Somewhere over the Second Life rainbow

By QUINN BUKOWSKI
SecondLIFE Magazine

If ever, oh ever, a wiz there was, then Baccara Rhodes, Fey Brightwillow and their merry band of mighty munchkins are it.

On Sunday at 7:00 PM sharp, Spellbound Events hosted the last of the Wizard of OZ themed events. The OZ build is an amazing and wonderful spin on the Wizard of OZ books and movie and is hosted on Evie Fairchild's private Caymen.

If you haven't gotten to OZ, you might want to call a friend who has and ask if they took pictures, because this was the last hooray for the Emerald Palace and Yellow Brick Road. As of the writing of this article, OZ was scheduled to be de-res'd by the end of day Tuesday, July 21. The event, which was widely advertised as Baccara's Rhodes thank you to Second Life for her one-year anniversary, took four months of planning, the combined efforts of more than 10 of SecondLife's most talented builders and scriptors and an incredible eye for detail that comes from a level of passion not easy to found in Second Life or the real world.

I had the honor of accompanying the charming and mysterious debutant; Ms. Olympia Rebus, to OZ (Cayman 37, 37) for “ask the wizard.” This being my fourth trip to Oz -- the first of which ended with me stuck in a Munchkin avatar while trying (unsuccessfully) to make time with Glinda, the good witch of the north -- I settled into the arched stone bench directly behind Ms. Rebus without the typical tourist gaze around my amazing surroundings.

Panthar Orlowski and friends did a credible job reenacting the wizard’s wish-granting scene.

The evening included an unbelievable demonstraition of generosity on the part of Baccara, Fairchild, Orlowski, Brightwillow and many others who granted a string of wishes that included everything from money to love and land.

I spoke with Baccara Rhodes and Spellbound’s chief scriptor, Panthar Orlowski about the OZ build.

QB: How is OZ different from other events that you have done?

Baccara Rhodes: the difference with Oz is that is was more interactive and had a level of detail that I don’t think is seen often. There were things to do and we held events.

Panthar Orlowski: Yes, this was really a combination of builds and events.

DQ: Yes I agree I was really blown away by the level of detail in the and interactive capabilities the build offered.

Baccara Rhodes: Quinn let me say something about Spellbound if I may. We work totally together, No tiffs, no prima donnas. Fey Brightwillow and I are partners. People always see me as the public face but without Fey I am nothing. This has been such a partnership. We only get stronger."

People always see me as the public face but without Fey I am nothing. This has been such a partnership. We only get stronger.

Did you miss OZ? or love it so much you would love to do it again? You can, Spellbound and company will re-res the whole kitten kabootal .. for a mere $500,000L ... The cost of the actual development of this version was secret. Sources put it at almost twice their asking event price.