On the move

Please bear with us as we move off of the donated server space we’ve been living at for the past few years and stepping out on our own. Some shiny Alberta Browncoats are working on a new design for the site. We’re also working to improve your shopping experience and adding forums.

Spread the word: If you arrived here from a link on another site, please request the site owner update the link that pointed you off in this direction. Thanks so much.

Please note: Going forward, the cstsedmonton.org domain will also redirect to our main Alberta Browncoats domain (albertabrowncoats.com). You’ll  find all the info you need about both the Alberta Browncoats and our annual Can’t Stop the Serenity event in Edmonton in one convenient location.

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  • Author: numindan »
  • 31 Jan 2012,
  • Categories: News
  •  

Jayne Hat knit-a-thon results

 The Pure Speculation Festival Jayne Hat knit-a-thon was a resounding success! It was a long weekend of cramped fingers and smiling customers. When the knitting needles were put down our volunteer knitter had managed to finish 4 Jayne Hats.

The @ABbrowncoats twitter account shared photos of the hats as they were being produced and we’ve uploaded them to our Facebook Fan page.

Got pictures of the knit-a-thon? Please share. Perhaps you saw Sheelagh madly knitting at the booth, wandering the vendor area (walking and knitting is a special talent), or knitting away during the guest of honour mega-panel? We’d love to receive copies of any photos you may have taken during the event. Forward to info@cstsedmonton.org and we’ll get them online for all to see.

Pledges are being collected and the final total is not yet in. However, when the dust settles and the pledges are in we expect the event to have raised over $400!  These funds will be used to purchase yarn for our volunteer knitting team. With another 100+ hats to complete by March 30, 2012, the funds to purchase more yarn for our volunteers was desperately needed! In April, we’ll be selling the hats at our booth the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. The sale of Jayne hats at our convention booths pay all of the up-front costs for our annual Can’t Stop the Serenity event in Edmonton.

The enthusiasm of the Pure Spec guests and those who supported the event was contagious. We look forward to hosting a knit-a-thon again during Pure Spec 2012.

Prizes
Donors will recall that we promised prizes for online pledges of support. The available prize items include a James Hance “Firefrog” print, Browncoats: Redemption DVD, Tshirts and assorted AB Browncoats goodies.  Prize winners will be announced once all the donations are collected and winners will be contacted via email before we publish their names online.

pledge to the knit-a-thon. win prizes

Want a shot a winning something shiny? Pledge your support for the Jayne Hat knit-a-thon taking place during the Pure Speculation Festival (Nov 18-20, 2011) in Edmonton for a contest entry.

For every dollar pledged in support of the Jayne Hat knit-a-thon, you’ll receive an entry into our prize drawing. Available prize items include a James Hance “Firefrog” print, Browncoats: Redemption DVD, Tshirts and assorted AB Browncoats goodies.

You may pledge a “per hat” donation or a pre-set amount. Once the knit-a-thon is over, you’ll be contacted at your email address with instructions for payment.

To help you decide how much to pledge, our volunteer knitter expects to complete between 3-5 Jayne Hats during convention hours.

** Individuals who pledged support before the contest announcement will automatically be entered in the draw.

  • Comments Off
  • Author: numindan »
  • 14 Nov 2011,
  • Categories: News
  •  

~ Nov 2011 Jayne Hat Knitting Lessons in Edmonton ~

We are looking for people to knit Jayne Hats for us to sell at conventions and Can’t Stop the Serenity (CSTS) events. Proceeds from the hat sales help fund our annual CSTS event in Edmonton each June. Fundraising efforts by the Alberta Browncoats benefit Equality Now, Kids Need to Read, and the Edmonton Youth Emergency Shelter Society.

We will be holding our next Jayne Hat knitting lesson on Saturday, November 12 at The Carrot (9351-118 Ave in Edmonton) from 12:30 – 3:30 pm.

Yarn and Jayne Hat patterns will be provided to knitters but you MUST sign-up for the lesson by Thursday, Nov 9 so we can ensure we have sufficient yarn on hand for our knitting volunteers. To sign up, simply send an email to info@cstsedmonton.org and let us know to expect you.

Those who don’t sign up for the lesson in advance are welcome to drop in, but may not be provided yarn if we do not have enough on hand.

Size 10 or 11 (US) knitting needles will be required. These can be usually be obtained from any crafting or knitting store, such as Urban Knitters, River City Yarns, Michaels, Zellers or WalMart.

Note: It is easier to learn to knit Jayne Hats on circular needles. Needles with a 16-20″ loop are ideal. If you are only able to find larger loops, our instructors can teach you to use the magic loop method for circular knitting.

Have friends or family members who knit? Experienced knitters are also welcome to join.

