* 7th Gaia Spirit Week * | SEE LAST POST ON PAGE 1! <3

Which day was your favorite this year?

Food Day	6.5%	[ 6 ]
Heroes vs. Villains Day	13.0%	[ 12 ]
Clutter Day	9.8%	[ 9 ]
Magical Warrior Day	27.2%	[ 25 ]
Retro/Throwback Thurs-Day	13.0%	[ 12 ]
Royalty Day	6.5%	[ 6 ]
Class Color Day	10.9%	[ 10 ]
Unity Day	13.0%	[ 12 ]
Total Votes:			[ 92 ]

[I r Spirit Week]

ωelcome to the seventh annual Gaia Spirit Week!
July 13th-20th

ωhether you're an expert Gaian or a confused newbie, Gaia Spirit Week is where the fun is at! What is Gaia Spirit Week (GSW) you ask? Gaia Spirit Week is user-made event to celebrate how wonderful Gaia is! GSW works just like any other spirit week in high school or college; outdo overkill everyone by dressing to the theme of the day. So make sure you werk that avatar of yours because we will be judging you hardcore. Just kidding!
ηot only is this a fun event, we also have numerous contests and other mini-events going on, so there is something for everyone! This is a friendly environment, so don't be afraid to chat on this thread or while we take screens in the friends chat and/or towns. Who knows, maybe you'll make some great new friends!

So come on in and look around, there is always someone around to chat with!
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looking to take screenies?

- FRIENDCHAT -
PASS: gsw14
EXPIRES: july 22nd, 9:40PM eastern


Be sure to check the schedule in the FAQ post for mod-organized screenie sessions.
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Want more Gaia Spirit Week? Join the guild!


x
**HUGE, huge thanks go to the lovely Antagonizing for all of the thread formatting!
We appreciate all of her hard work on making this thread look amazing. Send her your love! <3**

[I r Spirit Week]

★07.13-19.08: First Annual GSW
★07.05-11.09: Second Annual GSW
★07.04-10.10: Third Annual GSW
★07.10-17.11: Fourth Annual GSW
★07.15-21.12: Fifth Annual GSW
★07.7-13.13: Sixth Annual GSW
★07.08.14: Thread OPENED!
★ big announcement about contests, and screenie behavior.
★ The poll for Unknown Day has closed! Royalty Day won!

★ Ultimate Winners, Class Competition winners, and Raffle winners are all posted in the Contests post! Congrats!
★ GSW 2014 has come to a close! Thank you guys for another amazing year. <3
★
★
★

[I r Spirit Week]

☁ Follow the Gaia ToS.
☁ Please don't stretch the page, it can get very annoying. People have a lot of trouble with this one, but we are serious. Don't be that guy.
☁ No quoting the first page.
☁ No spamming or begging in this thread.
☁ No advertising in the thread, please. Just send this account a PM and we'd be happy to add you to the affiliates list.
☁ Please don't bump just for the sake of bumping because excessive bumping is against the forum rules.
☁ No drama. Please just be nice to each other here. Drama makes the mods mad, and who knows what will happen then?
☁ If you don't like the thread or what we're doing, please just keep it to yourself. We're not going to come into your thread and bash it, so don't do it to ours.
☁ This isn't really a rule and is not required, but it is a reminder: when sending PMs, title the PM according to what you're sending us (a question, screenshots, art, contest entry, etc).

[I r Spirit Week]

You might be wondering, what exactly is the point of Gaia Spirit Week?
....Or you might not, but let me tell you:

Gaia Spirit Week is about more than just dressing up for fun and having a good time; it's about showing how much we appreciate this website that we all use, recognizing what a great community of people inhabit it and the people who make it happen. Spirit Week is for making new friends, talking to people you might not usually talk to, and using Gaia the way it was created to be used - to connect with other people. Most of all, it's about appreciating the people who make Gaia happen; all the moderators and admins who help run it!
Gaia is constantly changing, coming out with new things, updating old things, and always trying to make itself better for it's users. Of course, we don't always agree with the things they do and that's okay. You don't have to like everything the Gaia team does. But you should still take time to thank your admins and mods, and that's what Spirit Week is all about!
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Tell your mods that you love them! Send them gifts, avatar art, or just tell them you appreciate them! It doesn't cost you anything, and it really will mean something to them. We know how much you guys all love your mods, and we want you guys to share it! But I think a lot of the times people don't know how; they don't know who the mods are or what the mods want. I may not have an answer for the second part of that, but I do know the first: here at Spirit Week, we've put together an easy way for everyone to participate, and do a little something for the mods.

