On Saturday, R&B Coffee will take a unique approach to fundraising: they’ll be doing it in two worlds at once.
The Happening is a charity event that will occur simultaneously at the coffeeshop’s H Street location and in a recreation of the coffeeshop that exists in the online world Second Life.
This isn’t unprecedented: Second Life has hosted cultural events before. For instance, Stanford Law professor and intellectual property expert Lawrence Lessig gave a talk there not too long ago. Second Life differs from other persistent virtual worlds in that users can own property and objects within it. You don’t see too many other software companies that keep an in-game embedded reporter on staff.
The Happening “will feature music, art, dance, film, poetry, and a fashion show,” as well as an appearance by Make Magazine‘s Phillip Torrone, who’ll be demoing his portable virtual reality rig — and presumably pulling off the neat trick of being in two places at once. Tickets to the physical event are $20 in advance or $25 at the door, and attendees must be 18 or older. Basic membership in Second Life is free, but spaces for the event are limited. For more information, visit The Happening’s website.
UPDATE: Via email and comments, the folks from The Happening inform us that there’s actually no minimum age for attendees.
Thanks to David for the tip.
