Online Trivia Quiz - Quote #8

Ready for Quote #8? 

"You got the right same as anyone to live and try to kill people."

Remember: speaker and episode for all 10 quotes to be e-mailed to cstsvancouver@gmail.comby midnight June 23rd.  Winner will be announced at CSTS Vancouver on Saturday morning.

One Week Today - CSTS Vancouver 2011. Do You Have Your Ticket Yet?

Are you missing the high of the Canucks run to the Stanley Cup? Feeling a bit let down due to the aftermath? Why not come to CSTS Vancouver on Saturday, June 25th? It's a fun day and we raise money for two good charities: Equality Now and BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre Foundation.  Even if you aren't a Browncoat, you're sure to find something you like at our silent auction.  How about this - a Star Trek clock radio, donated by William.

Or how about a souvenir from "V"?  Maybe the parking name plate for one or both of our BDHs who also were in that series.  Yes, the genuine article, donated by a local Browncoat & sci-fi geek who bought them -and some other shiny items - at the prop sale.

If you prefer the Doctor, we have something for you, too.  In addition to the knitted Red Dalek seen in a previous post, we have an Adipose, crocheted by Myntkat.

You can read more about the Adipose - and other Dr. Who creatures - in The Time Traveller's Almanac, donated by Colleen.

Stay tuned for more great Firefly/Serenity items, including autographed ones!  Don't forget that the Silent Auction, grab bags, bingo cards or anything else to be purchase are cash only.

Online Trivia Quiz - Quote #7

How are you doing so far? Finding the answers easy? Well, this one is - short and sweet today.

"Mercy is the mark of a great man."

You've got it already, don't you?  I thought so. Well, it still counts. :)

Crafty & Creative Geeks Abound!

Are you looking for a one-of-a-kind item that shows off your favourite fandom?  Then be sure to come to CSTS Vancouver 2011 and bid on some of the wonderful auction items we have.  The cross-stitch Big Damn Heroes made by Amber from Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins were such a hit last year that she has come up with new ones this year.  There are two framed pieces, plus some smaller ones - and a Jayne bookmark that will go with the Jayne's hat from Serena's Everything Jayne's Hat Emporium.  In addition, Lisa-Marie has incorporated Amber's BDH designs onto a beautiful bag.

If you're a fan of Blue Sun products, take a look at this beautiful pillow made by Katherine Wrigley.

Perhaps you're a Dr. Who fan.  Katherine has also made a Red Dalek.

Keep checking for more auction items and don't forget to buy your tickets so you can bid on them.  Only eight days left!

Online Trivia Quiz - Quote # 6

We're halfway through our quote contest, how are you doing so far?  Last quote will be June 22nd, then e-mail CSTSVancouver [at] gmail [dot] com with your answers by midnight June 23rd.

Today's quote:  The important thing is the spices.

Remember to give the speaker and the episode when you send your entry in on June 23rd!  Good luck!

Costume Contest Details

Which Firefly/Serenity character do you see yourself as?  Mal? Inara? River? Kaylee? Shepherd Book?  Maybe you like to wear Hawaiian shirts and play with dinosaurs. Maybe you like to wear a 'cunning' hat and carry a gun named Vera.  Perhaps a very proper doctor is more your style.  Or do you look good in a 'slinky' dress?  Whatever your preference, why not attend this year's CSTS Vancouver in costume?  There are two categories: any character from Firefly or Serenity (is a lovebot your style?) or a character from any of Whedon's other shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog or Dollhouse.

If you want to be judged in the costume contest, we ask that you arrive at the Space Centre between 10:15 and 10:30 and proceed to the Ray Whittick Lounge.  (There will be signs.)  Once there you will pose for the judges and our official photographer.  All contestants will then do a parade onto the stage just after 1 pm where the prizes will be awarded.

Let your imagination run wild - but not too wild.  Remember this is a family event, so no Echo as a dominatrix, please. :)

Online Trivia Quiz - Quote #5

Do you have the speaker and episode for Quotes 1 - 4?  Are you ready for #5?

"When this is over, I'll be able to help you; I'll be able to make your nightmares go away."

Online Trivia Quiz - Quote #4

Time for Quote #4.  Don't forget to keep track of your answers in order and then e-mail all 10 of them to CSTSVancouver@gmail.com by midnight, June 23rd.