There is this convenient list of everyone who's a part of the Gaia staff located here. And here is another list we put together that can be found here, since it's a bit long for the main thread. The list is not completely up to date, so if we've missed anyone, please let us know!

What do we do with that, you may ask? There's a bunch of things you can do! You can tip that post (it's only 25g and it only takes a second and it's not like sending a trade). If we could get a bunch of people together to do that, we could donate a significant bit of money to each mod with minimal effort on each persons part. (For the record: if you tipped each member of the Gaia staff, it would cost you less than 5k! So go for it!) If you're not interested in donating gold, you could always just send them a PM on telling them you appreciate them! So send them some art of their avi or anything else you can think of!

Go out and show the Gaia team how much you appreciate them!
Thank you Gaians!

[I r Spirit Week]

NOTE: All days will begin and end according to Eastern Standard Time (GMT -5)!
Celebrate according to whatever time you wish. However, most of the mods are in the eastern time zone so it's easier for them.
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FOOD DAY July 13th:

Food! Food! Food everywhere! emotion_drool Time to dress up your avatar like you were in Heaven; by making it food related! Dress up as a chef, a type of food, or even a food fanatic! Remember to wipe the drool off your face while making this avi and make sure you don't get into a food coma!
emotion_omnomnom yum_bacon yum_cupcake yum_burger yum_coldone yum_hotdog yum_icecreampie yum_salmon

HEROES VS VILLAINS DAY July 14th:

Never fear! Heroes and Villains Day is here! *maniacal laughter* Ever felt like jumping into a phone booth and transforming into your heroic alter ego? Or maybe the darkness within has taken over you as you’re now bent on world domination? From saving the world to robbing countless of banks, today is your day! Choose from a huge list of heroes, villains, or maybe even an original concept that you thought of. Go on with your bad (or good) self!

CLUTTER DAY July 15th:

*Trips and crashes head first into the laundry pile* ...Perfect! What do you get when you cross lawn shavings, a bed sheet, and grandmas dusty knick-knacks? None other than Clutter Day of course! Show off your Gaia spirit by piling on the biggest of scarves, the clunkiest of items, right down to the smallest of accessories. Have you ever heard of the saying: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.”? Well, this doesn't apply here. wink

MAGICAL WARRIOR DAY July 16th:

"In the name of the moon, I will punish you!" Originally to celebrate the remake of Sailor Moon, here is Magical Warriors Day! However, this is magical warriors; so you don't have to wear a Japanese school outfit or do cutesy hand poses. You can be a mage, wizard, or even a witch! So be creative and dust off your spellbook and bring out that broomstick!

RETRO/TBT DAY July 17th:

Remember that one time when you wore that? No?? Don't lie, you know you do. It's time to bring it oldschool and go back in time when you first started Gaia! You can only wear 2003-2006 MC's and items. No cash shop items (which includes RIG items, IE's and REI's). Were you here after 2006? Then wear an outfit with the items you had when you first started Gaia! Throw it waaaay back and slay everyone. Just remember, we’ve all been there. “hi im new”.
HINT: Here is a list of all the older MC's. Also when going to gold shops, sort by "Date (Oldest)" and pick items from the first few pages on the "All" tab. Rococo, Club Verge, Mecha Neko, Dernier Cri, Loyal's Bazaar, and Cros Stitch are excluded.

UNKNOWN ROYALTY DAY July 18th:

MAKE ROOM FOR THE ROYALS. Bring out the biggest crowns, jewels, and diamonds. Stun everyone and show how superior and important you are. And if anyone dares to disagree with you, off with their heads!

CLASS COLOR DAY July 19th:

Time to show off your true Gaia Spirit! Each year (2003, 2007, 2012, etc...) has been assigned a specific color. Dress up your avatar according to the color of the year you first joined Gaia. For example, if you joined in 2006, your color is green (since that's the color assigned on the list). What if you had an account before this but it got hacked, banned, etc...? No problem! Just dress up in the year you first joined Gaia, not the year your current account was created.

NOTE: Some years we've had a bit of trouble with people getting unreasonably competitive about their classes. So this year we're asking everyone to include a rainbow item of some kind on your class color day outfit(s). It's just to show our unity and appreciation for the other classes!

