July Festivals Schedule

Saturday 24th July:

10am - Ludi Apollinares Ritual + Play (The Founding of Rome - A Tale of Romulus and Remus)
Our festivals this month begin with the celebration of Ludi Apollinares - honouring the God Apollo. Since part of the traditional Ludi were plays and other theatrical productions, our ritual to honour Apollo will be immediately followed by a play by our very own Zelda Walpole! The play tells the story of Rome's great founders, Romulus and Remus - it's a thrilling tale you won't want to miss!
Location: Theater of Dionysus, ROMA Sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/215/25/22

1pm - Ludi Chariot Races
As Apollo races His sun chariot across across the sky, so our Agitatores will race their chariots in the Hippodrome! Come spend an exciting day at the races, and maybe even get to race yourself!
Location: Hippodrome, ROMA sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/202/106/26

3pm - Apollo's Poetry Contest
As a patron of the Arts, Apollo is also the God of Poetry - and to honour Him, we will be having a poetry contest! Each contestant will read a work of his/her own composition and you will get to vote for your favourite! There will be prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners, and we will all have a cool and relaxing day of poetry in the gardens!
Location: The Gardens of Maecenas, ROMA sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/160/137/52


Sunday 25th July:

10am Neptunalia Ritual
Our second day of festivals kicks off the Neptunalia, the festival in honour of the great God Neptune. We will be holding a ritual to honour Him in His temple in Maritima and all are welcome to attend!
Location: Neptune Temple, ROMA Maritima sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Maritima/158/128/2

10:30am til 3pm - Binchester Day (Various Events and Locations)
A special series of events to celebrate the opening of ROMA's newest sims: ROMA Vinovium and ROMA Vicus! Since these events will be somewhat fluid, please keep an eye on the notices from the ROMA Citizens group to let you know when each event is about to start. Come join us in this most distant outpost of the ROMA "empire"!

10:30 - Guided Tour of Binchester Roman Fort
Builder and Prefect Torin Golding will take interested citizens around on a guided tour of the new ROMA Vinovium sim, which is a recreation of the fort currently being excavated by a team from Stanford University and Durham University. He will explain how the build fits in with the archaeology being done on the site, and why the project is using Second Life to reconstruct this Roman ruin.
Location: Binchester Roman Fort, ROMA Vinovium sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Vinovium/243/144/46

11:30 - Talk with the Archaeologists of the Binchester Fort Project
Archaeologists from the project that is currently in the field will be present in avatar form to chat with Citizens about the project and what they have found this season, and how their work can communicate with Second Life. It will be held inside the reconstructed Headquarters Building of the Binchester fort.
Location: Headquarters Building, ROMA Vinovium sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Vinovium/172/133/47

1:00- Binchester Dance Party Social
Come relax and celebrate the new sims with a spot of dancing.
Location: Binchester Fort, ROMA Vinovium sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Vinovium/153/138/47

4pm - The Sun and Sea Grand Feast
Our final festival event of the weekend, the Sun and Sea Grand Feast! Come join us for music, dancing, and camaraderie as we bid farewell to the Gods Apollo and Neptune and conclude another wonderful festival!
Location: Field of Mars, ROMA Transtiberim sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Transtiberim/175/122/22

June Festival Schedule

ROMA Vestalia & Bellonalia Schedule

Saturday 19th June

10am - Vestalia Ritual
The time has come again to honour Vesta, Goddess of Hearth and Home! Please join us in honouring Her with a ritual, that she might shed Her warmth and light on ROMA for another year!
Location: ROMA Sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/215/25/22

12pm - Vestalia RFL Scavenger Hunt
Can you find the precious treasure before it's too late? The Vestalia Scavenger Hunt this year will be raising funds for Relay For Life - two teams are going to split the monies evenly, ROMA Pro Vita and the Justice League Unlimited, who are providing the Grand Prize package. Each one of the 16 clue items to be found will cost either L$30 or L$60, depending if it has a gift in it or not. These are your RFL donations for this event, and we thank the generous contributors who donated all the prizes, especially our co-sponsor, the Justice League Unlimited who provided the Grand Prize package.
Location: Plaza, ROMA Sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/184/42/26

3pm - Vestalia Tavern Party
After such a long and exhausting day hunting, the victors retire to the Pompeii Tavern for drinking, dancing, and wagering. Come join them as we bask in the afterglow of an exciting day!
Location: Pompeii Tavern, ROMA Sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/184/42/26