"I like to meet new people; they've all got stories."

Can't Stop The Serenity 2010 Vancouver

Here's a sample of last year's CSTS Vancouver event, thanks to WorldofHiglet and her husband.

Guild Fans Alert!

Are you a fan of Felicia Day's webseries, The Guild? Then do we have auction items for you.

First up: Season 3 DVDs, signed by all of the cast and donated by AlanD.  We also have all their signatures on The Guild #1 comic, as well as a cast picture.  Felicia and Amy (Tink) both signed the Season 4 DVDs, and Amy and the artist both autographed a large poster of the cover of the The Guild's Tink comic.  In addition, we have The Guild TPB.  Any one of these could be yours if you bring enough cashy money to bid high.

 Stay tuned for more exciting silent auction items.

Online Trivia Quiz - Quote #3

Who do you think said this - and in what episode?


"There's times I don't think you take me seriously."

Online Trivia Quiz - Quote #2

Are you ready for the second quote?

"Looked bigger when I couldn't see him."

Remember:  who said it and what episode of Firefly was it in.  When you have all 10 answers, e-mail them to CSTS Vancouver and we'll draw a winner on June 25th during the introductions.

Good luck!

A Delicious New Donor

We are pleased to announce that we have a new donor on board! C&C Cakery in Burnaby will be making special Firefly-inspired baked goods that can be purchased at CSTS Vancouver for a donation.  They will also be donating a gift certificate to the auction.  I don't know about you, but just looking at those pictures of Kaylee's Cupcakes makes my mouth water.  Can you imagine the looks on your fellow Browncoats' faces when you treat them to such a delectable confection with the gift certificate you purchased at our silent auction?  Of course, you could keep them all for yourself, but Browncoats are so good at sharing.  Aren't they?

The Kaylee Cupcake - ain't it purty?

Online Trivia Quiz

So who here is a Firefly fan?  Have you watched so many times you know all the words - or think you do? Then here's a contest for you!

Every couple of days until just before CSTS, I will post a quotation on the blog.  Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to name the person speaking and the episode.  There will be 10 questions, so not all the episodes will be represented.  After the last question, e-mail your 10 answers to CSTSVancouver@gmail.com by midnight (Pacific time) June 23rd.  If there are multiple correct answers, one name will be drawn at CSTS and a shiny prize will be awarded.  You do not have to be present to win, but you will get your prize more quickly.

Let's start out with an easy one, shall we?

"When you can't run, you crawl. And when you can't crawl, when you can't do that..."

Remember, name the character and episode and only send the answers at the end of the contest.

Why "Can't Stop The Serenity"?

Four years ago, a young woman named Du'a Khalil Aswad was stoned to death in northern Iraq for the sin of falling in love with a young man of a different religion. There are conflicting stories about why she was actually stoned - whether she had converted for her boyfriend, was thinking of converting or just seen talking to him in the street.  Whatever the reason, while she was being stoned, many people of her village stood around and watched, some taking pictures and videos on their cell phones and posting them on the Internet.

At the time the story made headlines around the world, Joss Whedon wrote a post on Whedonesque about it that had little of his trademark humour in it, just heartfelt questions about why this was happening and some suggestions to counter it.  Out of that came a website and a book, Nothing But Red.  Can't Stop The Serenity was gearing up for its second year of global fundraising events and Joss's post about Du'a Khalil Aswad served to strengthen our efforts to raise money for Equality Now, Joss's favourite charity and one that works to end violence and discrimination against women and girls throughout the world.

CSTS is now celebrating its sixth anniversary and the fact that the worldwide events have raised over half a million dollars for Equality Now and various local charities.  This year one of the moderators of Whedonesque, Damon Schmidt aka zeitgeist, wrote an eloquent reminder that what happened to Du'a Khalil was not, unfortunately, an isolated incident.

So each year we get together with other Joss Whedon fans to watch his movie, Serenity; to sing along to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog; to dress up as our favourite Whedon characters; to win prizes and buy swag; and to have fun.  And have fun we do! But let's not forget the reason we do this: to help those women and girls who are less fortunate than we are and who may not be able to help themselves.

In Vancouver, 80% of the net proceeds from our CSTS event go to Equality Now, with the other 20% to BC Women's Hospital & Health Care Foundation, which helps to give children a good start in life and to do the best to keep women of this province healthy.  So far, in five years, we have raised over $15,000 and we hope this year is the best one yet.

