Hello fellow Browncoats!
This year’s event is shaping up to be a uniquely fun experience. Our beautiful new venue offers the most relaxed environment we’ve ever had, as well as more flexibility in pacing than any mainstream theater would be able to provide. With this in mind, we’ve designed a show that we hope will fit everyone’s schedule. It’ll be just us in the building for the entire day, and our timeline of events includes a generous break in the middle for lunch.
In years past, we’ve been limited to a set arrival time for everyone, and a single menu from which to order over the course of a long day. We’ve also always had a food and beverage sales minimum we’ve been contracted to meet, with any unmet minimum coming directly out of the charity proceeds. This year we’ll be able to admit guests as they arrive – meaning if you really only want to see Serenity, you may choose to arrive in the middle of the day and we’ll have someone on the door.
We also have not just one but several nearby places to grab lunch during the break. The variety of options should fit any budget, and those wanting to do take out or packed lunches are welcome to bring food into the theater. Although we’ve had to raise the ticket prices a bit to cover the increased rent, we hope that this arrangement will result in savings for those who’d rather not pay $10 for a burger, as well as limiting the overall cost of the event by eliminating the food and beverage minimums. The Lakewood will also have popcorn and nachos available for munchies, and two bars serving beverages. They’ve been incredibly generous to us, giving us an incredible discount on rent for the charity, and we want them to want us back next year, so we do encourage you to support the theater as much as possible!
Here’s our official schedule for this year’s event:
12:00 Doors open
1:00 Opening remarks/first contest
1:30 Dr. Horrible
2:15 Evil laugh contest
2:30 LUNCH BREAK (see map)
3:45 Costume contest
4:00 Hero of Canton (record breaking attempt!)
4:30 Serenity
6:30 Raffle
7:00 Auctions
All times are subject to a little variation! Once the show starts we’ll just flow with it, but we’ll do our best to start the films on schedule. It might be prudent to be a little early if you don’t want to miss the beginning of the movies.
We do still encourage you to pre-order your tickets and t-shirts if at all possible. While we have no service minimums to meet this year, we do have quite a bit more rent to pay, and we have to make sure we have that before we can buy any cool merchandise for raffle or auction. Pre-sales are increasing as we get closer, but time to order swag over the internet is rapidly running out. And as always, if you have an item for donation, please let us know ahead of time, it helps immensely in deciding how best to use it. The deadline for pre-ordering t-shirts is Sunday July 28th! Due to low sales this year, it’s looking unlikely that we’ll be printing any extra shirts to be sold at the event, so order now and don’t miss out!
CSTS screening event
Sunday, August 11th
Lakewood Theater (map)
1825 Abrams Parkway
Dallas, TX 75214
Music Showcase
Sunday, August 18th
The Grotto (map)
517 University Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76107
No doubt most of you are aware of the murder of six year old Alanna Gallagher earlier this month. What you may not be aware of is that Alanna was one of our own; her family have been among our most loyal CSTS supporters during my tenure as organizer. The Gallaghers are part of our Browncoat family, enduring something that no family should ever have to go through. We extend our deepest condolences to them, and ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time.
Thanks for your continued support!
Your CSTS team,
bandobuggered@gmail.com
northtexasbrowncoats@gmail.com
