An Invitation to New Toulouse Venetian Night

White swan of cities, slumbering in thy nest
So wonderfully built among the reeds
Of the lagoon, that fences thee and feeds,
As sayeth thy old historian and thy guest!
White water-lily, cradled and caressed
By ocean streams, and from the silt and weeds
Lifting thy golden filaments and seeds.
Thy sun-illumined spires, thy crown and crest!
White phantom city, whose untrodden streets
Are rivers, and whose pavements are the shifting
Shadows of palaces and strips of sky;
I wait to see thee vanish like the fleets
Seen in mirage, or towers of cloud uplifting
In air their unsubstantial masonry.

Ladies and Gentleman of the Steamlands, the Residents of New Toulouse cordially invite you to "Venetian Night", a day-long night of light, water, beauty and adventure on Saturday, February 5, 2011.

All day on February 5, night will fall and the water will rise on New Toulouse. The streets will become canals lit by the flames of candles and lanterns. We invite you to bring your boats and to explore New Toulouse in a way in which you never have before. We encourage boating at any time throughout the day and we also have scheduled times during which we invite boaters to gather en masse for an hour of floating frolic! Scheduled boating is from 2:00pm - 3:00pm SLT and from 7:00pm - 8:00pm SLT.

We shall conclude our Venetian Night, as well as our week-long Festival of Lights, at the Inaugural Macaroon Ball at the Hôtel Spiritueaux from 8:00pm - 10:00pm SLT. Captain Starling Alecto will host this Venetian Masquerade at the hotel off the square in New Toulouse Bourbon and Prim Minister Gabrielle Riel will provide Classical music on gullar sahir New Toulouse. Formal attire from any era, with masks, encouraged. Captain Alecto invites all guests to tour the hotel...at their own risk...

SLURL for the Levee in New Toulouse Bourbon (one of the few spots that will be above water) for boating: http://slurl.com/secondlife/New%20Toulouse%20Bourbon/225/244/26

SLURL for the Hôtel Spiritueaux: http://slurl.com/secondlife/New%20Toulouse%20Bourbon/89/135/25

Poem: Venice, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow