Aug
15
Austin Browncoats 2 Year Anniversary
Posted in: Austin Browncoats on August 15th, 2009
Hi Browncoats!
Today marks the Second Anniversary of our Incorporation as a Non-Profit Corporation in the State of Texas. On July 17th, 2007, we started down the path to try to save the world, one shindig at a time. I’m not sure any of us knew where we were headed, but I am certain that all of us Austin Browncoats are excited to see our progress over these last two years!
In 2008, one of our goals was to grow our name and reputation, by attending more fan driven events. In 2009, we’ve extended that goal to include growing our name and reputation by increasing our product line, as well as expanding our available products to include similar genre properties. We’ve seen a lot of success by including Dr. Horrible, Stargate, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and BSG merchandise on our “shelves”. The best part – we’re catching the attention of Dr. Horrible, Stargate, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and BSG fans who might not already be fans of Firefly/Serenity, or at least familiar with all the available products!
2009 has been a busy year for us so far! On January 3rd, we launched Whedon Wares, www.whedonwares.com, a one-stop shop for all kinds of Whedon-based goodies, including some Austin Browncoats exclusive items, such as Steve Anderson’s Can’t Stop The Serenity Art Print. January also introduced us (in person) to a lifelong friendship with our now Webmaster, Kazia. She volunteered for Dallas Comic Con, her first event Austin Browncoat event, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. And who can forget Iron Browncoat – Match 4 (Bacon) in which our contestants had to make a dessert, with bacon as the primary ingredient. We had a guest judge drive in all the way from Dallas to help crown Jenn the victor! Her sugar glazed bacon was the perfect combination of sweet and savory.
February was just as busy and eventful as January! We attended a new anime convention, Ikkicon, and met a number of new friends, including Kathy, an amazing knitter. We also went to see Fanboys, a movie written by Ernie Cline, our Geekstravaganza 2007 Talent Contest Winner! Geeks have to stand together! On February 13th, 4.7 million viewers turned on their televisions to watch the Dollhouse premiere, a show created, written, directed and produced by Joss Whedon. On Valentine’s Day, we got together for our annual Love Bites Sing-Along – nothing says lovin’ like 80′s power ballads! On the 15th, we tried another BBQ joint in Lockhart, Texas called Chisholm Trail. We were pleasantly surprised by its tasty food and comfortable atmosphere. That Saturday, we gathered at Applebee’s on N IH 35 and ate pancakes for charity! The event was a huge success, helping us collect over 100 children’s books, as well as $500 for charity.
March saw the introduction of a new event, Browncoats Dining Out. It seems that almost all the Browncoats we meet are foodies just like us! So, why not try a new (or new to us) restaurant once a month and continue to grow our palettes in preparation for Iron Browncoat? The first restaurant on the list was Titaya’s Thai Cuisine, which did not disappoint. March was an important month for us, because this marked our first full year of attending conventions all over the country! We had the pleasure to attending our favorite Dallas convention for the second year in a row, All-Con. It’s was a roaring success and we’re so very grateful for all the continued support the All-Con staff offers us. Another new event that was introduced in March? Bloody Good – Blood Donation! We teamed up with the MEETin Austin group and, all together, brought 11 people into the Blood and Tissue Center to donate blood. We’ll continue to do this every two months and look forward to seeing new people add to our growing list of donors!
April started with a lovely dinner at a new Ethiopian restaurant, Karibu Ethiopian Restaurant and Bar. The food was delicious and the prices were reasonable. Then, on April 4th and 5th, the Austin Browncoats took Scarborough Faire by storm! We dressed as belly dancers and barbarians and ate enough great food to feed the entire House of Bourbon! On the 8th, we were blessed with a visitor from across the pond, Wendy from the podcast Sending a Wave – an Austin Browncoat favorite! She held a round table discussion about all kinds of fun topics, which can be found here: http://sendingawave.wordpress.com/. That Friday, we got together to celebrate another passion of ours, baseball! We watched the Round Rock Express at the Dell Diamond, and enjoyed some after-game fireworks, too! Then, the Austin Browncoats traveled to Florida to attend FX International, where we met lots of new friends, got to hang out with old friends, and talked to our favorite mechanic, Jewel, and our favorite Companion, Morena. They were lovely, as ever, and donated and signed a number of items for our charity. We got to show Jewel her finished Kaylee beanie, a Ma Cobb Creation, as well, in which she exclaimed, “Can I keep this!” On the 20th, we had a Browncoats at Disney World adventure, meeting up to take Disney Studios by storm!
