SoCal Browncoats

2009 SoCal CSTS is now history. We had a lot of fun, and raised a lot of money and awareness for Equality Now.  I want to thank all of you that came out for the screenings, donated money, bid on auctions, and bought merchandise.  Last night was the last event, in Riverside, and it was a huge success.  We had 110 tickets sold, the largest crowd at any of our screenings.

Here’s the preliminary roundup on what we made at each screening.  These numbers will change once we get all the final counts/expenses done.

Los Angeles - $1500 - 100 tickets sold
Orange County - $1000 - 67 tickets sold
San Diego - $2000 - 76 tickets sold
Riverside - $1700 - 110 tickets sold

That means we raised over $6000 for the year!

I have posted photos from just Los Angeles so far, but will get some up from all the screenings soon.  I also posted video from last night of The Ballad of Serenity being played live, as well as the crowd singing Joss happy birthday.

Photos from Los Angeles

Ballad of Serenity

Happy Birthday Joss

Again, thank you all for supporting Can’t Stop the Serenity this year. On to Comic-Con!

We are happy to announce that there will be live auctions at all 3 remaining CSTS SoCal screenings.  Thanks to Quantum Mechanix and the California Browncoats we will have the following at all the screenings:

QMx Serenity Architectural Cutaways - Inara’s Shuttle Test Print

Mal Dog Tag

Zoe Dog Tag

Special Suydam Summer Glau print signed by the artist and Summer Glau

And we will have something special for each city that will only be at that screening. A signed shirt? Poster? You won’t know unless you go!

Tickets are still available online for San Diego and Riverside. Tickets for all 3 screenings will be available from our table in the lobby on the night of the screenings.

We’ve been getting some questions about specific things for Can’t Stop the Serenity this month. This should hopefully answer most of your questions.

CSTS Los Angeles Live Auction

Thanks to QMx we will be having a very special live auction at CSTS LA (Check this out for one of the items) .  We are making this auction open to remote bidding worldwide.  The auction will start at approximately 10:00 AM PDT. If you are interested in bidding, please email Dwight and he will get you set up.  As of right now the plan is for you to be on the phone with a proxy bidder so you can participate live.  UPDATE: You will need to email by 11:59 PM PDT on Friday June 12th to be eligible for remote bidding.

There is a chance we will have more than one item, so let Dwight know when you contact him if you want to bid on one item, or all items.  Also, we may have some items at the other 3 screenings. We will post information about all the items when/if we can. Keep an eye here.

On Site/Walk-up Tickets

There will be tickets available on the day of each screening. So if you don’t make it in time to buy them online, you can show up and still get a ticket that day.  If we are close enough to selling out, we will post an update right here on this site.

CSTS Shirts

The Global organizers are preparing a 2nd wave of shirt printing.  If you are not able to get one of the limited number of shirts we have available at the screenings, don’t worry. We will be taking pre-payments for that second wave and you will be able to get your shirt in July.

Thank you all for supporting Can’t Stop the Serenity in Southern California!

For the 3rd year in a row, Quantum Mechanix is bring some very special items to the Los Angeles Can’t Stop the Serenity screening. Not only is QMx Andy bringing a couple items for a live auction, he is bringing a special item to give you all a sneak peek.

First up on the auction block will be an all new Little Damn Hero maquette prototype. Which one? Well, you have to be there to find out!

Next up is a secret. I don’t even know what it is! But Andy said he’s bringing something to auction besides the maquette, and I believe him.

And finally, Andy will have on hand a prototype of a never before seen Serenity item. This won’t be up for auction sadly. But you can be one of the first to see it just by attending. And really, isn’t $15 to see this sneak peek AND Serenity on the big screen a smoking deal? Thought so.

Pick up your tickets here.

And please, if you have somewhere else online you like to hang out, feel free to spread the word.

UPDATE: You can find out 2 of the items being auctioned here and here.

2009 Can’t Stop the Serenity Tickets are now on sale!

The California Browncoats are proud to bring you the SoCal and San Diego Browncoats Can’t Stop the Serenity screenings to benefit Equality Now!

