Educators in VR is celebrating our 5th Annual Holiday Storytelling Festival in AltspaceVR and ENGAGE XR, filling the metaverse with stories, traditional, modern, and international. All events are free and open to the public. See How to Attend an Educators in VR Event Guide for information on access the metaverse platforms on computer, laptop, or VR headset.
Click the links to the events for the time in your time zone.
Monday, December 19, 2022
La Posada: Join our Educadores in Español Team in AltspaceVR for a Spanish language traditional event, La Posada, as participants sing and move from home to home to emulate Mary and Jose’s attempts to find a safe place for the birth of Jesus.
Participa con los Educadoes en Realidad Virtual en Español, el equipo de habla Hispana de Educators in VR y celebra una de las experiencias navideñas más hermosasLas Posadas.” Canta y vive la peregrinación de la Virgen Maria y San José hasta el pesebre donde nacerá el niño Jesús. Después de la posada tendremos una gran fiesta. ¡No te la puedes perder! Celebra con nosotros este tradicional festejo.
Christmas Carol Excerpt 2 with Dr. Nancy Bixler: This is the third year, and second night this year, Dr. Nancy Bixler, PhD, author and educator reads excerpts in AltspaceVR from the story highlighting the festivals and traditions and life in and around Ebeneezer Scrooge and the Tiny Tim family. Scrooge hates everything – Christmas most of all – until three fearsome spirits teach him to change his miserly ways. Join Dr. Bixler for 3 nights of reading excerpts and open discussion from this famous story, and “God Bless us, every one!”
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Holiday Party: AltspaceVR Celebration: It’s the holidays, a time for celebration and reflection. Next year is the 8th year of AltspaceVR, and we want to celebrate the history of AltspaceVR by inviting you to join us and share how AltspaceVR and social VR has changed your life in a special 3 minute filmed interview. Help us celebrate this amazing community and the gifts we give to each other.
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
EDVR ENGAGE Holiday Networking Party: We are filling ENGAGE XR up with holiday spirit including a sleigh ride, and an opportunity to give the gifts of words to celebrate the holidays in a snowy mountain. Come learn about the exciting projects we have planned in the recently updated ENGAGE XR platform, and celebrate the holidays with joy and friendship.
Holiday World Tour in AltspaceVR: We take you to the past, present, and future of the holidays to explore worlds that celebrate the wide range of festivals and traditions during the winter season. These worlds are magical and push the boundaries of world building in the metaverse. Come be inspired.
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas: Celebrate this modern classic by Dr. Seuss in a collaborative world representing the village of the Who and the retelling of this powerful holiday story in AltspaceVR.
Emry’s Yule with Steff: Lost to time are many stories of light and darkness that have always explained away the long nights and shortening days of Mid-Winter. Out of our most ancient traditions of stonehenges and yule logs comes a new wassail, the story of a young boy lost on the longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice, and the Yule Log. Join us in AltspaceVR to celebrate the solstice with this original story and world by Steff.
Thursday, December 23, 2022
Christmas Carol Excerpt 3 with Dr. Nancy Bixler: Listen to the last of the excerpts from the famous Dickens’ Christmas story exploring the festivals and festivities from 150 years ago, so relevant to today. After the reading, we host a fascinating discussion on the history and impact of Dickens on today’s holiday traditions.
The Night Before Christmas in AltspaceVR: Join us for a reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas attributed to Clement Clarke Moor and Henry Livingston Jr., and first published on December 23, 1823 in New York, today a tradition around the world to announce the coming of Santa to each and every home.
International Holiday Storytelling in AltspaceVR: We have traveled the metaverse to find holiday stories from around the globe to fill the holiday season. Our members bring us stories from their international holiday traditions to share with each other as we travel through North America, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Italy, Greece, Africa, Australia, Russia, Asia, and more through story.
Christmas in Scotland: Christmas in Scotland is the story of why Christmas was banned in Scotland, a story filled with Scottish history and strange traditions as told by Karen Gibson-Hylands (Karen666), a leader in the Educators in VR community, master world builder and artist, specializing in storytelling with her virtual worlds as well as her writing. Join us in AltspaceVR in a special world paying homage to Christmas in Scotland.
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas: Join us for another telling of the popular holiday story in AltspaceVR and watch the Grinch as he steals the presents, including the ornaments on the Christmas tree, as the Grinch expresses his frustrations on Whoville in an attempt to disrupt their holiday spirit.
Good in the End – Original Holiday Storytelling: Join Dr. Nancy Bixler for a read of Good at the End, a warm, insightful, humorous multi generational family story for Christmas written by Dr. Bixler, educator, author, and performer and member of Educators in VR and the Creative Writing Meetup in AltspaceVR.
Christmas Caroling in AltspaceVR: A tradition for the past few years, join Margie Dimond, award-winning singer and barbershop quartet member, as she brings the tradition of song and sing-along for the holiday season in a beautiful Sceelix Cathedral created by Ancient Iwontsay.
Polar Express in AltspaceVR: Since 2018, we’ve gathered under a beautiful train, hand-sculpted by Homer, representing the famous Polar Express. Join us for a reading of The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, and listen to the bell ring for you.
Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24, 2022
The Night Before Christmas: Join us in AltspaceVR for two readings of the Night Before Christmas to accommodate the different time zones in the Metaverse.
- 1PM PT / 3PM CT / 4PM ET / 9PM UK / 5AM Hong Kong / 8AM* Sydney
- 3PM PT / 5PM CT / 6PM ET / 11PM UK / 7AM Hong Kong / 10AM* Sydney
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas: We celebrate the end of our Holiday Storytelling series for 2022 with another telling of this famous classic by Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel. Published in 1957, the story is a commentary on the commercialization of Christmas, and has been made into several films and become a classic for the holiday season. We created our own classic version of the story in 2018 and continue to celebrate in this unique world annually.
Embracing 2023
This year has been a year of change as many areas around the world have started opening up after the lockdown of 2020, while others are returning to online teaching as the triple threat of viruses poke their head up through Winter.
As more and more educators, schools, and businesses embrace XR technology, 2023 is on track to be one of the most exciting years in the metaverse. There are new VR headsets, wearable technology, and augmented reality coming, and we are ready!
In January, we’ll be announcing new workshops, programs, and projects to prepare you for the metaverse classroom and training, and expanding the reach of Educators in VR across multiple platforms with new programs and expanded Team Projects.
To keep up with all the excitement, give the gift of volunteering or become a member to help us sustain over 800 free and paid workshops and meetups annually in VR. Sign up for our Educators in VR Newsletter and join us on Discord, Facebook, and other social media channels to learn more and get involved.