May started off quickly, with Scarborough weekend leading right into First Sunday and our next Iron Browncoat Match. May 3rd was one of the busiest days we’ve had in a long time! We had about 20 people show up for First Sunday, as well as 4 contestants for Iron Browncoat – Southern. The Southern Match was our most labor intensive to date. Contestants had to make an entire Southern meal from drink to dessert. The day ended in a tie, but really, everyone was a winner! May saw the release of an incredibly important movie for all geeks alike: Star Trek XI. Austin Browncoats got together to watch it at the IMAX and were blown away by the scope, magnitude and sheer awesomeness of what J.J. Abrams created. Our next Browncoats Dining Out event took up to Clay Pit, a popular Indian restaurant in Downtown Austin. We were underwhelmed by their offerings, so we’re still in search for the best Indian food in town! May 17th was a special day for all of us! Geekstravaganza, www.geekstravaganza.com, at Buffalo Billiards was a roaring success! We had Marian Call regaling us in song, numerous contestants for the Talent Show, Costume Contest, Geek SAT’s and Air Combat, an Austin Browncoat creation. We made $500 for SafePlace and raised awareness, thanks to our 50 amazingly supporting attendees. We’re anxious to start planning Geekstravanganza 2010! May was also a sad month for us Austin Browncoats, because on May 19th we had to say goodbye to our Vice Chair, Ryan. He joined the Army National Guard and had to ship off to Basic Training and AIT. He’ll be home in September, though, and we’ll put him back to work! At the end of May, we gathered all of our Whedon Wares goodies and headed to Dallas to the largest convention in Texas, A-Kon, which is a very popular anime convention. We were extremely successful at this event and definitely plan on attending for a third year in 2010.
June is always a crazy month for us Browncoats because it means the start of our Can’t Stop The Serenity events! We started a new event called Browncoats Working Out, in which a Browncoat can post a workout session of any kind and invite folks to attend. We believe in the healthy mind, healthy body, better living mentality, and we support one another as we try to stay healthier. If you need a workout buddy, Browncoats Working Out is a great place to find the support you need! June’s First Sunday was special because we put together a care package for Ryan and celebrated Joss Whedon birthday, albeit a little early. But really, is it ever too early for cupcakes? We had another monthly Karaoke get-together at Austin Karaoke and said hello to a new attendee, Dave, who is the man behind San-Japan in San Antonio. On the 14th, we got together to sing ABBA songs as we watched Mamma Mia! The 20th was an exciting day for our member Rick of Designs by Talon. Four Austin Browncoats were in a fashion show wearing Rick’s designs. Frank, another Austin Browncoat, took numerous fashion photos of the outfits. June 28th was a magical day. We hosted three Can’t Stop The Serenity (CSTS) screenings at 12PM, 5PM and 10PM. This went so smoothly, that the events manager at Alamo said we are welcome back any time because we’re a pleasure to work with. The servers even told me that Browncoats tip the best out of any other “fan group” they’ve ever dealt with! After an amazing day of making money for charity, we ended up making $19,500.00 for Equality Now and Kids Need To Read. We are so impressed with the continued support and generosity of our fellow Browncoats. It is staggering and awe-inspiring.
July’s First Sunday was also a birthday celebration for Ryan, our Vice Chair. We welcomed to new faces to our gatherings, including a girl we nicknamed “Suspenders” who went to all five CSTS screenings in Austin and San Antonio. Now that’s dedication! On the 6th, we went to Gino’s Italian Restaurant for Browncoats Dining Out. We’re still on the lookout for the best Italian food in Austin, but we’re one step closer. A few days later, we got together to see Grease on the big screen and ended up performing live action style in front of a full theatre of patrons. We danced, sang and had a blast! July 12th was the first ever CSTS event in San Antonio and not only was it successful to the tune of $6000, but it established a new relationship between Austin and San Antonio Browncoats that I hope will continue to flourish throughout the years. Last night, we got together to celebrate our Second Anniversary by singing into the night at Austin Karaoke. And, of course, we ended the night by group-singing Bohemian Rhapsody, because no one person should sing that song, other than our dear departed Freddie Mercury.
And now, here we are. It’s July 17th and we’ve been raising money for charity for 2 years as of today. What an amazing feeling to know that we’ve already accomplished so much – and this is only the beginning!
We want to personally thank each and everyone of you for supporting us through the years. We couldn’t do anything without all of the overwhelming volunteer support we’ve had, and we look forward to continue to see new faces at every event. Speaking of new faces, I’d like to remind all of our new members about our Meet and Greet section. When you get a chance, introduce yourself so we all get to know one another: http://austinbrowncoats.com/forum/index.php?board=58.0.
We are the luckiest folks in the world because we have the best Browncoats in the ‘verse right here, at our side, working to do what we can to save the world, one shindig at a time. What more can you ask for?
Thank you for everything you do and keep shiny,
Beth
Austin Browncoats
Comments
Reply to this wave
You must be logged in to post a comment.