Pittsburgh is one of the cities that has held a CSTS screening every year since it all started back in 2006 and they are rightly very proud of this fact.
This year their event is going to be held on Saturday, July 30 at the historic Hollywood Theater in Dormont, PA (which is featured in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” during the Rocky Horror scenes).
Doors open at 5pm for an evening of games, raffles and live entertainment, topped off with a showing of “Serenity” on the big screen at 7pm. Admission to the event itself is free, but a minimum $10 donation to Equality Now is required for admittance to the film. And of course costumes are encouraged!
The Hollywood Theatre is a classic movie theatre with a balcony and a stage in front of the screen. Attendees can see “Serenity” the way it was originally seen when it debuted back in 2005, and organisers Christopher, Ed, Randy and Michael say that they are determined that Pittsburgh will never have to sit on folding chairs and watch the movie projected on the wall of a bar or fire hall ever again!
Christopher says “My brothers (Randy and Michael) and I are all high school teachers (I’ve been known to use German-language Firefly episodes as part of my AP German curriculum), and Ed works for the government. We’ve all been Browncoats for years, and were involved in the PA Browncoats (we call ourselves the Rivers & Bridges Brigade here in Pittsburgh) for a few years before we became the local CSTS crew.
Christopher got involved with organising Pittsburgh’s CSTS events three years ago when the organiser at the time decided to step down and it looked like Pittsburgh may lose its CSTS event. Chrisopher didn’t want to see it fall out of the sky in this town, so he said he’d do it.
“Truth is” says Christopher “I love it. I think it’s a great thing the Browncoats do with CSTS, and it’s an honor being able to plan an annual celebration of Firefly and Serenity and everything that it means to us while at the same time “doin’ good works” for an organization like Equality Now that helps women who otherwise wouldn’t have anyone championing their cause.
My brothers are both fans of Joss Whedon and his work, so it didn’t take a lot of convincing to get them to come on board. Ed is a longtime friend of the family and one of the most genuine geeks you’ll ever meet. He’s stood by us through a lot of projects and we’ve gone to many a con together, so when we signed on for this venture he was there for us like Zoe would be there for Mal.”
When it comes to their choice of charity Christopher says they are purists and believe that one of the reasons we all do this is to honor Joss. As Equality Now is his charity of choice, it’s the charity that they choose as well so they give 100% of what they bring in to Equality Now.
Check out their Facebook event for more details.
Christopher signs off “We’re just regular folk tryin’ to do good works and have a little fun”. Ain’t they just!
