a long time we got close to the capacity of the Sim again and it became the most visited event of the year. Was this the turnaround? You don't think about it on a night like this. And because everyone felt it, we were able to raise the contest to 3,500 L$ through donations. The number of group members also increased significantly, we had done everything right and were able to win many new members. It was a special night together with friends in a beautiful place. Somehow some of us had really arrived in Venice.

Now a successful event wouldn't mean a trend reversal, but of course it brought us close to the good result in July and almost compensated for the less visited events before. But a new week also means new happiness. And for the next week we had planned our different events again. And starting from the dance night in Venice the contrast couldn't be greater this time. Our next event brought us back to Sunshiner's Pub and we did a heavy metal night. "Heavy Metal Headbanging" was our next event, but it was a Tuesday, and they have been rather poorly attended lately. What could we expect? Of course we hoped for a lot of visitors, but especially for an unforgettable night with friends.

DJ Yezika really heated up Sunshiner's Pub and we danced to the loud metal music while the fog was hovering over the dance floor. The light bathed everything in a red light and there were some crazy outfits to see, again everyone was thinking. And then it happened again, that special moment. It quickly got fuller. Then we even thought in between, the Sunshiner's Pub is too small for this crowd. It was a unique atmosphere and we had almost 80 visitors that evening. And there were 64 together in our pub and took part in the headbanging. We were really happy that everything went so well. And this week started very well with new group members.

And so we started into the last weekend in August with the beach event "A Day in Ibiza". Of course we wanted to follow on from the previous weekend.The summer is slowly coming to an end, but we wanted to go to the beach once time again. When could we do this better than as on the "National Beach Day"? Now we were often in the Caribbean this summer, be it to learn to swim or sunbathe. And we were there twice for surfing, one with surf's up! and then with the surfing lessons. But also the pirates were there and searched for their lost treasure before they came back and return to got the hidden rum barrels.

We couldn't follow up on the excellent results of the two events "Venice at Night" and "Heavy Metal Headbanging", but that wasn't to be expected either. That's why we were very satisfied and improved again compared to the previous week with our "Motorcycle Mania" event. There were more than 60 guests who visited us during the event today. And at the end there were almost 50 together on the beach. So we had raised the jackpot of our contest once again to 1,250 L$. So before the last event in August we already exceeded the results of the previous month and continued the positive development.

The last event in August was again a Country Night. We wanted to "dance in the barn" together with our friends and hopefully many many guests. In the past it was the Country Nights that were well attended. We love our big barn and love it to come back to this amazing venue. So we will finishing the August with a Square Dance together. As I talked with Misty about this, she asked for a German Translation of "Square Dance". We have some words without translation, so we say normally Square Dance too. But some, mostly older people call it "Scheunentanz" ... you can translate it back as "Dance in the Barn". And so we are back to an old kind of our events. 

We started the contest with 1,250 L$ (S) instead the usual 1,000 L$. DJ Yuimetal had put together an amazing set with country music, and entertained us very well. So the time flew very fast again. As it slowly filled up, and more than 30 people were registered in the Contets, we increased the jackpot again to 1,500 L$. The Sim ran very evenly, we had hardly any lag and there weren't those extreme loading times of textures, which always annoyed us during the last day, especially when taking pictures you had to look twice, so that no grey males (and females) are in the picture. Today it really worked better again. DJ Yumetal played in set of wonderful country music and the time passed very fast again.

Then there were more than 50 people in the barn again. With that we had made it. We breathed a sigh of relief. At the end the top was 53 persons, and more than 60 guests visited the event tonight. A good result, and with that we ended August. We are now looking forward to the colourful autumn season with some highlights. The voting worked very well and at the end the jackpot of 1,500 L$ was divided among the 41 votes.

The Month in Numbers

As in the previous month, I would like to close here with an overview. August was again a significant increase over the previous month. We owe this especially to the last very successful events. We had 821 visitors at our events, which is 100 more than in the previous month. Thanks to the many visitors and some donations we distributed 21,750 L$ in Contests to our guests. There were more than 500 votes (522). So it was an amazing month.

The number of group members is now 968. We started in the month with 927, so we could win 41 new member for our Sunshine Rocker Group.

And also the annual sums for 2019 should not be missing. So far we had more than 5,000 visitors (5,077) at the Sunshine Realm. We have distributed more than 150,000 L$ over the contests (151,500 L$), and there were 3,222 votes and because we run our contests in split mode, profit shares. Now we look forward to fall and hope to have built a foundation for fall time with the successful summer months.