Saturday October 18th and Sunday October 19th mark two special Halloween-themed events, both of which aim to help raise funds for Feed A Smile, the a programme run by Live and Learn in Kenya (LLK) to provide nutritious warm lunches for over 400 children in Kenya every day, paid for entirely from donations to the project.

BOOStock!

First up, on Saturday October 18th is BOOStock! – Branwen Arts’ special mix of seasonal music and more to be held in a suitable venue floating above the estate.

Commencing at 14:00 SLT, the event will include:

14:00 – Mavenn singing her Halloween set

15:00 – The Frankentinies (aka Pitter Patter Dance company) doing a truly scary horror show

16:00 – Songbird Sorbet, the tiny opera singer.

Admission is free, and all are welcome!

BOOFest!

Then, on Sunday October 19th, it’s time to enjoy the 4th successive year of BOOFest, a celebration of spooky stories told around a blazing autumnal fire.

Featuring a gathering of virtual story presenters at their spooky and scary best, this year’s BOOFest is being held at Lavender Fields, the home of Feed A Smile in Second Life, with all tips going directly to the work of LLK in Kenya.

Story sessions will include everything from classic authors of the ghostly to the macabre, from Bram Stoker and H.P. Lovecraft; through to contemporary writers such as Neil Gaiman. In addition, original works by SL authors Freda Frostbite, Dubhna Rhiadra, Caledonia Skytower, and Moon Aerandir will also be included.

Events such as this occasionally mean that the schedule may be subject to a few last-minute changes, but at the time of writing, the programme looked like this (all times SLT):

10:00 – Dubhna Rhiadra

10:30 – Shandon Loring

11:00 – Bhelanna Blaze

11:30 – BigRed Coyote

Noon – Dubhna & Caledonia reading works by Moon Aerandir

12:30 – Gyro Muggins

12:30 – Gyro Muggins 13:00 – Aoife

13:30 – Corwyn Allen

14:00 – Freda Frostbite

14:30 – Crap Mariner

15:00 – Caledona Skytower

Details of any changes to the programme can be found on the StoryFests SL website. Again, admission is free, and all are welcome!

About Feed A Smile

Feed A Smile is a programme run by LLK to provide nutritious warm lunches for over 400 children every day, paid for entirely from donations to the project. Over a third of the money directed at the programme comes from donations received through Feed a Smile in Second Life – and that’s a remarkable figure.

The money is raised through live music played at the Lavender Fields club, which stages around 5 or 6 events weekly and to which musicians donate their tips and visitors are asked to donate just L$100 ($0.30), which is enough to purchase a filling meal for a child in Kenya, a fact that within itself is quite mind-boggling.

About the Organisers

Seanchai Library (Shanna-key, which means “Storyteller” in Irish.) was born in March of 2008 as the West of Ireland Library and Cultural Center. Nearly seven years and thousands of story session later, Seanchai Library remains dedicated to promoting the power of stories to transform and inspire through live voice presentations in Second Life and on the Hypergrid, as well as promoting the work of a variety of charitable organizations every year. “We bring stories of all kinds to life, in virtual worlds.” Contact Caledonia Skytower.

Branwen Arts Cooperative is a group of artists who work singly or together with other artists. Their home base on Bran in provides a stage for performance and a gallery for exhibitions. Branwen Arts is always looking for artists, visual and performing, who want their work to be seen and appreciated: writers, storytellers, dramatists, visual artists, dancers, musicians. Contact Dubhna Rhiadra, Fae Varriale or Safi Farspire.