We’ve Been Busy
It’s been a while since you got a wave from me, I know. But it ain’t because I forgot about you. It’s because we’ve been pretty busy lately. There’s a lot going on in the ‘verse right now, and the crew and I are working twice as hard this year as we normally would. That’s because we’re planning twice as many shindigs and conjuring some other shiny surprises besides. But before I get to that, let me start with some news about our crew.
After over a decade of dedicated service on our crew, Anthony Letizia has decided to relinquish his position on the steering committee of Can’t Stop the Serenity Pittsburgh. We can’t thank Anthony enough for all he’s done over the years, and we are also all manner of grateful that he will continue to be involved with our CSTS Pittsburgh shindigs as a sponsor through his website Geek Frontiers. In fact, Anthony and Geek Frontiers are sponsoring the acquisition of the movie license for CSTS Pittsburgh 2025. And believe me when I say that’s not nothin’! Thank you, Anthony, for all you’ve done and continue to do, and for your love for CSTS Pittsburgh that keeps her in the air.
As we bid Anthony a fond farewell, our crew is also happy to announce that Susan Mazur has accepted our invitation to become a member of the CSTS Pittsburgh steering committee. Some of you may already know Susan through her work with Jump Cut Theater, another one of CSTS Pittsburgh’s long-time sponsors. Susan brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the crew, and to be honest, we’ve already been looking to her for counsel for many years for that very reason. Having her as an official member of the crew makes all kinds of sense. It’s quite frankly long overdue, in my opinion, and we’re very lucky to have her. Welcome aboard, Susan. It’s shiny to be sailin’ with you.
And now to what we got ahead of us…
Most of you know by now that Browncoats from all over the ‘verse will be closing out the summer with a Big Damn Shindig out in Los Angeles, California from September 18-21. For the first time ever, Browncoat Ball and Can’t Stop the Serenity will happen together at the same location, and it’s all happening in honor of the 20th anniversary of the motion picture Serenity. As if that weren’t shiny enough, the event will also include a tour of some of the shooting locations of both Firefly and Serenity, and word is that some members of the original production crew will come along to share some anecdotes and recollections of filming the series and/or movie. Some of the members of CSTS Pittsburgh’s crew (including yours truly) have been assisting the California Browncoats with the planning of this event, and we’ve already got a fair number of Browncoats from our brigade who will be headed west to take it all in. If you weren’t already considering joining us, you really should. I can assure you it’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and based on early registrations, it’s also looking like Los Angeles could break the all-time attendance record for a Browncoat Ball. It’s going to be a mighty fine shindig. I mean, what could be shinier than spending a weekend surrounded by fellow Browncoats celebrating our mutual love of Firefly and Serenity? If you want to sign on, or if your still unsure but would like some more information about the Big Damn Shindig, you can find everything you need at https://browncoatball.com/2025/.
Just because there’s a Big Damn Shindig out in L.A. doesn’t mean we don’t still aim to misbehave here in the Steel City this year, though, and it’s my pleasure to announce that Pittsburgh’s 20th annual Can’t Stop the Serenity charity screening will take place on Sunday, July 27 from 1-5pm at the Parkway Theater in McKees Rocks (the site of our CSTS shindigs in 2018 and 2019, for them as might recall). In honor of the 20th anniversary of CSTS, we’ll be donating 50% of the proceeds from the event to Equality Now, the charity that advocates for the rights of women and girls around the world and Joss Whedon’s charity of choice that was the original charity of Can’t Stop the Serenity when it was instituted back in 2006. In recognition of our ongoing commitment to help our nation’s veterans, the other 50% will be donated to the American Legion’s “Be the One” initiative to reduce the rate of veteran suicide.
Before you say, “You really buried the lead with that one, Cap’n,” let me assure you that I’ll be dedicating a whole other Cap’n’s Blog to CSTS Pittsburgh 2025 as soon as I can include some concrete ticket information. In the meantime, though, you can save the date. CSTS Pittsburgh breaks atmo once again on July 27!
While I can assure you there’s more to come, I think that’s plenty for y’all to mull over for now. You can bet the farm you’ll be hearing from me again soon, but until then…
Keep flyin’.
- Chris