This is a great time to pledge hats to our knitting contest. Email info@cstsedmonton.org and indicate your name, preferred contact (email is fine), how many hats you thinks you can knit between September 2011 and March 2012 (your pledge). Indicate whether or not you’ll need us to provide yarn and the pattern and we’ll make arrangements to get the yarn to you. This will help us track hats & yarn budgets. Knitters who meet their pledges* will be entered into a draw for prizes such as signed artwork, DVDs, and ‘verse themed dice bags.

*All hats must be delivered by March 30th, 2012 for contest entry.

Jayne Hat Knit-A-Thon

Our dear friends, the Austin Browncoats, have a wonderful idea that we fully intend to swipe capitalize on. For the past few years they have run a Jayne Hat Knit-A-Thon as part of their Dragon*Con convention booth.

This year, we’ll be taking a page from their fundraising book and holding our own convention Jayne Hat knit-a-thons. The first will take place Nov 18-20 during the Pure Speculation Festival (aka Pure Spec) and will be used to raise the necessary funds to purchase yarn for our volunteer knitters. The Alberta Browncoat knitters are working their fingers to the bones making 225+ Jayne Hats to sell at conventions and the Can’t Stop the Serenity event this year. We provide yarn free to knitters who request it. At a cost of approximately $8 per hat, those yarn costs add up quickly!

Thanks to some generous donors, we’ve managed to obtain enough yarn to create the first 60 hats. We still need to purchase yarn for the remaining 160+ hats to be made.

The Plan
A volunteer knitter has stepped up to the plate.  At our booth at Pure Spec we’ll be collecting donations and pledges for our yarn fund. Donors may make a “per hat” pledge or throw some cashy money into the donation jar. Projected completed hats over the weekend is expected to be between 2 & 5 hats as our knitter is A) novice & B) currently the only one manning our booth all weekend so may need to stop knitting occasionally to sell stuffs…

How you can help
1. Drop some cashy monies in the donation jar at our booth.
2. Make a per hat pledge (e.g. “I’ll donate $$ for each hat completed”) using this form.
3. Click the “Donate” button on our Tickets & Goodies page and make a one-time donation.
4. Tell your friends. Share this link via email, facebook, blog about it. Sing. Dance. Tell the world!

Not attending Pure Spec?
Don’t fear, you can still donate to the cause by registering a pledge. Once the knit-a-thon is complete, we’ll contact you with your pledge total and you send us your cashy monies via PayPal.

“Jayne hats” or “cunning hats” are hats modeled after a hat Adam Baldwin (Jayne Cobb) wore in the (orginally unaired) episode of Firefly titled “The Message“. The hat was lovingly made by Ma Cobb and sent to Jayne via post. The hats are a major fundraiser for the Alberta Browncoats and go a long way to helping us reach our phenomenal charitable donation totals ($3773 in 2010, $7320 in 2011). The proceeds from our Jayne Hats help pay all upfront costs for the annual Edmonton Can’t Stop the Serenity (CSTS) event and remaining profits from sales are split between Equality Now and the Youth Emergency Shelter Society.

CSTS 2012 – Global Art Design Contest Voting

The call went out. The submissions were received. Now it’s time to have your say.

Voting has opened for the 2012 global design for Can’t Stop the Serenity promotional materials.  The winning design is made into Tshirts, posters, and all manner of publicity.

Voting closes on 1 November 2011 at 11:59 PM PST.

Please respect the “only vote once” item and spread the word.

~ Jayne Hat Knitting Lessons in Edmonton ~

Live in Edmonton?

Interested in helping the Alberta Browncoats with their annual fundraising efforts?

We are looking for people to knit Jayne Hats for us to sell at conventions and Can’t Stop the Serenity (CSTS) events. Proceeds from the hat sales help fund our annual CSTS event in Edmonton each June. Fundraising efforts by the Alberta Browncoats benefit Equality Now, Kids Need to Read, and the Edmonton Youth Emergency Shelter Society.

We will be holding our first Jayne Hat knitting lesson on Thursday, August 25th at The Carrot (9351-118 Ave in Edmonton). Exact start time of lesson TBD, but will take place in the evening after 6:00pm.

A second knitting lesson will be held on Saturday, September 17, 2011 from 1 – 3pm. This lesson is also being held at The Carrot.

Yarn and Jayne Hat patterns will be provided to knitters but you MUST sign-up for the lesson 2 days before (by Tuesday, August 23rd and/or Thursday, September 15th) so we can ensure we have sufficient yarn on hand for our knitting volunteers. Those who don’t sign up for the lesson in advance are welcome to drop in, but may not be provided yarn if we do not have enough on hand.

Size 10 or 11 (US) knitting needles will be required. These can be usually be obtained from any crafting or knitting store, such as Urban Knitters, River City Yarns, Michaels, Zellers or WalMart.

