It’s a bank holiday weekend in the UK, that means rain, wind and crappy weather.  But fear not, dear reader, the sun always shines in Second Life, and it’s going to be blazing down upon the Home & Garden Expo for Relay For Life 2013, a fundraising event that’s not to be missed!

You’ll find over 100 exhibitors sharing their very best homes, gardens, landscaping and interior design products in Second Life.  This year there are also an additional 30 creators from the breedables sector in the second annual Breedables Fair too..<phew!>

I’ve been lucky enough to have a sneaky peeky at the event and I can assure you all that you won’t be disappointed. There 8 regions full of home products, can you imagine?! (There are also 2 sims just for the Breedables fair and 1 entertainment sim as well!)

Each exhibitor is going to be showcasing their very best designs, but will also feature new items that you can buy to support Relay For Life and the American Cancer Society.

The event runs for just over a week from :  12PM SLT on May 24^th until June 2^nd, so you have plenty of time to wander around and enjoy the amazing displays, and trust me you’ll need it because there is so much to see here that it’s overwhelming!

So what do you need to know? Well first things first, the builds are absolutely brilliant. Each exhibitor has really gone the extra mile to make their display look brilliant and invite you in to spend your lovely loot!  The environment feels like it’s been designed and engineered to make the entire space come alive with things to see, experience  and enjoy.

There are garden spaces to wander around and relax in, as well as cobbled streets and rustic villas juxtaposed with family homes and contemporary structures. If you’re a texture freak like myself then you will *drool* at the wealth of pattern and colour that surrounds you. It’s a total treat.

Rustic and traditional are as well served here as modern and contemporary, so even if role-play, or  past-times living aren’t your thing in Second Life you’ll still be enchanted by the displays that you’ll discover in Expo 1. (There are a number of items aimed at petites here too)  Be sure to gasp agog at the Devonmoor Manor from Kismet, which is like stepping back in time.  In fact, I actually turned the music OFF so that I could walk around and soak up the ambience from some of the garden environments,  and I heartily suggest that you do the same!

I spied a myriad of wonderfully built abodes across all 8 expo sims. In particular look out for contributions from BA, Pixel Fusion, NACH Homes and Furnishings and Funky Junk.  With the increasing application and development of mesh it’s fair to say that houses are really becoming grander and so much more realistic than ever before, and there are plenty of luxurious abodes here to suit every budget and requirement.  T

Wandering around I was struck by how many were family homes, with many offering multiple bedrooms and furnishings to suit. There are lots of structures suited to Second Life families this year, and a number of retailers are here purely for the family role-play market.

I’m always keen to find knick-knacks and elements to enhance the space in my home, and you’ll find lots of essential homewares from brands like Second Spaces, Cheeky Pea and Mudhoney.  There’s a huge emphasis this season on outdoor entertaining and there are many different patio sets, barbecues and seating solutions to be had from some of the best names in furniture.  You’ll also find lots of plants and garden inspiration from names like Botanical and Heart Botanicals, helping you to transform your virtual lawn into something more spectacular. (Note: Don’t visit the expo if you need to go to the toilet, there are so many water features dotted around that you may struggle to keep control of your virtual bladder!)

Of course the expos allow newer designers upon the grid to make an impression, and it was great to become acquainted with names that I hadn’t really encountered before, such as Cobblestone and Shabby Tabby.

Aspiring builders are well served too, you’ll find texture artists and mesh retailers such as Zwicked Textures,  Clutter and Builders Brewery have representation here.   In fact, Builders Brewery have a a huge staging area for lessons and lectures, with an extensive programme schedule for the duration of the Expo. If you’ve always wanted to learn to sculpt and texture, now’s the time to check the lecture timetable out!

It’s really difficult to pick a favourite build or a singular item from the assembled throng of loveliness that’s on display here, so over the next few days I’ll feature a few choice items that I think  are worth sharing with you.  Is the Expo worth a visit? Most definitely; it’s inspiring. Illuminating and above all else it’s a great way to support an undoubtedly worthy cause. This is definitely one of the highlights of the year, be sure to enjoy it!

Exhibitors include: 

-JoHaDeZ- “Poetic Furniture”/::A&A::/::WetCat:: Builds&Poses/.::Sense and Sensibility::./
[beach street home and garden/[ba] barnesworth anubis prefabs/[CIRCA] Living/[LeeZu!]/
[PM]Pixel Mode/[RNP] Animations/{what next}/*ionic*/%Percent Furniture & Lighting
~*~Inspired~*~/22769 ~ [bauwerk]/3S Creations/Akaesha Designs/Amaretto Ranch Breedables/Aphrodite Shop/ARIA modern furniture and lights/Atelier Visconti/BellaRose/Beyond Prims/Black Tulip/Botanical/by Chiana Oh/By Dorian/Cheeky Pea/ChiC buildings/CLEO DESIGN/Clutter for Builders/Cobblestone Home & Garden/Cozy Homes/Creations Kitchen/De Baza/Dekute Dekore/Dysfunctional Designs/Fancy Designs/Fennux/FLRN BABY’S & FLRN DESIGN/forest feast/Full Perm Mesh/Funky Junk/Galland Homes/Glas Houses/Good Furniture/Green and Wild Garden Centre/Heart Botanicals/Home and Garden Market/Home by JLZ/Hybrid Productions/Island Dreams Realty and Seaside Lounge/Kabuki Creations/Kaerri/Katy’s Kreations Sculpties & Mesh/Kismet/Kuro/La Dolce Vita/LOTTIE Garden & Home/Lovers PlayGround/Maven Homes/meadowWorks/Meeroos/MESHWORX/Mission Home Store/MudHoney/NACH Homes and Furnishings/Naked Mesh/Nexxus Arts/Oceania Breedables/Organica Specialty Landscaping and Home Décor/Overland Trail/Park Place Home Décor/Persnickity/Pet Peddlers/Petals on the Wind Gardens of Gentle Decay/Pillows & Things/PILOT/Pixel Fusion Homes/Prim Perfect/PRIME/PrimTique/RE Blueprint Designs/ReBourne PreFabs/Roawenwood/Robin (Sojourner) Wood/sanctuaire/Scarlet Creative/Sculpty Republic/Second Spaces/Shabby Tabby/Soul Effects/Spargel & Shine Homes/Steaming Ahead/Gothic’s Musing/Stonewood Homes/Studio Skye/Terra’s Closet/TexturAni Textures / MeshAni Mesh/THE Beachstore/The Dark Fae/The Domineaux Effect/The Forest/The Nawty Box/The Virtual Kennel Club/Thistle Homes/Tranquil Homes/Tribute City/Two Moon Gardens/Unrepentant/West Studio/Zigana/Zwicked Textures

Quick TP (Click each to teleport)

• Home Expo 1 sponsored by Roawenwood
• Home Expo 2 sponsored by Cheeky Pea
• Home Expo 3 sponsored by Park Place Home Decor
• Home Expo 4 sponsored by Stonewood Homes
• Home Expo 5 sponsored by Galland Homes
• Home Expo 6 sponsored by Prim Perfect Magazine
• Home Expo 7 sponsored by PRIME
• Home Expo 8 sponsored by Home & Garden Market
• Home Expo 8 sponsored by The Wonderful World Of Meeroos

Breedables Fair TP Links: 

• Breedables Fair 1
• Breedables Fair 2