It was a bit of a shock to discover, on Friday night, that one of the most vibrant naturist events going at the moment is at Commune Utopia, a non-naturist but very much clothing-optional location in SL.

I ended up chatting to so many, for so long, that I appear to have done myself a bit of a mischief regarding my arm this morning; it’s not meant to be doing that extent of typing and being held in a specific position. Never mind, it was worth it for the insight into an absolutely rocking SL location.

I’ll work backwards. This morning, I asked Diane to head over there and take a few photos to capture the essence of the place (my own photos, from last night’s clothing optional party, will show exactly why I send someone with an eye for photography over there!). So here’s a selection of the shots she took, and which readily demonstrate that it’s an idyllic spot, a clever and imaginative build that also shows off SL at its very best, for a variety of reasons.

So let’s start with the first photo. It’s a sign that references La Reserva Forest Foundation in Costa Rica. For every L$4000 the residents of Commune Utopia donate, another tree is planted to re-forest farmland in that country. Already the residents have exceeded this month’s (?) target and thus another tree is planted. This, to me, represents ‘giving back’, to the world. We all need trees to survive, as they help to create oxygen, not just for Costa Rica, but for all of us. What a fantastic idea!

In the week where we’ve noted the passing of Christiane Lecocq, and celebrated the work of France Guillaim, both of whom have adopted a holistic approach to the naturist lifestyle, it’s fantastic to see that a similar mentality is in play within SL. While we can play naked, we need to remain aware that being nude is just one part of the naturist lifestyle. It encompasses other aspects of living, and Sedi, Commune Utopia’s owner, is taking a strong lead in promoting some of those elements.

After that, Diane has captured the essence of the place beautifully in the other photos.

Going back to last night, Friday night is a designated C-O (clothing optional) party. I’m pleased to say that 90% of the attendees were naked, cramming onto a dance floor and bopping the night away. I think that where it’s such a huge success is that it begins at 10pm (UK time) and thus is ideal for us Brits, other central European locations and even the eastern seaboard of the US & Canada, which captures a crowd ideally.

Conversation was ongoing in chat, enhancing the social element of SL that used to be such an integral part of the SL experience but is now sometimes lacking.

I took photos, of course. 🙂

It’s not my place to ‘out’ anyone (even in naked avatar form) on the blog, so some can’t really be shown until I could get permission from those present for their images to be shown (in nude form, anyway, I’m more relaxed about using photos of clothed avatars even without permission, providing they aren’t identified by name).

And so my choice is limited, but I think this one (focal zoom applied to ‘blur’ the other dancers) will give a flavour of how busy it was!

Another huge box ticked for myself (and a listening in RL Mr. Keng) was the music feed, expertly DJ’ed by Sunshine, a lovely looking lady who, I am told, lives in South Africa and thus has a great interest and knowledge in African music. Mr. Keng approved wholeheartedly. I’ve said this before, but he’s not an enthusiastic SL player, but even he murmured that Commune Utopia’s Friday night party could become our RL Friday night listening experience if the quality of Sunshine’s set is anything to go by.

I IM’ed Sunshine to get a couple of links to the music she was playing, just to give you a flavour of your dancing experience at the Commune, and you’ll find the links below.

Sunshine, Commune’s DJ, with a naked Ella in the background

Once again, I found the music was enhancing my SL experience. An imaginative set list that reflected the vibe, rather than just a series of tunes being fed in from an iPod without any thought. Sunshine would interject from time to time and was also keeping us informed as to what was being played, leaving Mr. Keng scrambling for a pen and paper in order to do some follow up research. See? SL doesn’t have to be a passive thing. With the right people in control, it can become a wonderful, inter-active experience.

After all of that dancing, it was time for a quick dip in the Commune pool (approaching 100am, UK time) before logging out and going to bed, thrilled and excited. After seven years of SL it’s lovely to re-affirm the values that makes SL so special!

Things seem to be moving so fast that when I visited this afternoon a new ‘clubhouse'(?) in an eco-build style seems to have been built, nestling into the greenness of the hillside where Commune Utopia is located.

My next step will be to contact owner Sedi and speak to her about her thoughts, dreams, hopes and wishes for Commune Utopia. In the meantime, I’ll be going back to visit this marvellous sim on a regular basis.

Ella