You may be wondering: how do I know what year I joined? Well, just click right here! The siglab will tell you the exact date you joined Gaia.

03 - Red
04 - Orange
05 - Yellow
06 - Green
07 - Blue
08 - Purple
09 - Pink
10 - White
11 - Black
12 - Brown
13 - Red
14 - Orange

UNITY (RAINBOW) DAY July 20th:

This day isn't about class competition, it's about unity. Instead of the traditional Class Color day, we'd like everyone to dress up in all the colors to show support! So dress up your avatar into a majestic rainbow and awe everyone. Just don't blind anyone.
Need help on finding a rainbow item to wear? Use this item list to see what all your options are.

[I r Spirit Week]

Avatar Contest:
Think you have the best avatar of the day? Then send it to us! Just send a PM to I r Spirit Week and tell us you're entering. Maybe you could win prizes! We only accept the entries on the day of the contest, so don't send us your entries in advance because it could get lost. Also, we do not accept tekteks (screenshots are encouraged). Find help here on how to save your avatar as a screen. The deadline to submit entries is 11:00pm (eastern), the day of.
Note: Retro/TBT Day, Class Color Day, and Unity (Rainbow) Day are excluded from this contest.

➞FOOD DAY:
Winner: Reginald Orius!
Runner-Ups: ringo24601, Paul-19, Mrs_S_Snape, and Katyasha_Fox!

➞HEROES VS VILLAINS DAY:
Winner: i have a fairy by my side!
Runner-Ups: Ash Seidelman, Eurydice Evyn, `Cid, and Lily DArouet!
Honorable Mention: Another Troubled Soul

➞CLUTTER DAY:
Winner: Operant!
Runner-Ups: Nikko Roseus, starkaat, Sellesion, and kauzl!

➞MAGICAL WARRIOR DAY:
Winner: Pickled Cactus!
Runner-Ups: Antagonizing, `Cid, MsGrimm, and Sellesion!
Honorable Mention: Mereluna!

➞UNKNOWN ROYALTY DAY:
Winner: Izzy Derp!
Runner-Ups: featherfire520, Cherubic Gummy Bear, Toppaware, and MingSao!
Honorable Mention: Misaki Blaze!

Raffle:
We here at the Spirit Week have decided to run easily the most cliche contest; a raffle. One ticket costs 100 gold. Just send I r Spirit Week a trade request with the proper amount of gold (100 gold for one ticket, 200 for two, etc...). You can buy as many raffle tickets as you want! Title your trade request "I Wants Raffle Ticket Now". We will assign you a random number for each ticket. At the end of Spirit Week, we'll hold a random drawing using the random number generator. Don't worry about getting the numbers for your tickets, we keep track of it for you. The Raffle Contest will end at 11:59PM EST on July 19th (Saturday), and winners will receive their prize some time on July 20th (Sunday). So be sure to send in a trade any time before that!
Disclaimer: You can only win a maximum of one prize in the raffle contest.

➞First Prize: 100,000,000 gold | Winner: Capricious Dreams!
➞Second Prize: 50,000,000 gold | Winner: Dumpling-San!
➞Third Prize: 25,000,000 gold | Winner: Pheonix Paladin!
➞Fourth Prize: 10,000,000 gold | Winner: `Cid!
➞Fifth Prize: 5,000,000 gold | Winner: Ebania!

Real Life Spirit:
For all the Spirit Week fanatics, dress up in real life! Send us a picture of yourself and we'll post it. You could also win prizes if you do! What could be more exciting than that? No seriously, tell me. Please make sure you don't send any pictures breaking the ToS. Thank you!

Class Competition:
Rivalry between the classes can get pretty intense sometimes, so to facilitate that we've got the class competition. People take pride in their classes and they tend to declare that loudly to other Spirit Weekers. Each year the mods get together and pick the top three classes who demonstrated their awesomeness the best and we give them trophies. And, of course, bragging rights. How can you help your class win? Participate in everything! Show your dedication to your class and claim your pages! Be spirited like no other! Do everything to the extreme! Just don't explode.

➞ First Place: Class of 2005!
➞ Second Place: Class of 2006!
➞Third Place: Class of 2007!

