This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend the ‘Can’t Stop the Serenity’ charity event in Dallas. Chapters in cities all over the world hold screenings of Joss Whedon’s ‘Serenity’ to raise money and awareness for Joss’ favorite charity, called Equality Now, an organization that seeks to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world. These charity events have raised over $250,000 since 2006.
So how could you lose? Great film, fellow rabid fans, and a wonderful cause!
This year, the event opened with a message from the folks over at Equality Now, Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, and of course, Joss Whedon. I’m not sure if I can explain it right, but the vibe from the Whedon extended family, from the actors to the fans, is a strong feeling of communal effort and love- that if we can get together and do something for a good cause, anything can happen. I think you could even call it the Browncoat-effect in this case. Each and every one of us can create change in the world because ‘we are mighty’! You know that fans are not just fans when something like this happens. This is something truly special and it’s just plain awesome to see and be a part of.
This year, the Dallas event screened ‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog’ as well as Serenity. And as you would guess, people did sing along! It wasn’t quite Rocky Horror, but it was a polite sort of singing along. I was most looking forward to this part of the event just out of curiosity to see how crazy fans would get in their singing, but it was tame and genial!
The screening of ‘Serenity’ that followed took my breath away. It’s always better to see it on the big screen! Though now I can’t help but be triggered by certain scenes in Serenity to think of the fan-made trailer with Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan in Green Lantern! (He was robbed! Nathan should have been Hal! Ryan Reynolds, you are hogging all the superheroes!)
The costume contest, of course, was part of the event that I was highly interested in. There were some really good efforts made in Serenity and Dr. Horrible costumes! I’m including some picts of some of contestants here (and one that I just had to add in).
1st row of pics : Dr. Horrible aka Charlie Rodriguez, striking a pose; Two-by-two-hands-of-blue aka Tucker and Kristen.
2nd row of pics: Dr. Horrible again with cute little Wash aka Charlie Rodriguez and son, Alex Rodriguez, respectively (they won 1st and 2nd place); and gal in a Jayne hat aka Elisa Rivera that I just had to include because she looked too cute in her Jayne hat. There were also good costumes for Mal, Zoe, River, a Browncoat, and a Companion. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a good shot of the gal dressed as Kaylee, but she was also a crowd favorite. (Look for more pics below article.)
In addition to all these events, they even had goodies to raffle and auction off! It was enough to make any Whedon-fan drool. There were things from autographed headshots to Jayne’s grenade (which I didn’t win) to “The Big Damn Hero Package” which included Whedon-autographed “Serenity” poster, Whedon-doodled in “Serenity: The Visual Guide, and various other Whedon-signed items. There was even a caricature artist who could depict you in a Serenity themed drawing! The following day, CSTS also held a musical showcase featuring local bands with strong female leads.
This is a great event and I hope that you guys will check out their site to see what your local chapter has in store for you. It’s all for a great cause and great fun for even beginner Whedon-people!
[Source] Can’t Stop the Serenity