Click on the buttons below to purchase your tickets to any (all!) of the screenings. All tickets will be on sale until 3 days before the screening. You will still be able to purchase tickets at the screening if you did not purchase online in time. Tickets are $15 each.

2009 CSTS Los Angeles
Sunday June 14th at 10:00 AM at Laemmle’s Sunset 5

Tickets will be available the day of the screening in the lobby. 

2009 CSTS Orange County
Saturday June 20th at 9 PM at Starplex’s Woodbridge Movies 5

2009 CSTS San Diego
Sunday June 21st at 5 PM at Ultrastar’s Mission Marketplace in Oceanside

2009 CSTS Riverside
Tuesday June 23rd at 7 PM at Ultrastar’s University Village 10

If you would like to donate to Equality Now but can not make a screening this year, please use the button below. In the notes you can put which city you would like to be credited for your donation.

We are proud to announce the Four Can’t Stop the Serenity screenings in Southern California.  Riverside is joining L.A., San Diego, and O.C. Woohoo!  All the ticket purchasing and other details will be posted here shortly.  For now, here are the dates and times for the screenings:

Los Angeles - Sunday June 14th at 10:00 AM at Laemmle’s Sunset 5
(Please note the change of location from last year and the matinee screening time.)

Orange County - Saturday June 20th at 9 PM at Starplex’s Woodbridge Movies 5

San Diego - Sunday June 21st at 5 PM at Ultrastar’s Mission Marketplace in Oceanside

Riverside - Tuesday June 23rd at 7 PM at Ultrastar’s University Village 10

As a special bonus, we will be showing Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog at the Riverside AND Oceanside screenings!  (If we can figure out a way to show it at the others, we will).  We are also planning special live auctions, prize drawings and maybe even a costume contest or two.

As always, the CSTS screenings benefit Joss Whedon’s favorite charity, Equality Now. Come out to a screening (or more than one) and help us continue the Browncoat tradition of doing good works.

The evening portion of our geektastic day will be a shindig and concert featuring songstress Marian Call. Thanks to a local Browncoat we will have Sanctuary for the evening, in the form of the First Baptist Church of Palos Verdes. Everyone is welcome to attend, whether you were on the Whedonverse location tour or not. Details for the concert and shindig are as follows:

What: Shindig and Concert
When: Saturday April 11th, 7 - 9 PM
Where: 28 Moccasin Ln, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274
Why: To have a friendly fun evening hanging out and enjoying the indie/folk music of Marian Call

We’ll be providing pizza and snacks for all who attend. We would appreciate everyone bringing a few bucks to help cover the cost of the food. Also, everyone should bring their own drinks and enough to share with a couple others (water, soda, ice tea, etc.). This will be a gathering, a geek party, a chance to hear Marian Call sing. It will be very informal.

Marian Call is going to sing for us for free. You can show your appreciation by checking her out online at www.mariancall.com. She’s done some fabulous geek related songs, in addition to her other music.

If you plan to attend, or have questions, please email me at danregal_ff at yahoo dot com. I would like to start getting an idea of how much food to pick up.

For details on the location tour, check out the Whedonverse Location Caravan 2009 Tour

Howdy Browncoats, Whedon fans and geeks!

Have we got a full day of fun and entertainment scheduled for you. On Saturday April 11th, we will be getting our geek on all day. We are breaking it into 2 sections so you can attend one or both.

First up, the Whedonverse Location Caravan.

Starting at 10 AM, we will be traveling by car to a number of filming locations used in Joss Whedon productions. This will include Firefly/Serenity, Buffy and Angel, with an emphasis on Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Our route is not set in stone, but we are expecting to visit:

• Miranda - Serenity - Diamond Ranch High School
• Buffy’s High School - Buffy - Torrance High School
• Buffy’s Home - Buffy - Private Address (will be photo ops only from across the street)
• The UC Sunnydale Library - Buffy - UCLA
• The Hyperion Hotel - Angel - Los Altos Hotels & Apartments
• The Park - Dr. Horrible - Echo Park
• The “My Eyes” Alley - Dr. Horrible - near Angelus Temple
• The Homeless Shelter - Dr. Horrible - Angelus Temple
• Laundry Mat - Dr. Horrible - Maytag Coin Laundry
• New Shelter Press Conference - Dr. Horrible - First Christian Church

There are many more locations we can visit. If you have a favorite you want us to try and put on the list, please email me. We are hoping to finish the caravan around 5 PM. We will be stopping for lunch either on the way, or when we get to Diamond Ranch in Pomona.

