Category Archives: Equality Now

Great items available in Round Two of our E-Bay Auction

Click here to go to the eBay auctionCSTS2014AuctionR2Promo

The 2nd round of our E-Bay auction is up and running. Once again the New Melbourne Browncoats and Jen Cummings have been very generous with their donations. There are many collectibles here including some you have probably seen nowhere else.

  • “Buffy” photo print signed by artist Georges Jeanty
  • Rare Firefly Official Promo Digital Watch
  • Screen Writing Expo Seminar DVD: Tim Minear, Breaking the Story
  • Star Trek Memorabilia Collection
  • Replica Alliance bank note signed by 5 Serenity/Firefly cast/crew
  • Firefly/Serenity Memorabilia Collection including a Serenity “Jayne” promotional postcard. These were produced in the UK for the theatrical release of Serenity in 2005 and are very hard to find.
  • Firefly “First in Line” fan Tshirt T-shirt
  • Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 2 Australian Theatrical Poster
  • LOTR Legolas Art Print signed by Orlando Bloom
  • Marvel’s Avengers Theatrical Movie Poster
  • Dollhouse Promotional Poster (Eliza Dusku)
  • The Guild “Codex” Photo Print Signed by Artist Georges Jeanty
  • Please bid generously – all profits go to support the work of Equality Now

    Click here to go to the eBay auction

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Last But Hardly Least

This coming week sees the final events of the CSTS season but what a finish it is!

The Browncoats of Tampa, FL are having their first ever Can’t Stop The Serenity screening on Sunday Oct. 12. Entry is by donation so give generously but be sure to save some money for the raffle which has an astonishing number of truly shiny items. Everything from the Firefly Car air fresheners to the new Firefly Clue Game with Tshirts and actions figures in between. There will be tough trivia, Board Games, an RPG game scenario demo and of course, a screening of Serenity.

Salt Lake City is back with their Serenity Screening. Accompanying the BDM will be several fan films, including ‘Operation Night Watch’,& ‘The Verse’ by Julian Higgins.… Read more…

CSTS 10th Year!

Did you know that 2015 will be the 10th year of Can’t Stop the Serenity? We’ve got some ideas on how to celebrate, but we’d love to hear your thoughts! What would you like to see included in next year’s celebrations?

We want to raise the profile of both CSTS and Equality Now. We want to raise even more money for all the wonderful charities we’ve been supporting.

So how do we do it? You tell us. Go big! Go wild! While we probably can’t have a sequel to Serenity, there’s no harm in hoping.

Not near a CSTS event? What can we do for you to help you celebrate? (Besides encouraging you to run an event yourself!)

Send your ideas and questions to info@cantstoptheserenity.com, post on our Facebook page or send your thoughts via Twitter using the hashtag #CSTS10.… Read more…

Four very Different Events

The weekend of Sept. 13-14 sees a wide assortment of CSTS events. Montreal is back with its first event since 2006 and it promises to be worth the wait! It is happening within Montreal Comic-Con so if you weren’t going to attend, you might want to think again! Tickets are only $10.00 to get in CSTS Montreal but you do need to be attending Montreal Comic Con already. There will be a showing of Serenity, a costume contest, prizes for trivia, an auction, Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog and a few special things for sale.

The Beeston Browncoats can always be counted on to run a fun Affiliate event.This year they even have their event on the same day that SyFYUK is showing Serenity. Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe SyFyUK recognizes the perfect time to show the film!… Read more…

Why Can’t Stop The Serenity, Part IV

Peepiecheep answers the question.

On July 6th this year, a team of dedicated volunteers ran a Can’t Stop the Serenity event in Leicester, UK. It was the first time since 2008 that an event had been held in the city. Last time we raised over $300 for Equality Now, this year we raised 4 times as much, both for EN and for our local women’s aid charity. It’s hard work, and it takes up a lot of our spare time, but it’s worth it.

Why? Because equality matters.

Equality, and the fight to achieve it for all, is important. For every woman who cannot fight, who finds her life and her choices dictated for her; for every girl who has been denied an education due to her gender; for every pre-teen who has been married off to a man three times her age; for every victim of rape and violence and oppression; we will help fight for them.… Read more…

Three Countries, Three Screenings

The weekend of July 4-6 sees three shiny screenings in Canada, the United States and England.
First up chronologically is Toronto. The Royal Cinema once again plays host to an afternoon of Serenity, door prizes, and an auction full of unique items. Tickets are only $12.00 in advance and $15.00 at the door. The screening will be followed by a shindig at a nearby pub but RSVPs are neccessary for the shindig.