Remember when you buy your ticket, or grab bag, or bingo card, or bid on one of the exciting items in our Silent Auction, that you are helping to improve the lives of women around the world as well as those right here at home.

So do you have your costume ready? Have you rewatched Firefly so you can answer all the trivia questions? Have you stashed away a bit of extra cash to bid on that special item that you just must have? Have you practised your evil laugh?  Is your singing voice ready?  Then make sure you buy your tickets early and bring your friends because raising money for such a good cause has never been more fun.

Keep checking the blog for some of the shiny items we will have in the auction and details of the day and we'll see you on June 25th at 11 am!

Donations Have Begun for our Silent Auction

Thanks to everyone who ordered t-shirts and/or hoodies.  They will be available to be picked up at the Will Call table on the day of our event.

Tickets are now available for sale from John at La Fontana Caffee (where the Geeks hang out), north-east corner of Boundary and Hastings in Burnaby.  Cash only please.

We are pleased to announce a new cross-stitch item by Amber for this year's Silent Auction.  Last year's were hits at the auction.  This year she's only doing one, so it's even more exclusive, but it's a great one, so get there early, bid often and bring lots of cashy money, as that's all we take.

Shiny, isn't it?  It could be yours on June 25th!

T-shirts & Tickets Available Now!

Tickets for CSTS Vancouver on June 25th are available now through the PayPal link on the right hand side and in person from the organiser.  Unfortunately, Happy Bats is no longer in business so can't sell tickets for us.  We will miss them as they were a great supporter of CSTS Vancouver from day one.  Keep checking here and on Twitter for other places to buy tickets.

T-shirts are now on sale - for a very limited time. Payment must be made either through the blog or with cash in person by noon on Saturday, May 7th.  This year's logo, designed by the organiser of CSTS Toronto, is beautiful and will be displayed on Men's/Unisex, Women's Baby Doll and Women's V-Neck t-shirts as well as pullover hoodies.

Order now as this will be your only chance to get an official CSTS 2011 shirt or hoodie - or both!

CSTS Vancouver 2011 is Saturday, June 25th!!

We are officially registered as a CSTS participant and can now leap ahead with our planning!  CSTS Vancouver 2011 will be held at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver,  BC, on June 25th from 11 am to 6 pm, with the doors opening at 10:30.  The day will include a sing-along to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, a costume contest, an Evil Laugh contest, Whedon trivia bingo, episodes from some locally produced web series, a silent auction and - oh yes, the Big Damn Movie, Serenity!

Tickets will be on sale soon.  Keep checking this page for a look at this year's art contest winner - another Canadian, organiser of the Toronto 2011 CSTS - for news on ordering t-shirts and for a look at some of the items we have for the silent auction and prizes.

If you would like to be involved in this year's event, as a donor, sponsor or volunteer, you can contact us by e-mail at CSTSVancouver@gmail.com.  We are especially interested in unique items - well-crafted geeky things always go well.  Take a look through the archives to see what kind of objects we have had in the past.

FINAL TOTALS FOR 2010

We had our best year ever in 2010, raising a total of $4,436.56, which meant $3,550 (rounded up) to Equality Now and $900 (also rounded up) to BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre Foundation.  We received lovely thank you notes from both.

Before we get to CSTS 2011 (planning has already started!), I would like to thank all of our generous sponsors, especially The Comic Shop, Happy Bats Cinema and Serena's Everything Jayne's Hat Emporium for donating each of our five years.  We hope those relationships will continue in the coming years.  Please continue to support our sponsors as they support us.  I'd also like to thank all the volunteers on the organising committee, those who helped out throughout the day, those who contributed prizes or items for the silent auction.  This fundraising event could not continue without you and would not have been possible in the first place without the support of Serena Reynolds, Organiser of the BC Browncoats.

Coming soon: Date and time for CSTS Vancouver 2011, the winning artwork and more.  If you would like to be involved in any way, please e-mail us at CSTSVancouver@gmail.com.  (Hope you like the new look.)

A FEW TICKETS LEFT!

There are still a few tickets left which will be sold at the door. Come early, you know you don't want to miss a moment - and bring lots of cash-y money for all the lovelies at the auction.

If you aren't able to make the event Saturday, you can still donate to it by clicking on the "Donate" button at the bottom of the page.