Reader Submitted: Halloween on Caledon Downs

 

By Cynthia Farshore

 

 

On Tuesday October 10th the Duchy of Caledon Downs opened the month long Halloween festivities with a dance at the Goblin Cave Community Center. The dance which started at 6pm SLT lasted till 8pm marked the beginning of events.

The main event is the Ghost Hunt. Two version of a ghost figures appear for very short periods in various locations across the region. The idea is to use a prim firing weapon to hit the image before it vanishes. The great thing is you don't need to sign up or anything and can use your own gun. Your score is automatically sensed and recorded at the score pole inside the Goblin Cave.

A smaller hunt is the Jack O' Lantern Hunt. There are 5 hidden across the region. Touching it will give you a prize but don't be greedy a second touch will give you something regrettable. An information panel with a list of hints is located in the Goblin Cave next to the Ghost Hunt panel. Both panels you touch for a notecard.

This year's Ghost Train Ride is double in length with more gruesome and gory sights. You head to the high ground over at the train station and touch the little coffin on the tracks.

Ride as many times as you dare. Some who have slower rezz I suggest that you do so as this will load your cache, plus you can have another chance to see what you missed when you closed your eyes the first time, MAhahaha.

Caledon is open to ALL, it is not a hardcore roleplay community, and you don't have to dress Victorian to enjoy our land. Come to the Goblin Cave Community Center and bring a friend along, enjoy the music from the 50s to the 80s classic rock.

 

,,, and talk your friend to death, literally.

Cynthia Farshore
 

Three More Winter Fun Places

By Bixyl Shuftan
 

With Christmas just hours away, many of us will be spending time away from Second Life with friends and family. For those of us sticking around on the holiday, or need a break, there's some places to check out for some winter-themed fun. Gemma Cleanslate's done many articles about locations where one can take part in activities (here), (here), (here), (here), and (here). So was there more? I found a few more places: Linden Lab's Winter Wonderland and Roos Holiday Village. 

Besides the Snowball Fight Area at Winter Wonderland 2 (113/7/31), heading over to  Winter Wonderland 2 (126/40/24) was a snowboarding track. Just touch the rezzer and "sit" on the board. You can then zoom around the track. If there's nobody else to race against, you can see how fast you can make a lap. Or just zoom around for the heck of it.
 

Caledon, Second Life's largest steampunk community, has winterized it's sims and put up the Christmas decorations. Caledon Downs, run by Cynthia Farshore, has brought back it's Christmas Express, which has a train going by several stops, including a "secret" North Pole Village location. 

For details on the location check out the 2018 article. Or just head here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Downs/194/137/50  

Another place is from a noted Relay for Life team, "Roos' Holiday Village for ACS," high above Elite Oasis.

Santa & Grinch Live, Santa & Grinch Photos, Sleigh Rides, Winter Village, Winter Petting Zoo, Christmas Tree Farm, Horse & Buggy Ride, Skiing, Sledding, Snow Mobiles, Train Ride, Children's Rides & Games, Ice Skating, Santa's Workshop, Gingerbread Houses, Picture Poses, Carriage Tour Ride, Ski & Sled Slope, Snowball Fight Area, Ski Lift, Game Area, Dance Area, 30 Item Gift Hunt, 50+ Free Gifts, ....and more

One thing that got my attention was the free skis. And just past the pickup place was a ski course.

The place had much more, including a ski lift to go from one place to another, a Grinch shooting gallery, a skating pond with free skates, and more.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Elite%20Oasis/141/12/23

That's about all for now for Christmas and winter-themed locations. But don't worry too much. Expect a few more reports of winter locations around New Years, and January.

Bixyl Shuftan

Devon Dream and Caledon Downs

By Bixyl Shuftan

There's so many Christmas-themed places in Second Life, there's too many to write about. But we can mention a few good examples. Gemma Cleanslate has mentioned plenty, and may continue to write about winter-themed lands. But with December 25 almost here, I thought I might mention two favorite places of mine, Devon Dream and Caledon Downs.

