The Christmas Expo for 2011 is open – and we have the Guide to share!

The Second Life Christmas Expo is open!

It opened at 9am today, 3rd December, and will run until Sunday 18th December.

It’s a beautiful build created by Kayle Matzerath of Garden of Dreams and it’s packed with wonderful stores and great things to see and do.

Prim Perfect are very proud to have been involved in producing the Guide – it has been sent out to our subscribers and is available on the Marketplace and on the web at Calameo.  There are also kiosks at the Expo, and in various stores around the grid.  It contains news of all the events at the Expo, landmarks to the main stores participating, details of a special Christmas CD you can get to support Relay for Life, an interview with Kayle Matzerath, memories of the 2011, Christmas stories and recipes … and lots more.

In fact, why are you reading this blogpost instead of the Guide?

But before you go – here are a selection of the events on offer:

The Avi Choice Awards
This is the annual awards presentation recognizing the people and talent of Second Life’s amazing creations, completely chosen and voted on by Second Life residents. Winners will be announced during the Avi Choice Awards LIVE Show in the Silent Night Lodge, on December 10th. Second Life residents had nearly two months to nominate their favorites in many categories, then their nominations were set up for voting. See who got the most votes here at The Christmas Expo! Besides this year’s award recipients, the show will also feature entertainment, including musical performances, ballet and comedy.  The evening’s award presenters are Saffia Widdershins and Elrik Merlin of Designing Worlds and MamaP Beerbaum and Dwen Dooley of Relay For Life of SL. (Saffia here to say that Elrik and I are very excited about being asked to do this – and we hope that many of you will be there or listen in).

We’re also very proud that Prim Perfect has been nominated in the Magazine category, and Designing Worlds has been nominated in the favourite TV show category.  There are lots of friends on the list – including many who have featured in the magazine or on the show – and we wish them all the very best of luck!

Voting ends 5th December – so you still have time to get your votes in!

Press Booth ~ Stop in and say hi to Second Life’s Media and Press including Ravishal Bentham of KONA, Prim Perfect Magazine, Best of SL Magazine, Avenue Magazine and many, many other bloggers and Second Life Media.  The Press Booth can be found on the Poinsettia region.  On the same region, you’ll find the Prim Perfect/Designing Worlds Expo Studio (an amazing build created specially for us by Eliza Wierwight of Patron) where workshops will be held featuring exciting tips and info from some GREAT Second Life creators and talent – watch the blog for details of our programme!

SL Idol ~  An annual singing competition that will take place every year at The Christmas Expo, this contest will involve rounds of performances by some of SL’s great musicians. A panel of judges, combined with fan votes, will choose one SL Idol and present them with a grand prize package and an assortment of fee paid and non-fee paid HUGE Exposure future SL Venue bookings. Each round of SL Idol will take place in the grand Christmas Expo Entertainment Venue, with plenty of room for fans and audience members.

SL Amazing Race ~ Are you ready for SL’s first ever Amazing Race?!  Ready for some fun?  Do you love a challenge?  Want to win fantastic prizes and Linden Dollars?  Two member teams will race across the grid completing awesome challenges!   The team completing ALL tasks in the LEAST amount of time will be THE WINNER!   The starting point and sign-up location will be available December 5th at  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snowflake/17/236/24!  The winning team will be determined on December 18th, giving teams ample time to sign up and complete the race!  See you on the course!!

For additional information about SL Amazing Race 2011, please contact APinkSwan Beauchamp, SL Amazing Race Coordinator.

And don’t miss this:

Carriage Ride Depot ~ What a perfect setting for that romantic date with your loved one.  A great start to that perfect date might be at the Frosty region where you can head to the Depot and board a couples Carriage Ride. Or you can do what I did and grab a carriage ride to explore the sims.  Let your horse fight the lag while you sit back in (slightly chilly) comfort!

We’ll be sharing more information about the Expo with you over the coming days – so don’t miss the blog – and follow the SL Christmas Expo blog too!