Sorry Lioness, I'm a month too late to reply...
I've updated the event website with some photos and acknowledgements:
http://mightyfineshindig.blogspot.com/Here's a write up from an attendee:
A few months ago, it became known to those in the Firefly community, that the Londinium Browncoats, who organised ‘Can’t Stop the Serenity 2013’ were not going to run another event this year. Whilst most of us saw this as the next biggest loss since a certain Hawaiian-shirted, dino-loving friend, one man saw it as an opportunity. An opportunity to create a whole new level of charity screening fun! That man was Mark Madeley.
It was at the aforementioned CSTS ‘13 that I first met Mark (along with a few other now well-known faces) and my LOTNA journey began! It’s hard to believe that a whole year has gone by, and there was no nicer way to commemorate that than with CSTS ‘14!
Where to begin? Well, when I first walked in (or if any of you saw my costume, limped in) I was greeted by the wonderful Sue ‘Loki’ Griffiths and her station of stamps. If there’s one thing that excites a group of Browncoats more that the show itself, it’s getting to choose which dinosaur stamp you want. Upon entering the beautifully transformed ‘Mad Hatter’, the silent auction table immediately caught my eye! Manned by the lovely Amelia Osborn, this was something I’d never seen at a CSTS event before. It was an amazing way of raising some more money for Equality Now. Amongst the items were signed prints and artwork, the Firefly board game, an autograph from Joss Whedon himself (bequeathed to Dave Baseley at the Guardians of the Galaxy premiere), as well as signed CDs from Big Damn Heroes, Prince Charles Cinema tickets, and lots more things that have escaped my mind. I’m sad to say that I didn’t bid on a single item (apparently paying rent is important these days *tuh*). Instead I opted for the raffle ticket route (thanks Dad!). We were lucky enough to win the final draw, and went away very happy campers with a signed copy of the BDH album.
That wasn’t the only way to get your hands on some amazing goodies though. Our very own Mark Doney was in charge of this year’s costume competition. A time honoured tradition which seems to get more and more impressive each year; the costume competition boasts some interesting outfits! We were treated to a parade of Cap’n Mals, Wash’s (and even a fairly beaten looking Fox Executive!) Despite all of the amazing efforts of the costumes, none could beat the (in my opinion) very deserving winners Rhiannon and Stephanie for their beautiful Fruity Oaty Bars. Although they did have to share the Jayne hat prize, I’m sure they were thrilled with their win all the same!
In between all this goody-grabbing fun, we did of course have a few screenings to keep us entertained too! First up was the always welcome showing of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Although there wasn’t too much sing-alonging happening, the constant laughter erupting from the audience was definitely a sign that much fun was being had. Of course the famous ‘hammer’ line was enjoyed by all (except perhaps Billy buddy). But the thing that always makes me smile is the camaraderie that we all feel when we wave our arms in unison to ‘Everyone’s A Hero’!
We also had the viewing of Serenity itself. It’s fair to say that there were a few tears around the room when a certain leaf stopped soaring. However, even that couldn’t dampen our spirits for too long. Not when the inevitable betrayal of technical difficulties plagued us for a while! We thought we’d never get to see the Big Damn Heroes videos, but we were lucky enough to have Dave Baseley and Lee Dawson around to save the day. Not once, not twice, but three times Lee went home to fix different aspects of the technical side to CSTS ‘14. It was all worth it though!
It was now time to say goodbye to another year’s CSTS. A few thank you’s were given out to Mark D, Sue, Bianca, Amelia, Dave and Lee. As well as Mark M himself, who had a vision and made it happen! I’d like to add my personal thanks to all of these guys too, as well as anyone else who helped make this happen. It was a wonderful day, and not a single person I spoke to had a bad word to say about it. The best thing for me this year though wasn’t seeing the films, or browsing the auction. Heck, it wasn’t even coming second in the costume competition! The best thing for me was the people. I met some great new people this year, as well as hanging out with some friendly faces from LOTNA. I also saw friends from cons I hadn’t seen in months (a lovely surprise). I even managed to get my best friend, a fandom newbie, to come along and experience this part of our lives. Because that’s what I think this is. It’s not just a hobby we all have, or a like we all share. Firefly is a part of our lives, and I for one am very glad that I get to share it with you. Keep Flyin’ and Live Long and Prosper...oh wait, that’s a different show...never mind!
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