Note: It is easier to learn to knit Jayne Hats on circular needles. Needles with a 16-20″ loop are ideal. If you are only able to find larger loops, our instructors can teach you to use the magic loop method for circular knitting.

To sign up, send an email to info@cstsedmonton.org indicating which lesson you plan to attend. Should you choose to attend both please let us know in your reply.

Have friends or family members who knit? Experienced knitters are also welcome to join.

This is a great time to pledge hats to our knitting contest. Email info@cstsedmonton.org and indicate your name, preferred contact (email is fine), how many hats you thinks you can knit between September 2011 and March 2012 (your pledge). Indicate whether or not you’ll need us to provide yarn and the pattern and we’ll make arrangements to get the yarn to you. This will help us track hats & yarn budgets. Knitters who meet their pledges* will be entered into a draw for prizes such as signed artwork, DVDs, and ‘verse themed dice bags.

*All hats must be delivered by March 30th, 2012 for contest entry.

Giant Shiny Announcement: New AB Browncoats Sponsor

We are very excited to announce that the most awesome Lyndsay of Dragon Chow Dice Bags is sponsoring the Alberta Browncoats! $5 from every Serenity logo flat bottomed dice bag is being donated to our non-profit society. Get yours at dragonchow.com and don’t forget to say thanks to Lyndsay on her shiny sponsorship (@GeekyLyndsay on twitter).

Each Dragon Chow Dice Bag is handmade in Canada to be fully flat bottomed and reversible, so that they stand sturdily on the gaming table and will not tip your dice. Each standard dice bag is roughly five inches tall, and four inches across on each side. This allows each bag to hold a generous helping of dice while opening wide enough that they are easily accessed while you’re gaming.

Not a gamer but still want to support us? No worries. Dragon Chow dice bags are awesome and have a million and one uses. They are perfect for storing golf bits & bobs, knitting notions, coin purses, hobby & craft item storage, and, of course, dice!

UPDATE: Dragon Chow Dice Bags has added the Firefly Characters bag to the items supporting the Alberta Browncoats Society. As with the Serenity logo bags, 5$ from each sale will benefit our non-profit organization.

We may be small but we are mighty!

Are you sitting down? You really should be!

The final numbers for Edmonton’s CSTS are in.

Total Raised: $7320.71

Disbursements:

 

This year we saw a 35 % increase in attendance and nearly doubled last year’s total of $3773! In two years we’ve raised $11093.

Thank you so much to our 2011 Sponsors:

 

Special thanks to Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, cast of The Guild, James Hance, and Erin Gray for making our auction extra special this year.

To our auction donors, volunteers, knitters, and all attendees, we could not have done it with out you

And finally, thank you Alberta Browncoats for being a part of this shiny event. We are looking forward to CSTS 2012.

Tentative Schedule of Day’s Events

12:00 Doors Open to public / Tshirt pickup / Silent Auction viewing
12:30 Dr. Horrible (45 mins)
13:20 Costume Contest
13:40 Speeches /CSTS Intro Videos /Tribute Video
14:05 Serenity (2 hrs)
16:15 Live Auction (8 shiny items up for grabs)
16:30 Silent Auction Last Call
16:45 Silent Auction Results & Payment

Please note: You do have to be on site to pick-up and pay for your auction items. We will have a portable debit machine on hand to accept payments via debit or credit and will also happily accept cashy monies.

Auction Item Preview

A number of our auction items are available for pre-viewing in our CSTS 2011 Auction Items album on our Facebook page.

Items up for auction this year include (but are not limited to):

  • original artwork,
  • autographed posters, comics, CDs and DVDs,
  • autographed books
  • wobbly pops
  • swords and plaques
  • gift certificates
  • terrify’n Jayne monkies

 

Thanks to our sponsor, Happy Harbor Comics, we will be able to accept debit and credit card payments for auction items, t-shirts and Jayne Hats. Of course, we’ll also happily accept cashy monies.

Yesterday, Toronto’s CSTS reported in that they had raised $7900 at their event. Our goal this year is to raise $5000, beating last year’s goal by $1300. We hope you’ll be able to help us make our goal a reality.

Thank you to everyone who is planning to attend. We’re so excited to be able to host this event.

With a little help from our friends

The Alberta Browncoats are thrilled to announce the return of a number of event sponsors in 2011. Partnerships with local businesses and community organizations go a long way to ensuring our event is successful each year. From advice through to financial support, we are blessed to have an ever evolving relationship with each of these groups.

Happy Harbor Comics 

Everyone in Edmonton knows that Happy Harbor is a supporter fabulous geeky events, roller derby, and CSTS 2010. They’ve got a hand in just about every shiny comics, sci-fi, and geek-tastic event held in Edmonton. It means the ‘verse to us that they’ve once again stepped up to the plate and been willing to associate their good name with our great cause.

