The Appreciation Ball

On Saturday, May 29th, Magi McBride and Bella Orsini arranged an appreciation ball for the people who helped make Blues for Autism 2010 a success. The site they chose was Pandora Moon, home of the Na'vi people in Second Life. It was a fitting tribute to all the hard work and contributions by the performers, sponsors, BFA organizing committee and the many people who participated in BFA events and helped create those events.

Magi and Bella (back) greeted guest arriving at Pandora Moon

The ballroom filled quickly.

Jimmy T Dukes in dark leather, began his live performance.

Humans were everywhere on Pandora Moon, but even a couple Na'vi in formal attire.

Bella Orsini watches proudly as guests enjoy the evening.

Guests danced and enjoyed the Appreciation Ball into the evening. It was a fitting end to another great year for the BFA initiative. For those who aren't familiar with the history, Magi McBride founded the Blues for Autism fundraiser in 2008. Over the past three years she has worked tirelessly confronting all the organizational issues that arise in conducting events over two months. Magi has helped of a varied group of bluesy supporters and sponsors coordinate their efforts for autism awareness and support.

In total over three years, the BFA fundraising activities have raised more than $15,000.00 in donations to the Autism Society of America.

Thank you to all the supporters and contributors. Special thanks to the performers sponsors and the organizing team. And many hugs to our leader, Magi McBride.

story & photos by Yordie Sands

The Amazing Blues Fest

The Blues Fest concert is another tradition of the Blues for Autism fundraiser. In fact, Blues Fest has been the event where the bluesy community really shows its' greatest generosity. It is also the event that brings together the most diverse group of bluesy folks and people who's lives have been impacted by autism. And one last thing, it has also been a forum for our friends to express their personal feelings about autism. That is how Blues Fest has been for the past two years and that is how it was last night.

Before the concert started the BFA committee began rolling into the event site at Maginolia. Everyone was nervous because it takes a great deal of planning and coordinating to setup these events and as all Second Life residents know, SL exists on a web of computers all over the world. The first performer was Beamer Lowtide and by time of Beamer's show the crowd had begin to swell. Following is a pictorial story of an amazing day and amazing night.

Over 30 people had arrived for the opening show at 10am.

Singer, songwriter, musician Beamer Lowtide, streaming in from Tulsa, Oklahoma opened the show with "Banana Pancakes". Beamer stummed his sweet acoustic guitar, and while he sang with his distinct bluesy-country sounds, the crowd began contributing generously. Beamer closed with a gentle "Sweet Malissa".

Beamer Lowtide singing "Sweet Malissa"

Next up was self-professed "joker/teaser/flirt" DJ Ben Shutt. Ben began his show with a blend of rock n' blues, but shortly after he started he threw out a challenge. Ben said he'd match all the donations received during his performance and almost at once the donations started pouring in. While Ben played songs form Seger to SRV to Eric Clapton, the donations kept pouring in. By the end of Ben's set contributions exceeded L$100,000 and with Ben's matching amount the total raised was L$214,140. At this point there was a feeling that Blues Fest was going to be a success.

Handsome and charming Ben Shutt performing and making his generous challenge.

When technical problems prevented the next performer from streaming, Ben stepped in and spun more tunes until the fabulous DJ Lucinda Bergbahn was up.

Lucinda "Miss Luci" Bergbahn has been a supporter of Blues for Autism from the first and while she spun one of her patented sets of bluesy tunes, she talked passionately about the history of BFA. Luci also explained how autism is a developmental disability, and a problem with the nervous system with no "cure". When she played "Through the eyes of a child", there wasn't a dry eye in the house, and by the end of her show donations totaled L$1,112,667.

Miss Luci showed her great compassion for people with autism.

Again, technical problems kept the next performer from streaming and like Ben earlier, Miss Luci continued her show until the incomparable Allister Westland took the stage.

Allister Westland is a singer/songwriter/musician, and he sings a blend of new and classic rock. He is also an electrifying musician on both acoustic and electric guitar. If you've never heard Allister sing, imagine a deep resonate voice that is both masculine but with a gentleness that reaches out and touches you. Al sang a selection of songs including "Love is Overrated", "Electric Soul" and others.

Allister on stage, generating his magic.

DJFiery Otaared is one of the pillars of the SL bluesy community and Fiery has a clear intellect and is gifted with an ability to communicate and move people with her ideas. This year, as last year, Fiery delivered her "I Am Autism" soliloquy and when coupled with her extraordinary music selection, she once again touched the audience deeply. After the first part of her speech, she played Billy Holiday's "God Bless The Child" and despite the pixels that separate us, the emotions created by the music could be felt. Throughout her performance Fiery spoke of the destruction that autism causes, and thru her music she delivered one of the powerful autism messages of the Blues for Autism fundraiser.