Albuquerque has a very full day planned on Saturday. Besides shiny shopping, raffles, an auction, a shindig, Serenity, catered dinner available for purchase at the theatre, there is also comedy and music! Comedians Drew Wayne and Genevieve Mueller will open the event and Mikey Mason will play right before the dinner break. Costume are encouraged and anyone who buys their ticket in advance gets a Fruity Oaty bar and other shiny swag!… Read more…

Make the World a Better Place (and Have Fun Doing It)

Morgan B, age 12 wrote this essay for school. We think you will be in awe at this young woman’s grasp of what is important.

We all know that sometimes terrible things happen in the world, but did you know that in many countries women have almost no rights? In places like Yemen, Sudan, and Pakistan, young girls may be beaten, married, or even sentenced to death by their own families with few or no legal consequences. However, human rights organizations like Equality Now are working to change that. Can’t Stop The Serenity is a series of movie screenings held annually to benefit Equality Now. Serenity is a Sci-fi movie created by Joss Whedon, so if you are a Whedon fan and care about women’s rights, you should definitely come to a CSTS event near you.… Read more…

Why ‘Can’t Stop the Serenity’?

Last May Vancouver Organizer Samatwitch wrote about why Vancouver holds CSTS events each year. Thanks to her for giving us permission to reprint this from their website.

Why do we do this? Why do organisers spend so much time and money for each event? Why do people volunteer, paying for their own tickets to do so? Why do Browncoats – and others – keep coming out to CSTS events?

Partly of course, because the events are fun. Each city is different and has ideas and plans that work for them. A lot of people come out to see Serenity on the big screen or to sing along to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Some people come to spend an afternoon or day with their friends at a fun event – or to bid on an auction item they can’t find anywhere else, especially handmade items.

Read more…

Over $900,000 raised in 8 years

We are very pleased to announced that in 2013 Can’t Stop The Serenity raised $115,420.00 for Equality Now and 20 other charities. This is $5,000 more than in 2012 and brings our total to over $900,000 U.S. over the last 8 years. New cities joined with their events and we had screenings in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Thank you to all our sponsors, organizers, and participants, for contributing to this tremendous success! Whether you bought a Tshirt, donated to an event, bid on an auction, attended a screening or spread the word, we deeply appreciate your commitment and generosity in helping us to support the rights of women and girls worldwide.… Read more…

So Many Reasons

The CSTS Auction raises money for Equality Now. When you bid on an item, you know that the money is going to a very worthy cause.

But that isn’t the only reason to bid on something. How about:

  • Demonstrating to everyone what a Browncoat you are.
  • Proving to someone special that you know what a Browncoat they are.
  • You just happen to have a Portrait of Jayne-sized space on one wall & an equivalent Portrait of Book-sized space on another wall.
  • It’s possible that you plan to pretend the inscription “thank you for your support” on Dichen Lachman’s picture was actually addressed to you.
  • Star Trek still is, and will forever remain, the first S-F show you ever loved.
  • That rare Spike figure will just give you another excuse to go see James Marsters and get it autographed.
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Make Equality Reality

On Monday Nov. 4th, Equality Now is honoring Joss Whedon in an evening event in Los Angeles.

Called Make Equality Reality, the Event Chair is Gloria Steinem and the host is Paul Reiser with a special live performance by two-time Grammy winning singer songwriter Colbie Caillat. It is being billed as an evening of music, film and theatre with special guests including Jada Pinkett Smith and Alyson Hannigan

Joss is a member of the EN Advisory Board and a long time & very vocal supporter of Equality Now’s work. As part of this, Equality Now is asking “What would you do to make gender equality a reality for women & girls everywhere?”… Read more…

Vote on the CSTS charity donation split

We need your vote!

CSTS Global was asked to revisit the question of how much money goes to Equality Now and how much goes to other charities. Currently, at least 75% of all money raised at an event is sent to Equality Now with up to 25% available for other charities. Many cites donate 100% to Equality Now.

There were weeks of discussion on Facebook, twitter, Whedonesque, our website, and our forums.

The question has two choices. You can only vote once although you can change your vote until the poll is closed. You’ve only got until October 12, 2013 at 11:59 PM PST to get your vote counted.