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Sunday 20th June

10am - Bellona Ritual
Our festivals begin with a ritual for Bellona, the Roman Goddess of War - sister of Mars, and Spiritual Mother of ROMA's Amazons. Little is known of Bellona's rites in Ancient times, save that they were held in Her temple on the Campus Martius - but we have our own ritual to honour Her on ROMA's Campus Martius.
Location: ROMA Transtiberim Sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Transtiberim/144/82/303

1pm - Bellona RFL Chariot Races
Watch the mighty agitatores (chariot racers) of Roma contest against each other in feats of skill and daring as they race around the Circus Maximus Hippodrome in Roma to your enthusiastic cheers! 'Bet' on your favourite charioteer by donating to his or her RFL kiosk and win a prize if your charioteer wins the day!
Location: Circus Maximus, ROMA Sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/202/106/26

3:30pm - The Bellona & Vesta Grand Feast
Our Festivals culminate with the Bellona & Vesta Grand Feast - our wind-down party from the hectic Bellonalia Chariot Races! Come dance with us to some relaxing tunes and pleasant conversation! (We'll also be having a trivia contest with ROMA's own trivia master, Mickey James!)
Location: Field of Mars, ROMA Transtiberim Sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Transtiberim/181/106/22

May Festival Schedule

Saturday 15th May

10 am - Bona Dea Ritual & Furry Donation Dance

Our festivals begin with a ritual for Bona Dea, "The Good Goddess" - Also known as Fauna, She is the daughter of Faunus, and a goddess of virginity, fertility, and healing. Bona Dea's rites included only women - even paintings or drawings of men or male animals were forbidden - but in our ROMA, the menfolk are welcome to Her rites. After the rite, we will have a dance and party to celebrate the goddess, where you can donate to get a dance with the exotic furred or feathered person of your choice! Didn't you ever wonder what it would be like to waltz with a leopard?

Location: ROMA Community Garden Plot 29, ROMA Subura Sim.
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Subura/132/160/24


12pm - Fishing Contest

Break out your poles and put on your fishing togas - it's time for another ROMA Fishing event, as we thank Fauna for the bounty she gives us. Using the 7Seas Fishing system, we will be having a fishing contest, with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners receiving cash prizes.

Location: ROMA Fishing Platform, ROMA Transtiberim sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Transtiberim/115/147/22


3pm - Drinking Challenge

Round-robin jollity as we try to drink each other under the table! Using Torin's drinking game, we'll have successive rounds until only the true heir of Bacchus is left standing! Or... wobbling. That person will weave away from the Taberna with the Grand Prize!

Location: Pompeii Tavern, ROMA Sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/178/16/2


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Sunday 16th May

11am - Mercuralia Ritual
11:30 - Fashion Show

Mercury isn't just the herald of the Gods - He's also the patron of merchants and commerce! So this Mercuralia, we will be honouring Him with a ritual in the Mercury Temple at the Macellum.

After the ritual, there will be a fabulous fashion show in the Macellum put on by our merchants to honour Mercury and entertain the populace. Come see the latest in Roman fashion!

Location: Julian Plaza, ROMA Subura sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Subura/18/59/24


1pm - Legio XIII Triathlon

Only the swiftest and strongest of all ROMAns will be able to succeed at the challenge put forth by our own Legio XIII Gemina. Starting at the head of the Transtiberian path, contestants will ride, run and climb for the glory of Victory, the honour of Rome and the grand prize!

Location: Transtiberim Path, ROMA Transtiberim sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Transtiberim/60/35/45


4pm - The Mercury & Fauna Grand Feast

Our Festivals culminate with the Mercury & Fauna Grand Feast - come celebrate the return of Spring with us! Dancing, good conversation, traditional ROMAn music and an amazing amount of food.

Location: ROMA Transtiberim sim
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Transtiberim/59/141/31

Binchester Update: Call for Exhibits

The construction and design of the Binchester build is underway. It is being designed by archaeologists involved in the excavations, but there is also a way ROMA Citizens can get involved in the design stage.

Throughout the two sims there will be several ‘stations’ dedicated to relevant aspects of Roman culture and the history of the archaeological site. Established ROMA Content Creators (active and well-known Citizens only please) can apply to create an exhibit in one of these stations. Exhibits will range from a few signs to an entire gallery. All creators will have their name and photo displayed at the station to advertise their work.