We will take only as many cars as we need for everyone who attends. If you wish to drive, please send me an email. I will be driving and can fit 3 other people. More details about the order of the locations will be ready a few days before the event.

If you have any questions, want to drive or be a passenger, have location ideas or anything else related to the caravan, please send me an email. danregal_ff at yahoo dot com

For details on the second half of our day, check out the Marian Call Concert Shindig.

The 2nd Annual SoCal Vs. San Diego paintball battle is almost here.  We are gearing up and we need some new recruits.

You can find all the info on this cool flier  (made a little less awesome since it was done by a San Diegan)

Or just read all about it here:

March 21st (Sat) at 9 AM

Battlefield: Mr Paintball 25320 Lake Wohlford Rd. Escondido, Ca 92027 (Directions pdf)

$39 dollar fee will get you a gun, 500 rounds of ammo, a mask and cammie coveralls.
Please bring extra cash for additional ammo!

Please print and sign the waiver located here and bring with you to the field. We will have some extra’s at the field but it will be easier for us if you have a completed waiver.

Just like before, we will have our own picnic table where we can store coolers and snacks. While it won’t be as hot as last time, be sure bring some water! Also, please be sure to try to come by 9 am so we can get to shooting each other in a timely manner.

We will have our own ref and will be playing on our own fields like before as well. Have any questions? Comments? Never played before? No problem! I think we had several 1st timers last time we played and we all had a TON of fun.

We have tentative plans to grab some food locally after our game and a post-Paintball shindig down in San Diego. Details for those are in the works. Check out the SoCal or San Diego Yahoo groups for more information or to ask questions.

For now, mark your calendars, tell your friends! Tell your enemies!

It’s the end of another year, and we feel it’s a good idea to put out a state of the union, er group, address.

This group continues to grow as more people find Firefly and Serenity. Now that they are out on Bluray, I think we can expect to continue growing. But we also have to make a decision about events and activities for the future.

Lynn and I have decided to scale back the number of planned SoCal Browncoat shindigs for 2009. We made this decision for a number of reasons.

The most important one is us. We need a break. We have planned (or helped plan) pretty much every shindig for a little over 3 years now. Monthly shindigs. It’s time for us to have a bit of a break to recharge.

The next reason is the economy. With all that is going on, we don’t think it is prudent to hold monthly shindigs like we used to. Especially when you consider that a lot of the shindigs cost money to attend. We want everyone who wants to go to be able to, even when money is a concern.

Finally, there is just so much other stuff to do and being planned. There is the monthly LA meetup. There is a thriving San Diego group. Brian’s monthly movie days are a regular event. It is often difficult to plan shindigs that don’t interfere with all the other great events going on every month!

With that being said, let us make one thing perfectly clear. If you want to plan a shindig, we encourage you to do so! And we will be right there to help you do it. All you have to do is email us if you want help or advice, or simply post to the board.

And now it is time to announce our 2009 shindig and event schedule.

February/March - 2nd Annual Paintball SoCal Vs San Diego Battle
June - Can’t Stop the Serenity
July - Comic-Con
October - 4th Annual Browncoat Day at Disneyland
November - Creation Firefly/Serenity Convention

This leaves plenty of months open if you want to plan a shindig. This also gives you plenty of opportunities to make it to an LA meetup, or Brian’s movie day, or a San Diego Rock Band party or ???

We’ve all come together thanks to our love of the ‘verse. We’ve made friends, had good times, discussed just about everything under the sun, and raised a lot of money for charity. All those things will continue as long as we all want them to continue.

Thank you all for being a part of the SoCal Browncoats!

James and Lynn