Fiery delivering her passionate message about autism. Bravo "Mama Fi!"

As 5pm turned on the clock, Von Johin took the stage and as in past years he brought his daughter Kelly to sing with him. Kelly has autism and she is a reminder of the human beings behind the word, autism. Before beginning his performance, Kelly sang rock classic "White Rabbit". Then Von began strumming his guitar and singing in his deep, friendly country voice. Von has a powerful, driving style swinging from warm country to hard driving and accented with his spectacular command of the guitar.

Von Johin and his fantastic guitar!

Then came the sassy sounds of The Choo Choo Chicks out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Chicks are lead singer Angua Ashbourne, Lotus Melodie on guitar, and Mishkamenges Collazo on keyboard. This is a group that knows who it is and delivers the goods with, "Tight harmonies and a kickin' rhythm section." During their performance they performed classics including "Woman's World", "The Thrill is Gone" and music written by Angua Ashbourne.

The Chicks are great to see and a total delight to hear.

Do you think you know where the bluesy community lives? Next up from Manila in the Philippine Islands was musician/singer, Dakila "Dak" Lacava. As with Von Johin, Dak is a parent of a child, a son with autism. So, for Dak, this was both a performance and a chance to express some of his feelings about autism. When you listen to Dak perform you are at once taken with his command of the piano which he plays with elegance and strength. Dak sang several songs, but his rendition of "What a wonderful world" was powerful and moving.

The engaging Dakila Lacava on stage at Blues for Autism.

By the time the gorgeous Ichie Kamachi (pronounced EE-ChEE-AY) arrived, the night had settled in. And what better way to spend and evening than with the enchanting sounds of Ichie. Ichie sings jazz and blues, and her lovely voice is pure, mellow and seductive. During her performance she sang "Cry me a River", "Ain't No Sunshine When he's Gone" and the very sexy "The Naughty Song". While performing, other musicians joined her on stage with Matt Renfew on drums, Jill Easterman on keys, Dakila Lacava on bass.

The gorgeous Ichie singing her naughty and nice songs.

The final show of the evening was Paul Nowles. Paul is a musician, songwriter, singer with a great sound and a great look. Paul sings mostly classic rock and his style is . Paul opened up with an wonderful, romantic version of "Chasing Cars". Then he demonstrated his range with "Let it Be", "Purple Rain" and even Seger's "Night Moves".

He's good looking and he sings beautifully, he's Paul Knowles

Finally, Miss Luci took the stage for the 2nd time that day, it had been a long day so she drug friends Gracee Beaumont and Destinova Ducatillon to dance with her. Luci continued to enlighten us with Autism facts and statistics. The event total was at 460K+ when she started the hour and challenged everyone to push it over the top to 500k!

It was another spectacular in the Blues Fest concerts. It was a resounding success. At the end of the evening the concert brought in L$500,053 in donations. Thank you to the truly wonderful performers who came, performed and contributed, and a special thanks to those that performers stepped in at the last minute. Thank you to all of the people who came and enjoyed the concert and contributed!!

In addition to the perfomers, we'd like to acknowledge a couple other contributors to this event. First, The stage was the creation of Bluto Brando and his Brando Construction company, way to go Blu! And the entire concert was also streamed into the Junkyard Blues club, thank you Junkyard Blues for extending our reach.

The Final Results
This was the last of the Blues for Autsim 2010 fundraiser events. When Magi McBride, Founder, got the final accounting, BFA had raised a whopping L$1,372,777!!

On behalf of my fellow BFA Organizing Committee Team members, we want to say thank you to Magi McBride for her steadfastness in making this year's fundraiser an outstanding success!!

As always, all funds raised by Blues for Autism are paid to the Autism Society of America in U.S. dollars.

Story & Photos by Yordie Sands

Tribute To Stevie Ray Vaughan Event

Lightning Production and Blues for Autism teamed up for a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan event. If you have never seen a Lightning Production, you don't know what you are missing. They do everything big......big stage, big light show, big sounds, big crowds and tons of fun. Tonight was no different.



Stevie Ray Vaughan kicked off the show with the songs "Scuddle Buttin" "Dirty Pool" and "Love Struck Baby". His astonishing guitar playing ignited the blues crowd with his uniquely electric and fiery style. Within the first 30 minutes, Magi McBride announced 20,000 lindens had already been donated.