A creator will work with Torin to design an exhibit based on the following topics: (this list will be updated as projects are assigned to individuals)

[Scroll down because for some reason this stupid blog setup is casting the table clear down the page]

Topic (with necessary sub topics)	Estimated size	Assigned to
The Roman Conquest of Britain Caesar Claudius Boudicca Agricola	Gallery
Material Culture of Roman Britain Altars Small Finds Coins Etc.	Gallery
The Celtic World of Britain Brigantes Queen Cartamandua Celtic Religion Celtic Art	Gallery
The Hadrianic Frontier Hadrian's Wall Forts Stanegate Vallum Etc.	Gallery
Roman & Celtic Death & Burial Cemeteries & Tombs Funerals	Small Exhibit
Industry in the Province Mines Pottery Agriculture Etc.	Gallery
Binchester History Troops History Excavations Etc.	Gallery	Torin
Daily Life in the Fort	Gallery
Slavery in Roman World	Small Exhibit
Roman Siege Warfare	Small Exhibit or Installation	Brodbiz
The Roman Legion	Small Exhibit	Nina and Legion
The Vicus Population Purpose Etc.	Gallery
Romanization?	Small Exhibit
The End of Roman Britain	Gallery

Size Definitions:
Gallery: 8-10 signs plus some possible extras
Small Exhibit: 2-5 signs
Installation: single item

Most Gallery spaces will be indoors.

To apply to work on an installation, contact Torin directly about the topic/s you are interested in. Then work up a proposal on a notecard with the following information:

1. Summarize each sign in your proposed installation. What kind of info will it contain? Please note that there should not be too much text. People will not stand and read a great deal of text in SL.
2. Will there be anything else besides signs in your installation? Please note that prims are limited!
3. Is there anything interactive in your installation?
4. Do a mock up of a sample sign texture and include it in the notecard.

Introducing ROMA Vinovium and ROMA Vicus!

Two new sims have been added to the ROMA estate! They represent an exciting, new partnership between ROMA and RL educational institutions and academics.

The Binchester Roman Excavations is an archaeological project that, starting this summer, will be excavating the ancient Roman fort of Binchester (ancient Vinovium) and its civilian settlement (vicus). Located in the UK, this important military garrison and town guarded the supply route (Deere Street) that ran north to Hadrian’s Wall during the Roman occupation of Britain. The fort was founded around 79 CE as part of the legions’ march north into native Brigantes territory, and was occupied for around four centuries, attracting a sizable settlement outside the fort walls. The archaeological project represents an important collaboration between Stanford University in the US and Durham University in the UK, and works with the archaeological unit of Durham County Council as well as the local community. Some of their archaeologists have an interest in virtual reconstructions of the ancient world and are already in SL. ROMA will be working with them in the near future to bring an exciting new feature to ROMA.

The two new sims, ROMA Vinovium and ROMA Vicus, have joined the estate north of the ROMA Transtiberim sim. They will house a full scale reconstruction of the Roman fort at Binchester and its adjacent civilian settlement. In addition, both sims will contain interactive installations explaining the history of the site, the Roman invasion of Britain, native culture, and many other aspects, including daily updates on the progress of the excavations during the summer season. It will therefore be possible to visit these stimulating excavations virtually from anywhere in the world. There will also be areas for social and educational events, and ROMA Citizens will be encouraged to become involved in all aspects of the virtual representation of this bit of Roman archaeological heritage. The ROMA estate and its Citizenry will be a key link in forging connections between online worlds and an ongoing archaeological project.

The sims are being sponsored and paid for by Vinovium.org, the Stanford University component of the excavations. ROMA will receive no financial support from this partnership, and continue to rely solely upon its Citizenry, land rentals, and donations to keep the rest of the estate open and flourishing.

Torin Golding will be building the Binchester reconstructions for the archaeological team, although there will be an opportunity for ROMA content creators to contribute and engage with this project as well. More details will follow soon. ROMA management and several ROMA groups will be able to partner with the archaeologists of the Binchester project. For now, the sims will be closed to the public to allow Torin to build. However, you can keep informed about the developments on this blog (http://romacitizens.blogspot.com), our official Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/romacitizens), or from the following vantage points in the ROMA Transtiberim sim: the Collegium compound, the Legion XIII fort, the ROMA Hot Springs, and the Sibyl’s cave atop Mount Parnassus.