Read more…

Taking over the Weekend

The Rivers and Bridges Brigade of Pennsylvania just can’t let CSTS go! In one last big hurrah, they are having several events at the Pittsburgh Comin Con. They have a CSTS Pittsburgh table on the convention floor at the Monroeville Convention Center all three days, where you can play the “Badger’s Dodgy Dice” game from this year’s Serenity screening to win wicked cool prizes, purchase CSTS 2013 t-shirts, enter a raffle to win one of three great prize baskets and sign up to participate on a team at Sunday morning’s “Hammer vs. Horrible” games.

Immediately following the games on Sunday, they’ll be screening “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” at noon.
Admission to Sunday’s CSTS events is free of charge, but those who wish to attend must purchase admission to the Pittsburgh Comicon.… Read more…

A Busy Busy Weekend

It may be mid-September but Can’t Stop The Serenity shows no sign of slowing down! And in our typical display of Globalism, events are in 3 countries this weekend.

We’ll start with Nowra, Australia. The Shoalhaven Browncoats are back for their 2nd year with doors opening at 5:00 and the event starting at 6:00. There will be food, a best dressed competition, an auction and sales. The Shoalhaven zoo has donated a family pass, a $50.00 item right there & there will be other exciting items. The main features will be Serenity of course as well as Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog.

Speeding around the world, we land at Miami Springs who are holding their first CSTS event although the Organizers are old hands at making CSTS fun.The… Read more…

We need your opinion!

Currently, any Browncoat group that does a CSTS event, whether a full screening or an Affiliate event, donates at least 75% to Equality Now and up to 25% to other registered charities. A few events have expressed a desire to donate more than 25% to other charities. The CSTS Steering Committee and the 2013 Global team recognize that this is a big decision and everyone should be allowed to have their say.

There will be a discussion about this on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, in the CSTS Forums and on the website until the end of Sept at which time there will be a poll for all to vote.

Emotions can run high when it is something important to you, but let’s make sure the conversation stays civil.… Read more…

From one U.S. coast to another with a stop in the U.K. along the way.

The Seattle Browncoats aren’t content with doing a screening. They are doing two on the same day.
On Saturday July 13, the 2:00 matinee also features live entertainment in the form of Firebird’s Children. The “Special Hell” evening screening at 7:00 has pre-movie entertainment from NERDprov, followed by the movie with texting-to-screen Hecklevision available to all cell phones present.

Both screenings offer raffles including one very special prize, a Seattle CSTS tote bag autographed by Nathan Fillion.
The screenings are in a new venue this year, the Central Cinema, which has a full restaurant and bar.
Tickets are selling fast so get yours while you can.

One of our most faithful sponsors, the podcast Sending a Wave is also supporting Equality Now in a more direct fashion by holding an Affilate Event on July 13.… Read more…

We celebrate Joss’s birthday in a big way

When CSTS got started all the events were on or near Joss Whedon’s birthday, June 23. Some cities still hold their events that weekend.

First up on Friday is Lawrence, Kansas who are back with a screening. The ticket price has been lowered to only $8.00 but there is additional content with Felicia Day’s The Guild, Season 1 being shown.

Saturday June 22 has 4 screenings! Pittsburgh is back with their 8th screening. It’s in a new location, Off The Wall Theater in Carnegie, PA. This year they are asking for donations at the door rather than selling tickets in advance and are requesting $5.00 – $10.00. They have 2 silent auctions, games, raffles and of course, Serenity. After 7 previous screenings, you can be sure they know how to have a good time!… Read more…

Join us in supporting Equality Now’s actions against increasing rape and sexual assault in the US Military

We often get asked “What is the point of Can’t Stop the Serenity? I can watch my DVD/Blu-ray of Serenity anytime at home. Why should I support a local event?” We’d like to share our answer with you. By supporting a local Can’t Stop the Serenity event, you are helping to change the world. Now, that might seem like a pretty big claim, but here’s where it’s true. The money which you hand over at a local event for a few hours of entertainment, some merchandise, a few raffle tickets or perhaps to win something cool in an auction goes to support the vital work of Equality Now. And what does Equality Now do with it? They make positive change happen. Often, that change is in places far from your home such preventing child marriage in the Middle East, and protecting the rights of women in Africa and Asia.… Read more…

Did you know your support of Can’t Stop the Serenity helps Equality Now end global and local sex trafficking?