Brett Stand, president of ASA stopped by to catch some of the event such as "Pride and Joy" as it blasted over the mega speakers. He witnessed the BFA kiosk totals climb reflecting the support and generosity of this enthusiastic crowd.






With the explosion in autism cases in the last year comes many more challenges with friends in our community. These families need our support and help more than ever.







Everyone was on their feet feeling amazed....not only from the awesome music being played but from the closeness we share for being a part of this great cause. We are making a difference!





As the sun set over the event site, the final song "Couldn't Stand the Weather" was played. Magi McBride proudly announced our total for the evening was 53,100 lindens bringing our BFA 2010 grand total to 848,442 lindens. There isn't any other way to describe it.....AMAZING!!!



A special thanks to Lightning Production and crew for their time, talent, and support!!!

by Leanna Chaffe

Arora Chadborne & Junkyard Blues

There aren't many real traditions in Second Life, but for the past three years Junkyard Blues has had a tradition of sponsoring and supporting the Blues for Autism fundraiser. And singer Arora Chadborne has given her amazing musical talent and financial support to make her benefit concert a huge success.

Arora Chadborne is the type of singer who makes you feel that she is singing to you personally. Last night, she performed as always, magnificently. She sang a wide range of songs from Faithfully by Journey to the Edda James classic At Last. For fun she threw in Going to Kansas City and for love she sang Love Me Tender. Arora's voice always strikes a cord with sweet resonant sound and flowing vibrato. As the concert hour ended and passed, despite a struggle with illness, Arora continued to rally and encourage the concert audience on to smash last year's tally of contributions.

Kiff & Dina were there as always and a huge crowd including so many of our Junkyard regulars, plus new friends as well. I counted nearly 60 people on the JY concert sim and another 25 on the JY club sim, and that Junkyard family was very generous.
(Photo of Kiff Clutterbuck, left)

According to Magi McBride, BFA founder, the final tally for the night was L$105,091. You just gotta love these Junkyard Dawgs! At the end of the day, the total contributions to Blues for Autism rose to L$793,272.
(Photo of Richardina Petty, left)

The audience was huge, nearly 85 people.

Arora Chadborne sang.

Arora spoke about the children and families affected by autism.

When the concert ended, Arora's goal of beating last year's total was achieved!

On behalf of the Blues for Autism organizing commitee, thank you Junkyard Dawgs!

by Yordie Sands

Bluebonnets, Bourbon & Blues

Bluebonnets, Bourbon & Blues event was held under the Maginolia skies at the BFA event site. The lovely and playful Angellica Lemieux was our special DJ for the evening. She kept us rockin' late into the night with her awesome blues.


Everyone started arriving just before dusk. The event site dressed in its blue flowers looked spectacular. With the straw beneath our feet, it gave us extra cushion for a night filled with dancing. Midway into the night, Magi McBride announced our grand total for all BFA events were 660,048 lindens. Even the animals let out a big howl at that announcement.

Here are a few photos from the event.

Cantara Boxer, Molly Montale, Lyndzay Meili and Liz Gealzch (BFA Bazaar designer) danced the night away.

Magi tried to keep Angellica and Leanna in line...but after a few bourbons that proved to be useless.

Yordie Sands and QQ tried to stay clear of the flying cow patties.

Lucinda Bergbaln and Straton Tigerpaw kept the animals speechless with their dance.

As the evening came to a close, our grand total for the BFA 2010 was recorded at 676,198 lindens. What a night!!!

**The BFA staff would like to give a special thanks to Heart and PondLife for donating the blue flowers and stable for this event.

The Blues Bazaar is Open

The Blues Bazaar is a collection of items that have been donated to the Blues for Autism fundraiser by vendors in the bluesy community. Please take some time to head over to the Maginolia sim and buy some of the great items. All proceeds go to BFA.

Here you will find a magnificent Jewelry Collection from Addiction Jewelry, several Homes from AHA Designs Homes, Gazebos from Ace's Spaces and Brando Construction, and a Garden House from Thistle Homes. You definitely don't want to miss the blue Garden Table Set from Ragazza Pazza. It is just right for one of those gazebos!

How about a flirty blue Cocktail Dress and handsome Tux from SF Designs. Musical Alchemy generously donated an incredible Grand Piano. There are some playful items too like a cute blue Pinwheel from You Know, For Kids and a toast-shooting Toaster from Lyndz-matic! Need some Puzzle Pottery? It is here too! There is a beautiful painting, Secret Doorway, from Mindspace Galleries and a Planter, Picture Frame and a Photography Gift Certificate from I-Magi-Nation Gallery. Kicks & Twirls donated a lovely blue Gown and a twirly Dress.