April Festivals Schedule

Saturday 17th April :

9am - Cerealia Ritual & Harvest Maze
The Cerealia is the Roman festival honouring the Goddess Ceres - she who holds sway over the fruitfulness of the Earth entire, and without whom Flora's efforts would be in vain. In keeping with this ancient tradition, we will be having a ritual in Ceres' honour, followed by a challenging Harvest Maze. The first, second, and third to find their way through the maze from the entrance to the exit will win prizes - but you must find and greet Ceres Herself before you can exit! Can you beat the Labyrinth in time? Come find out!
Location: ROMA Transtiberim sim: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Transtiberim/144/82/303

11am - Fox and Bunny Hunt
Part of ancient Cerealia's celebration was to let loose wild foxes to run free through the Circus Maximus. ROMA has our own fox tradition, the Cerealia Fox Hunt! We've updated this ritual this year to include the Floralia - with foxes symbolising Ceres and Bunnies symbolising Flora. The Hunter who tags the most animals wins a $L1000 prize! (There is also a prize for the fox or rabbit tagged least!)
Location: ROMA Transtiberim sim: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Transtiberim/58/32/45

1pm - Floralia Ritual & Spring Costume Contest
Come celebrate the Roman version of Easter with us! The Floralia is the festival of the Goddess Flora, patron of flowers and spring fertility. In Flora's honour, we will have a ritual, followed by our Floralia Costume Contest and Party. Dress in any springtime or floral related garb you choose, and dance in the springtime flowers with us - the contest winner will recieve a $L1000 prize!
Location: ROMA Transtiberim sim: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Transtiberim/185/113/22

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Sunday 18th April :

9am - Veneralia Ritual & Ask Cupid
Our festivals continue with a ritual for Venus Verticordia, "The Changer of Hearts" - to petition Venus for support and aid in one's lovelife. After the rite, you'll get a chance to ask all your love questions of Venus' son, Cupid - the God of Romantic Love. Our Winged Youth is flirtatious and coy, but He will guide you down the path to True Love (or at least an amusing side-trail)!
Location: ROMA Sim: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/215/25/22

11am - Venus' Bath
Venus is holding court again in ROMA! Come sport with Her in the subterranean caves beneath our fair city! But bring your swimsuits and swim HUDs, because this is a pool party! Dancing, swimming, and lunch on the beach is the order of the day at our Grand Feast pre-party - and with Venus there, it promises to be a wild time!
Location: ROMA Sim: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/33/166/22

1pm - Fortuna Oracle
The Veneralia is also the festival to honour Fortuna Virilis (who is somehow, but unclearly, connected with Venus). In general, the wealthier classes honoured Venus and the less so honoured Fortuna Virilis, but this was by no means a hard and fast rule. Today, ROMA praises Fortuna as well with a Oracle in Her honour. Do you want to know your fortune? Want to ask the Goddess a question about your life? Fortuna knows all, And Her priest will interpret Her answer to you! Do you dare to look into the future? (All oracles are given in fun, and ROMA is not responsible for their failure to manifest - or worse, if they do manifest!)
Location: ROMA Sim: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/132/176/53

4pm - Festum Veris Grand Feast
Our Spring Festival culminate with the Festum Veris (Spring Festival) Grand Feast - come dance under the springtime stars with us! We will also have live music by MarcusAurelius Merlin - to get a sneak peek of Marcus' music, go to: http://www.threepiecesuit.com and click the "Samples" link. We promise cool tunes, wild dancing, and all around good fun - so come let your hair down in true ROMA fashion!
Location: ROMA sim: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/215/25/22

Introducing the ROMA twitter box!

We now have a ROMA twitter feed dedicated to Citizen voices from the ROMA Plaza! Anyone can come to the plaza in ROMA, touch the new ROMA twitter box and post a tweet to the feed!

If you have a twitter account, you can follow the new feed at http://twitter.com/ROMA_VOX

To find the new ROMA twitter box, go to the ROMA Plaza and look right in front of the Procurators' Office.

And don't forget to follow our official feed for all the official news about ROMA: http://twitter.com/ROMACitizens. If you tweet about ROMA, be sure to use our hash-tag, #ROMASL.

(Abusers of the system will be banned)

Introducing the ROMA Subura Community Garden Project

Attention creative ROMAns with a green thumb. Announcing the opening of the ROMA Subura Community Garden Project.

Plot 29 in the Subura (right next to the park with the swan in it) has been divided into four quarter plots, ready for planting. ROMAns can rent a quarter for just $1 a week to build their own garden-themed installation. This can be any outdoor space or scene. The goal is to build something cool, exciting, and garden themed using the prims for only a quarter plot (60 total). Are you up to the challenge?