Ultimate Winner(s):
In the past we've seen some pretty outstanding Gaians come through GSW. People who go way above and beyond what they have to for GSW. That might include organizing Towns events, chatting in the thread a lot, motivating people for Class Color Day, sending in photos, donating, or any number of other things. Surprise us! There are no specifications for what could win you the coveted title of Ultimate Winner, you just have to be really active and impress us. What's in it for you? Gold prizes! Fame! Adoration! Other things!

Hall of Winners:
2008: Uedo
2009: xFlamethrower and Hola Mimiko
2010: Retro Shrimp and Escuro-sama
2011: Rainbowrific Renia and SheThoughtSheDid
2012: Childishly Mature
2013: featherfire520 and Misaki Blaze
2014: Antagonizing and SilverDolphin

[I r Spirit Week]

Send us pictures of your gatherings in Towns or in a chat, and we'll post them!
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FOOD DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘

HEROES VS VILLAINS DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘

CLUTTER DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘

MAGICAL WARRIOR DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘

RETRO/TBT DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘

UNKNOWN ROYALTY DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘

CLASS COLOR DAY
✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘

UNITY (RAINBOW) DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘

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USER ALBUMS:
| Izzy Derp's Album | Escuro-sama's Album | Silver_Cerulean's Album | -ProcrastinatingSpazz-'s Album | Misaki Blaze's Album |


Want a different way of viewing these pics? Follow GaiaSpiritWeek on tumblr! Feel free to submit pics there as well.

NOTE: Please title PMs accordingly! Telling us which day the screenshots are from or whether it's a class screenshot will make organization much easier. Thank you!

[I r Spirit Week]

Send us pictures of yourself dressed up for Gaia Spirit Week in real life and we'll post them. There could be prizes as well!
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FOOD DAY:


HEROES VS VILLAINS DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘

CLUTTER DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘

MAGICAL WARRIOR DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘

RETRO/TBT DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘

UNKNOWN DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘

CLASS COLOR DAY
✘ ✘ ✘

UNITY (RAINBOW) DAY:
✘ ✘ ✘

[I r Spirit Week]

Q:Why don't the Class Colors match the sashes Gaia gave out?
A:When we first stared doing GSW, Gaia didn't release the sashes yet. When it was released, most people didn't want us to change the colors because they liked the tradition behind the colors (and they liked being able to make a rainbow). So we decided that we wouldn't change the colors. Besides, not everyone has one of those sashes nor have the right sash. However, if you'd like to wear it, go for it! You won't be alone because many others like to wear their sashes along with their assigned color. Show your spirit the way you want to!

Q:When do screenshots take place?
A:Screenshots can occur whenever enough users want them to occur. In the past, we've had complaints from people missing screenshots because they didn't know or were in a different timezone. This year, the moderators will be holding "official" screenshots based on the following schedule:


★ NIGHTLY GROUP SCREENSHOTS: Every night (or morning, technically!) at 12:00AM, screenshots will take place! So at 12:00AM of July 13th, screenies for Food Day will take place, 12:00AM of the 14th, screenies for Heroes vs. Villians Day will take place, ect.
We encourage everyone participating to arrive in the screenie location (see the first post!) around 15 minutes beforehand, but we wait until about ten minutes after midnight to start, for latecomers.

★ CLASS SCREENSHOTS: Individual class screenshots also take place daily! While these are not officially organized by the mods, we encourage them! Most classes have set times during the day when they like to get together and take screenies with their fellow members. Check your class thread or talk to your fellow class members to see when good meetup times are!

Also, please read this post regarding behavior during ANY screenie times.


NOTE: all times are Eastern!
At least one of our moderators should be present for each of these times. Despite the schedule, if you're online and want to organize your own group, feel free to do so!

Q: You mentioned "timezones". What time zone do we follow?
A:Since most of the moderators are in Eastern part of the United States, the official GSW time is the Eastern Daylight Time Zone (EDT). You can use this time converter for help!

Q:When does a day start and/or end?
A:The day starts at 12AM EDT and ends at 11:59 PM EDT. If you plan on entering the avatar contest, it HAS to be sent within the day's theme.

Q:How do I know what year I joined Gaia?
A:You can check here! The siglab will tell you the exact date you joined Gaia on your current account.

Q:What if I had an account before this but it got hacked, banned, etc...?
A:We usually suggest that you go with the year you originally joined, but you can choose to support which ever you'd like.

