OUR FIRST-EVER EVENT IN A VIRTUAL WORLD FELT TANTALIZINGLY CLOSE TO THE REAL THING
I
f you couldn’t read the expression on the face in front of you—kind of like when someone is wearing a mask—the tone told you that the voice behind the avatar was smiling. “Well, I needed that,” Michael Kelly told a barbershop-themed Facebook group shortly after the Society’s first-ever convention held in a virtual world. “I think after a year of not
singing I nearly forgot that feeling of family that is our barbershop world. ... In some ways it was my favorite convention of all time.” The 3D world of Virtual Midwinter 2021 was no gimmick—it was the element that immersed us in a strangely familiar social vibe that’s impossible on a Zoom meeting: the pleasure of running into a friend or barbershop hero
It was common to see groups attempting a tag or even a dance. Movement throughout the virtual world became second nature within minutes, and speaking with or hearing any person or group was like natural conversation—one simply needed to walk within speaking distance and start talking.
26 | The Harmonizer | May/June 2021 | barbershop.org