All installations will stay up only a week, and the best garden will be voted on by ROMA Citizens. The winner each week receives a special non cash prize and a unique [RAS] Achievement Badge worth 15 ponts! Not to mention the bragging rights.

Every Sunday, the quarter plots become available to rent for just $1. Builders can then get busy creating their masterpiece. If you wish to get on the wait list for a plot, contact Zelda Walpole and she will make sure you get one as soon as the next Sunday rolls around.

Citizens will be encouraged and reminded to check out the gardens and vote via a special voting board that has been set up. There will be new, dynamic builds every week!

Any current Subura renter or ROMA Citizen older than 3 months can rent a quarter plot and build a garden. The building rules are simple:

• All 12 Tables and Subura covenant rules apply
• No offensive builds and all must respect the non-Adult content rating for the Subura.
• No actual buildings. The build should be an open air garden theme with at least some plants or trees, although some things like furniture are allowed
• No deliberate blocking of paths or other people's builds
• No temp-rezzers or laggy scripts,
• No deliberately modern builds, although other ancient cultures besides Roman isallowed. Some flexibility for anachronism is allowed, but the build should be neutral or specifically ancient in design.

Rental boxes in the Community Garden are now open! Stop by today and claim your quarter, or if all are rented, see Zelda Walpole to get yours next Sunday.

March Festival Schedule

Saturday 20th March

9am- Rekindling The Vestal Flame
Our festivals begin this month with the Rekindling of the Flame in the Temple of Vesta in ROMA. After the ritual, there will be a procession to the Hippodrome for the Equirria Chariot Races!
Location: Temple of Vesta, ROMA Sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/215/25/22)

10:30am- Equirria Chariot Races
In honour of Mars and Equirria, we are having chariot races in the Hippodrome! ROMA's very own Agitatores will be racing for the prize! The races will be done as 3 three lap races. There will be a prize purse for the winner of each race, as well as a trophy to display in their domus!
Location: Circus Maximus Hippodrome, ROMA sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/202/106/26)

2pm- Quinquatria Ritual and Legion XIII Quinquatria Event
At Fort Legio Augusta in ROMA, we will be having a ritual honouring Mars & Minerva - the two paramount Gods of the Quinquatria. Minerva is the balancing force of just & honourable battle against the passionate and wild war symbolised by Mars. Our ritual today honours Her wisdom and justice, and Mars' passion and strength. After the ritual, the Legion XIII & the Ludi Romani will present a lecture about gladiatores, followed by a demonstration last-man-standing fight!
Location 1: ROMA Fort Bridge, ROMA sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA/93/57/29)
Location 2: Lvdi Romani Arena, ROMA Transtiberim sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Transtiberim/169/152/32)


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Sunday 21st March

10am- Matronalia Ritual
Matronalia is the Roman equivalent of our Mother's Day, and this year, to honour the mothers and potential mothers of ROMA, we will be having a ritual to Juno - followed by a Garden Party. Though Matronalia is a women's celebration, men are welcome to attend - but there is a catch! All gentlemen must either dress as women, or as serving boys, in honour of this Women's Day! How you attire yourself is up to you, and while we won't ask the serving boys to be real slaves, you might want to carry some wine at least to appease the ladies. ;)
Location: Senator Maali Beck's Garden, ROMA Subura sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Subura/46/246/24)

12pm (Noon) - Bacchanalia Nymph & Satyr Hunt
Bacchus' Maenad nymphs and wild satyrs have over-run Transtiberim! The Emperor has called out all Hunters in ROMA to catch them before their drunken revelry becomes destructive! How many nymphs and satyrs can you tag? The Hunter who tags the most wins $L1000, and the nymph/satyr with the fewest tags does too!
Location: Head of the Path, ROMA Transtiberim sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Transtiberim/58/32/45)

3pm- Bacchanalia Grand Feast (This event is clothing optional)
Come join us for the Grand Feast of the Bacchanalia! We will elect a Bacchus and Chief Maenad to preside over the feast, and a Bacchanal Trivia game, presented by Melanippe Karas (standing in for trivia-master Mickey James). So come dressed in your wild man/wild woman best (or nothing at all) and party with us!
Location: Field of Mars, ROMA Transtiberim sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Transtiberim/160/101/22)

New ROMA Article

Online newspaper http://www.sl-newspaper.com has published an article on our Lupercalia festival. It quotes Torin and Melanippe. You can read the whole thing here: http://15timez.blogspot.com/2010/03/lupercalia-festival-at-roma.html