You really do not want to miss the delightful little blue Table and Outdooor Shower with lots of errr.. special poses from Little Mysteries. Going to a Rave Party? There is just the outfit from Anomoly. There really is something for everyone!

Our sincere thanks to Liz Gealach for the wonderul venue she created for the Blues Bazaar!

Story by Tippy Wingtips, Photos by Yordie Sands

Dance Auction @ The Savoy

On Sunday, we held a dance auction at the beautiful Savoy Jazz & Blues Club. We asked owners of the The Savoy to host this event and Crighton Johin to be our master of ceremonies. The Savoy team has had good experience in staging these events, and that experience helped us make this rather complicated event run smoothly.

The stars of the auction were the people who put themselves up on the auction block. So, we have a special hats off to Galillia Sinatra, WT Beck, Sabbrinna Sinatra, Thor Effingham, Gracee Beaumont, DonPaul Cale, Kitten Lytton, Kiff Clutterbuck, Richardina "Dina" Petty, ML Ferraris, Yordie Sands and Ziggy Neutron. For two hours our stars paraded up on the auction stage while MC Crighton played their favorite songs and told stories about their most embarrassing moments in Second Life.

The evening was successful beyond all expectations. The club maxed out the sim virtually all evening. Many guests bid on our auction stars and an equal number donated to the BFA kiosk. At the end of the evening, the auction itself raised L$127,100 but when the kiosk was added in the amount soared to L$219,892.

The Savoy began to fill up immediately with bluesy and jazzy friends,
the sim limit was quickly hit.

The debonaire Crighton Johin was a bit under the weather,
 but was magnificent in making the auction flow smoothly.

Galillia Sinatra was first up and the auction begins.

The crowd was so large that Crighton increase the sim limit to 80.

 The auction was a team effort (left to right),
 Magi McBride (founder), Yordie Sands, Crighton Johin and Leanna Chaffe

Auctions are complicated events to organize and execute. Special thanks to Blissie Boucher and Connected Consulting who helped Blues for Autism plan the event. A special tip of the hat to Leanna Chaffe who managed the auction while answering dozens and dozens of IMs.

Thank you to all the people who made this auction work. Your contributions helped drive the overall Blues for Autism fundraising total to L$616,166. 

Rockabilly Blues

Rockabilly is one of the earliest style of rock-n-roll music and emerged in the early 1950's. MADCap Blues hosted the event and our lovely Angellica Lemieux was our DJ for the evening. She kicked the evening off with Jerry Lee Lewis "I'm on Fire" song. That set the tone for the evening. After 15 minutes into the event, Magi McBride announced 14,000 lindens had already been raised.

Angellica Lemieux kept the Rockabilly tunes rolling with such artist as Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Brian Setzer, Arlen Roth and many more. The Blues for Autism kiosk kept climbing too. By the end of the night we had collected 66,340 lindens. Awesome Job everyone!!!

This was our third event of Blues for Autism 2010. We started the evening with 282,019 lindens donated so far.

Everyone was sporting their hottest rockabilly attire.

Autism is diagnosed in 1 out of 110 children today making it more prevalent than childhood cancers, multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis combined. But there is hope. Education and awareness are KEY. Thanks for your support!!!

by Leanna Chaffe

On Blue Bayou

Crawfish, big gators, moonshine stills & other smelly things, little gators, skeeters and a great group of supporters for autism awareness all joined together down On Blue Bayou. It was Sunday night and the gathering was the second in the Blues for Autism 2010 fundraiser events.

The gorgeous DJ Loriiii Shepherd was there spinning an amazing Zydeco, swamp pop and blues set from Buckwheat Zydeco to Fats Domino singing Hello Josephine, and much more. Loriii's show and the great party she helped create put supporters in mood to contribute to this worthy cause.

At a half hour into the evening, Magi McBride reported that total contributions had already reached L$19,895, but that was just the beginning. By the end of the evening, On Blue Bayou had raised an outstanding L$104,000.

 The sun was heading down, gators crawling in and a bunch of cajuns were dancing.

The amazing DJ Loriiii Shepherd spinning tunes for partiers

The crowd swelled with nearly 50 people attending the event.

As evening settled into night, supporters continued to contribute.

There were many reminders of what autism really is throughout the evening. Autism is a condition that can be disabling, but it can be treated. Families with autistic children face stesses that most of us will never know, and it's for those families that we donate and contribute our time. The Blues for Autism team expresses great thanks to the supporters of this campaign.

by Yordie Sands