We sent the signal out and a few of the brave and bold with their brilliant artistical skillz took up the gauntlet (and their palettes) to create the promotional art for next year’s events. Thank you to everyone who submitted an entry (or two!) to the 2012 Can’t Stop The Serenity Art Contest.

We know it’s going to be a challenge, but we need you, the good folk of the ‘Verse, to help us choose which one will become the official artwork for Can’t Stop the Serenity 2012!

You can only vote once and you’ve only got until 1 November 2011 at 11:59 PM PST to get your voice heard and your vote counted.

So vote and then tell your friends to spread the word and come help us choose the best of the best.

http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/media/2012-official-artwork-contest/

Tickets $10 until July 15, $15 at the door

T-shirts $15 until July 15, $20 at the theater
(Quantities are limited, so order early to ensure that you get your preferred T-shirt size. If your size is already sold out, please contact maryquesera @ chicagolandbrowncoats . com to be wait-listed for a shirt.)

All items are will-call and must be picked up at the Portage Theater on the day of the show, August 20th, after doors open.

Thanks, and we hope to see you at the show!

We are working on the 2011 event and should have more details soon.

We are pleased to announce that the Chicagoland Browncoats raised $4,148.36 at the 2010 Can’t Stop the Serenity event. $3,111.27 was donated to the global CSTS charity Equality Now, and $1,037.09 was donated to The House of the Good Shepherd, our local charity.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered for, donated to and came out for the event!

The auction for the Browncoat Ball is up for bidding here: http://tinyurl.com/29h8qau

Not only will you receive 2 tickets to the Charlotte, NC Browncoat Ball – also included is autographed soundtrack CDs from “Firefly” and “Uncharted 2″, signed by composer Greg Edmonson, and a complete set of Blue Sun Travel Posters (Series 1 and 2) featuring some of our favourite travel destinations – Jaynetown, Serenity Valley, Miranda and more. This amazing collection of prizes has been generously donated by 2010 Browncoat Ball – Charlotte NC, Greg Edmonson and Think Geek. (This auction ends Aug 24th)

All of the items being auctioned off can be found here: http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/2010auction/

Good luck!!

Just a quick heads-up that time’s running out to buy advance-priced tickets and merchandise for the show at Chicago’s Portage Theater on August 28! Online ordering will close on *Wednesday, August 25*; after that, tickets will be $15 cash only, at the theater box office only on the night of the show. Order now at our website, and check out photos some of the great items that will be on offer at our silent/live auction at the show!

If you’re already planning on coming and can bring along a thing or two to help one of our charities, we have a new Wish List from The House of the Good Shepherd for our drive this year at our Can’t Stop the Serenity event.  All the details can be found at our Local Charity page.

Thank you, and hope to see you at the Portage!

CSTS Chicago

Because The House has lost some funding, they really need Gift Cards from the following:

• Jewel
• Target
• K-Mart
• McDonald’s
• CTA Transit Cards

Additionally, the following are needed:

• Diapers: sizes 4, 5 & 6
• Baby Wipes

Lastly: Do you have a used cell phone lying around collecting dust?  Donate it to House of the Good Shepherd! You can dispose of your old cell phone responsibly while you help fund our violence recovery program.  We partner with a national organization that recycles old cell phones and pays us for each one we send them.  The cell phone you no longer need can support House of the Good Shepherd and similar programs all around the country.

We’ll be collecting these items by the door and we’ll give you an extra ticket for our prize giveaways.

The House of the Good Shepherd greatly appreciates everything generous Browncoats have donated in the past few years.

http://www.chicagolandbrowncoats.com/local-charity/

We’re still looking for a few more people to help us out at the Can’t
Stop the Serenity Screening on August 28 at the Portage Theater in
Chicago. So if you answered yes to the questions above, please contact Q
at sparkyq77@gmail.com by Sunday, August 15th to find out how you can help.

After trying a few things, I was able to fix it although PayPal is now opening a separate pop-up window for T-shirts.

Sorry about the inconvenience! If you need to order a tshirt and are still having a problem, please email me at laura @ chicagolandbrowncoats . com with all the details of your order and I can send you a PayPal request for payment instead.

eta: Aug 16 – when you order a tshirt the shopping cart is not creating a new pop-up window anymore.

Our theater has new digital projection equipment this year and several of us on the planning committee went down to the theater last weekend to test it out. I personally am a fan of 35mm, so I was pretty skeptical, especially after a similar test last year yielded less than spectacular results. We’ve been very fortunate with the 35mm prints for our past shows; apart from the expected wear at the end of each reel (and the once we got the “Doom” trailer spliced on the beginning of the first reel!), the quality has typically been pretty good, so I wasn’t exactly champing at the bit to make this change.

However, after seeing some sample scenes using the new equipment, I have to say that it looks pretty fabulous, very bright and sharp, and the sound also seemed to be an improvement over the film we used last year. Even just plain ol’ garden-variety DVD looked great, and we plan on bringing in Blu-ray for the event for even better resolution.

Slightly off-topic, but I also wanted to mention that this year’s show may wind up running a bit longer than usual — we have a lot of fun stuff planned for the evening! If you’re taking public transportation to the theater, you might want to keep that in mind, and plan accordingly.

See you at the show!

Mary & Laura
Co-organizers, CSTS Chicago 2010

P.S. There are still some pre-show mini-shindig tickets available – get yours now before they sell out!
http://tinyurl.com/2g4ynxe