Q:I keep seeing people saying they "claimed" this page. What does that mean?
A:Page claims are a little tradition we have. If you have the first post on a page (and only the first post), edit the post and claim it for your class! If the first person doesn't edit their post and/or doesn't claim the page, don't worry about it because it's just for fun! Speaking of traditions, another tradition is to wear a single rainbow item on Class Color Day to represent class unity.

Q:I see people wearing the Halloween 2k12 Mourning Armband. Why is that?
A:When we sadly found about the news on Varlot's passing, a lot of us wanted to wear something in her memory. The armband was suggested in this thread and we all agreed that it was a great idea. You are more than welcome to wear yours as well, though it is not required but appreciated.

Q:Why are people telling me to remove the background item from my avatar?
A:While taking screenshots, background items tend to take up a lot of space and it's usually a bit difficult to work around them. It's not required, however, please consider taking them off while we're taking screenies so everyone can be seen in the shot.

Q:I want to help out! Can I donate anything?
A:Donations are fine, but definitely not required! Gold is preferable, but we'll accept whatever you'd like to donate. Just be sure to label the trade!

Q:Why was my trade canceled?
A:Your trade may not have been labeled. We usually send a PM on asking what the trade was for if it was not labeled. It can be a little crazy during GSW, so we might just end up cancelling it if it's not labeled. If you're donating, make sure to label the trade as "Donation". Same goes with a raffle contest; label it "I want Raffle Tickets!". If we do cancel a trade with you, feel free to resend it with a correct label.

[I r Spirit Week]

For those of you who are just joining us this year or for those of you that keep coming back, you might be seeing a bit of a change in moderators. These two ladies right here were the ones that started organizing Gaia Spirit Week the last six years and are the official founders for the event. They brought the message of unity and comradely to us even if we knew of it already. They brought us an event year after year that was a lot of fun for all to enjoy and while it may have been a bit stressful on their end, we know that they wouldn't trade it for anything when we all would thank them for putting in so much hard work.

Now, this news I'm about to share with you all might be a bit of a shock. Varlot, our ever-loving lady in red, was in a car accident on New Year's Eve of 2012 and we regret to inform you that she didn't make it through the accident. It was a shock for all and very disheartening, to say the least. While we are all sad for her loss, we all know that she would like for us to be strong for her and keep the tradition alive. Just because she, Varlot, isn't with us physically, she's still here with all of us and wishing us well. Maybe even raining down some rainbows on us all.
Shieran is alive and well, but has stepped down from doing moderator work for the event. All we can add is that we understand and respect her decision since her drive to help run the event was affected by the loss of Varlot.

We ask that all questions or concerns towards GSW be sent to the gsw moderators in the next post or to I R Spirit Week.
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxFOUNDERSxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[{ Shieran }]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[{ Varlot }]
['07]

[I r Spirit Week]

These are all the wonderful people who make Spirit Week happen, so pay attention to them! If they tell you to do something, you do it. Otherwise, there will be consequences. Also, these people have the answers to all of your questions. So ask away!
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[{ antipolar }]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[{ Ingou }]
['05]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx['04]
Posts in redxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxPosts in sea green

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[{ xFlamethrower }]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[{ SheThoughtSheDid }]
['05]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx['07]
Posts in siennaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxPosts in dodger blue

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[{ lil4fingers }]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[{ Rainbowrific Renia }]
['07]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx['05]
Posts in orangexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxPosts in lilac

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[{ Childishly Mature }]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[{ Escuro-sama }]
['07]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx['04]
Posts in hot pinkxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxPosts in coral

[I r Spirit Week]

2003
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2004
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2005
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2006
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2007
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2008
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2009
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2010
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2011
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2012
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2013
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2014
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[I r Spirit Week]

Want to be an affiliate with Gaia Spirit Week 2014? Just send a PM to I R Spirit Week with the banner/link to your thread!


[url=http://tinyurl.com/nuajumc][img]http://i.imgur.com/G3rHp9X.gif[/img][/url]
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[I r Spirit Week]

[I r Spirit Week]

[It's over! See you next year! <3]

Thanks again for another wonderful year, everyone! Congrats to all of this year's winners!
To be honest, you're all winners in our books. <3

That said, please find some closing sentiments from some of this year's mods below!

Happy 7th Annual Gaia Spirit Week!

[Rainbowrific Renia]

[Escuro-sama]

[Childishly Mature]

[lil4fingers]