Devon Dream is owned by Safra Nitely. Every year, she sets up a Christmas-themed display. Among the things one can do is ride a train.

In this display, it seems Rudolph is getting a little stubborn in regards to where the elf wants him to go.

 There's a frozen pond with bumper card in the shape of teacups.

Some nice relaxing scenery to check out.

And when night falls, one can see the aurora.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Devon%20Dream/77/102/23

Another place to check out is Caledon Downs in the Caledon community. Owned by Cynthia Farshore, this December "The Christmas Express" is back. You can ride it by heading to the station.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Downs/196/114/44

Once it arrives, you have thirty seconds to find a seat to get on. It can be a little tricky as it's easy to end up sitting on the wrong part of the seat. But it won't be long before you're off and in the air.

And you're soon at Santa's Secret Base, presumably near the North Pole.

There are things to do there, such as this sled ride. While there, one can listen to the KGYG stream, which had plenty of Christmas tunes.

 Santa and his elves are busy at work.

There's a warm, and detailed looking, kitchen area.

Caledon Downs of course is just one sim. To the north at Caledon Moors, there was a ski slope one could ski on. One could just walk up, or take the ski lift (elevator) to the top.

One can pick up skis and skates at a couple points there, midpoint and at the top. You can also teleport there from midpoint.

Getting the hang of skiing with the provided skis can be a little tricky. But before you know it, you'll be going downhill.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Moors/53/115/21

There's a lot more to see at Caledon, so feel free to walk around.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Bixyl Shuftan

Caledon Down's And Star Estates Halloween Haunts

By Bixyl Shuftan

Victorian/Steampunk and Halloween can sometimes make for an interesting combination. It was the 19th Century in which the classic horror stories Frankenstein and Dracula were written. While science was starting to reveal much more about the world compared to the past, there was much still unknown and seances to contact the departed were more common than today. With this in mind, there are a couple spooky Halloween places in the Caledon estates, the land of Second Life's largest Steampunk community. These are Star Estates in Caledon II, and Caledon Downs.

Duchy Cynthia Farshore and Star cordially invites you to Caledon Downs and Star Estates, Tamrannoch for a sim full of Halloween fun going on now. There are many, many horrors and hunts with prizes. Caledon Downs is still building up so explore many times to see new sights.

The Caledon Downs Haunted Land is a scary trail that starts in the northeast corner of Caledown Downs, just off the railroad. The path goes down some spooky woods, with the mist getting pretty thick at times. And the thing about misty nights is you don't see trouble, until you're almost upon it, or it's almost upon you. And the trail has it's share of frights. But it also has some prizes. Around the place are some pumpkins. Click on them *once* to get some prizes. Click on them twice, and well, you'll find out.

And this isn't all. If you're in the mood for a little ghostbusting, there is a ghostly shooting gallery out. Just click the gun-giver for a spider gun, and you'll be shooting arachnids at the apparitions to drive them away (you'd freak too if a spider landed on your face). The high score is listed for you to try to beat.

Cynthia says she plans to add more to the trail between now and Halloween. So more trips will reveal some new surprises.


  Caledon Downs Haunted Land - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Downs/184/252/23

Star Estates has it's own haunted trail in the Caledon II sim. I came across this in the daytime, but it was still unnerving as it started off with some eyeball thing starring at me. Early on, you're told to look for an orange cube, and given a choice of taking the trail by foot, or by boat. I chose going by foot, going down a wooden walkway over the water.

I had to pass some scary sights, but eventually made it down the path, to a spooky manor. inside were more scary sights. There were plenty of zombies, ghosts, skeletons, and other monsters. I never did see that orange cube the first time down the trail. Maybe next time.

 Star Estates  - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20II/192/69/23

Getting back to Caledon Downs, Cynthia Farshore has a Halloween party planned for Saturday October 27 from 6 to 8 PM at her Goblin Cave. She announced, "The music will play across the whole sim of Caledon Downs so one can explore the sim and still be entertained."

Goblin Cave Entertainment Center - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Downs/104/89/32

Bixyl Shuftan