As we launch into another season of Can’t Stop the Serenity, you may find yourself being asked why you attend these events and what your support means. You may even be asking this of yourself. Can’t Stop the Serenity is not just about watching Serenity on the big screen, enjoying the company of Browncoats, and winning prizes is raffles, contests and auctions. It’s much bigger than that.

Being part of Can’t Stop the Serenity – as an organizer, a sponsor or an attendee – means that you are helping to put a stop to violence and discrimination. By using your voice and opening your wallet, you are helping to change the world for the better. For each friend you tell about the work of Equality Now, you are adding a voice to the chorus for change.… Read more…

Over $800,000 raised over 7 Years!

In the 2012 year, Can’t Stop The Serenity raised $110,465.98 for Equality Now and 19 other charities. This brings our total to over $800,000.00 U.S. over the last 7 years. New cities joined the cause and we had events in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States

With Equality Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, we are especially pleased to be able to donate in this banner year.

Thank you to all our sponsors, organizers, and participants, for contributing to this tremendous success!

We deeply appreciate your commitment and generosity in helping us to support the rights of women and girls worldwide.… Read more…

We are having an Auction, starting Nov. 3rd

As the CSTS 2012 season comes to a close, we’ve got one last piece of awesome to share with you. Thanks to a whole host of fantastic Browncoats, we’re excited to announce the 2012 Can’t Stop the Serenity Global Auction! It starts Saturday Nov. 3rd and runs till the following Saturday, Nov. 10th. We’ll announce the URL soon.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the items up for grabs…

  • Jane Espenson donated two shooting scripts for the Firefly episode Shindig which she wrote. Can anyone resist bidding on these? We don’t think so!
  • For Christmas 2008 Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan gave the Buffy crew a fanny pack with the name of the show, Sarah & Alyson’s names and the date embroidered on the pack.
Read more…

Why Sending A Wave Supports CSTS

We asked our sponsors why they support Can’t Stop The Serenity.

Wendy Scott of the UK podcast Sending a Wave answers:

Personally speaking, I think Mal Reynolds pretty much hit the nail on the head when he said “It ain’t about you, Jayne. It’s about what they need” at the end of “Jaynestown” and I believe that the same can apply to CSTS in that it was created to support a charity that truly acts on the global stage bringing issues, distasteful and disturbing, that would normally pass the news agencies by whether it be how women are depicted in video games for the domestic Japanese market to the rape laws of Morocco.
Equality Now continues its work both diligently and tenaciously giving women a voice in countries where they either have none or it is a scared whisper to those whose society ought to know better.… Read more…

Nine Screenings This Weekend!

Happy Birthday Joss Whedon!

To Celebrate Joss’ birthday we have 9 Screening events going on this weekend in three countries.

Saturday, June 23 starts off in Gateshead, U.K. at 10 a.m. with Serenity, an auction and an awesome sale of film posters including Cabin in the Woods and Avengers Assemble before everyone heads to a shindig for more fun including a tough Whedonverse quiz!

Gloucester, UK’s screening is special as they have a couple of speakers from Equality Now. This is Equality Now’s 20th Anniversary so their talk is sure to be interesting! Dr. Horrible is also showing, there is a silent auction and they expect to set up a live link with another CSTS city.

Both UK events will have themed cupcakes!

Across the pond in Canada, Toronto opens their doors at noon.… Read more…

Equality Now’s “When I Speak”

When I Speak was performed at Equality Now’s 20th Anniversary Celebration. It was written by Joss Whedon and performed by three young women who embody just one of the many struggles women and girls face everyday in countries around the world.

It is a stark and moving reminder of why Can’t Stop The Serenity supports Equality Now.

Read more…

Equality Now 20th Anniversary Auction On Now

For the next 2 1/2 weeks, an auction is being held online for Equality Now. Mutant Enemy, aka Joss Whedon, has donated some great items to the auction.


Want to have dinner with Joss in London or LA? Bid on it. The LA dinner comes with a signed Buffy crew sweatshirt. Maybe you’d like to go with three friends to the New York premiere of The Avengers. That auction is over April 20th as the premiere is April 28th.


Today a slate from the Avengers, signed by the cast, was added. Or if you want to freak out guests to your home, you will want the Alien Egg prop from Alien Resurrection.


There are a lot of other great items there too. Breakfast with Tom Brokaw or meet designer Nicole Miller at her showroom in New York City!… Read more…