What this means for you is that, when the time comes to purchase your tickets, you have the option of buying them online (here) or purchasing them in person from one of Happy Harbor’s two locations across the city.

Vol.1: 12226 – Jasper Ave, Edmonton
Vol.2: 180 Manning Crossing, Edmonton

Yardstick Software

Yardstick Software is Canada’s leading provider of professional testing and online training systems. The Yardstick training and testing platform is a highly customizable web application used by corporations to deliver employee training and as well, the platform is utilized by associations and licensing organization to deliver high stakes, license exams.

Christie Communications

Christie Communications’ niche in the multimedia marketplace is to develop highly interactive, media rich, intensely tested programs. Their main areas of service are Interactive Design, eLearning Creation, Learner Management Systems, 3D Immersive Development, and Media Production.

The team at Christie Communications are heavily involved in the community and do good (or misbehave) in ways that make us all proud to be associated with them.

The Canadian Historical Arms Society (CHAS)

CHAS was founded in 1967 by a group of individuals interested in the collection, preservation, and application of all categories of arms, from bayonet and Samurai swords, antique and modern military arms and accoutrements to black powder muzzleloaders. CHAS members are of diverse ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities. Club members include everyone from students, homemakers, farmers, and Armed Forces members to realtors, teachers, doctors, and accountants.

Up Yer Kilt Scottish Gifts

The proprietors of Up Yer Kilt Scottish Gifts are well known in the Alberta Scottish community as friendly and generous individuals who are always willing to lend a helping hand. It doesn’t hurt that they also sell chanters, pointy sticks (knives & swords), and various other bits of Scottish regalia both online and at Highland Games across the province.

We’re also happy to welcome aboard new sponsors in 2011, Indulgent Interludes and Once Upon a Cupcake. (Mini-profiles to be updated soon…)

Auction Item: Serenity Logo Painting

Those of you who attended CSTS 2010 in Edmonton will remember the shiny Jayne Hat keychains we had available for sale. The keychains were made by one of our favourite Browncoats, Natalie Dempsey. This year, in addition to her awesome hats (keychain and large sizes this year), Natalie is donating beautiful Serenity logo paintings to our auction.

You can learn more about Natalie and her work on her website: Leaf On The Wind.

2011 Global Design Tshirts & Hoodies Available for Pre-order

First off, we’d like to apologize for the crazy short time span you have to order your Global design shirts and hoodies. Unfortunately, in order to ensure that the shirts are on hand at the event on June 25th, we need to place our order on May 7th, 2011. This means that all pre-orders must be made on or before midnight on May 6th, 2011. We realize that this deadline doesn’t allow much time to place your order, but we do hope you’ll do so. The proceeds of the shirt and hoodie orders are added to the total donation amounts for our charity event.

Because we’re a non-profit organization, we do not have the means to pre-order a large number of shirts hoping that someone will buy them on the day of the event. So, if you’re interested in getting your hands on a shiny, global CSTS logo shirt for 2011, please pre-order today!

** Shirts will be available for pick-up at the event on June 25th. Please bring your ID or a copy of your PayPal confirmation letter to collect yours. **

Shirts can be ordered from the Tickets & Goodies page of our website. While you’re there, don’t forget to pre-order your event tickets!

2011 Event Tickets Now Available

CSTS Edmonton is back for 2011! This year, we hope to make it even shinier than last year! Check back for exciting news and information as it unfolds!

This year, our local charity partner is the Youth Emergency Shelter Society (YESS). Just like last year, we will also have a separate auction with items table set aside to raise funds for Kids Need to Read. The remaining 75% of all event proceeds will be donated to Equality Now to support women’s human rights!

Tickets are 15$. This includes 2 screenings – one being the Big Damn Movie of course – a grab bag, and Whedonverse costume contest.

Tickets are now on sale (online only at this time) for 2011. Tickets will be available for in-person purchase at Happy Harbor Comics (vol 1 & 2) in mid-May and at the Alberta Browncoats booth at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo June 17-19.

If we have any tickets remaining, they will be available for purchase at the door.

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  • Alberta Browncoats Society

  • Alberta Browncoats Society

  • Website: cstsedmonton.org
  • Welcome to the home of the Alberta Browncoats Society. The Alberta Browncoats are the current organizers of the Edmonton Can't Stop the Serenity event. Can't Stop The Serenity is a global series of screenings of the film Serenity, held to raise money and awareness for Equality Now, an international women's rights advocacy group. Can't Stop The Serenity events are held on (or around) June 23, which is writer / director Joss Whedon's birthday, through the Serenity Release Anniversary, September 30.