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Geekstravaganza 2009 Recap

7/14/2009

Geekstravaganza 2009 was, and always will be, a night to remember. It was our first time hosting an event at Buffalo Billiards, and it most definitely will not be our last time. There are so many people we'd like to thank for their support and help in making Geekstravaganza a success - you know who you are!

First off, Buffalo Billiards - thank you for allowing us to use your venue at such a discounted rate. We are truly inspired by your generosity and cool, laid-back style of running your venue.

Marian Call - you are an Angel on the stage. It must be hard when you're traveling cross-country and performing almost every night, but you are a true pro at such a young age. And thank you for singing Happy Birthday to our Vice-Chair, Ryan Campbell.

Ryan Campbell, Chairman of the Geekstravaganza Committee - you put this event together on a shoestring budget and kept cool in the process, knowing the next day, you were leaving for Basic Training. We're so proud of you and everything you accomplished with Geekstravaganza.

To Our Sponsors: Alamo Drafthouse, Funimation, Fan Done, Titan Comics, Dragon's Lair, Capstone Comics and The Simplifiers - you allowed us to give away the shiniest prizes for all of our events and raffle. You made it possible to give everyone the opportunity to take something shiny home. We are so grateful to have sponsors who are continually willing to go above and beyond for us.

We'd also like to thank all of the supportive press outlets, such as KLBJ, News8Austin, Austin Chronicle, for their continued support. You can't stop the signal!

A huge round of applause and exclaimed support goes out to our benefactor for Geekstravaganza 2009, SafePlace. Something us Austin Browncoats feel strongly about is our desire to end violence and discrimination worldwide. Now, this is not an overnight job, nor is it a one-man show. This is something that takes a worldwide effort to do. This is something that takes courage and perseverance to continue to fight a fight that has been going on since, well, seemingly the dawn of humanity. When we first discussed SafePlace as a possible benefactor, it took us less than a second to decide that they were the right place. SafePlace isn't just a shelter, or a quick-fix establishment. They truly believe in education as a huge part of fighting this long, arduous battle against violence and discrimination. They focus on healing and prevention, as well as offering a safe place for victims of sexual and domestic violence to go, to call, to seek legal advice, to seek medical assistance. Truly, the list goes on. They are working to promote social change, so that we can one day live in a world where 3 out of 4 Americans don't know someone who has been the victim of sexual or domestic abuse. They are working to ensure that one day, we'll be able to look at sexual and domestic abuse as part of our history - a history that we will never forget, because we must always learn from our mistakes, no matter how egregious. We want to send our thanks and undying gratitude to SafePlace, because we've all known someone who has, at one point or another, needed a safe place.

And last, but certainly not least, our volunteers - being an Austin Browncoat is one of the best experiences of my life. Part of that is because of how amazing our volunteer force has been throughout the years. Perhaps I'm getting overly sentimental, especially since our 2 year anniversary of Incorporation is upon us, but truly it's because we are blessed with the most talented, hard-working and inspirational volunteers in the 'Verse. Nothing we do would be possible without our volunteers, including our Board Members, Claudia Drinovsky and Jennifer Henderson, and our webmaster, Kazia Hodges. She is the mastermind behind our new design for www.geekstravaganza.com.

Geekstravaganza opened it's doors at 5PM and saw 50 amazing attendees walk-in smiling, because how often do you get to have a geeky, fun time while supporting charity? Not often enough! We started off the event with an amazing talent contest, in which we had a talented singer/songwriter/guitar player grace our stage, a Dancing Queen, a guy who swears that He's Super! Thanks for Asking!, as well as a Bad Ass Poet! Everyone left a winner, but our Poet walked off with the big prize! We let folks know all about Austin Browncoats and what we do and then started our Costume Contest. We had an amazing turnout, primarily because we love to see folks try to convince us they're in a costume. We had a ninja, Link, a Red Stripe guy, a crazy chef, an old Independent law woman trying to arrest us all and more! In the end, Link won first prize, the chef won second place and our ninja, who was also our Poet from the talent show, won third place.

After the Costume Contest, the ethereal Marian Call regaled us in song and entertained us all the way into Cry Havoc's demonstration of their awe-inspiring combat techniques. They also did a brief demonstration of the rules for Air Combat. Now, if you weren't at Geekstravaganza, you might be asking yourself: Self, what's Air Combat? It's something us Austin Browncoats made up! Everyone loves Air Guitar, but we thought that creating a non-violence Combat Tournament would fit in more with our goal to end violence and discrimination worldwide. During Air Combat, you're not allowed to have any physical contact with your opponent. You can use any style of martial arts, but all contact must be made with the air/invisible appendages and/or weapons. Our own Secretary, Claudia Drinovsky won Air Combat, with Ryan Campbell, our Vice-Chair, coming in third place! Jesse Crouch, a new Austin Browncoat, won second place.

Michael from SafePlace came to Geekstravaganza to let us know where our donated money would go and how they would benefit from our assistance. He told us many stories, letting us know that any and all help is needed and greatly appreciated. When Michael left the stage, there were many additional resolute faces; attendees who weren't familiar with SafePlace or the severity of the sexual and domestic violence issue we're facing today were introduced to why we all worked so hard to make Geekstravaganza a reality.

Then, we had out Sci-Fi SAT, which is the geekiest of all geek tests. The Sci-Fi SAT is not for the faint of heart. You need to study all geek media in order to beat the Sci-Fit SAT champ - me! We didn't have a winner this year, but it looks like we're going to have a lot of geeks sign up next year in order to prove their geekdom!

After a small break, we gave out raffle prizes and then were entranced by the lovely Marian Call for the rest of the evening, including singing happy birthday to Ryan. After Marian's final set, we let folks know that they didn't have to go home, but they couldn't stay at Buffalo Billiards.

All in all, the event was a success! We had side games for folks to play, including Guess The Shatner?, Pin the Pom-Pom on the Jayne Hat and How Many Red Blood Cell are in the test tube? We also had pool tables and a full booth of Geeky Merchandise, which can all be found at www.whedonwares.com.

We made $500 for SafePlace and educated a few people about the necessity of an organization such as SafePlace, which is priceless.

Again, thanks to everyone who helped make Geekstravaganza 2009 a reality. We'll see you next year!

Elizabeth Nelson
Chairman
Austin Browncoats

What is Air Combat?

5/11/2009

Geekstravaganza 2009, a charity geekfest organized by the Austin Browncoats, is holding an Air Combat Tournament as one of the main events. For those curious as to what exactly Air Combat is, take a look at this demonstration video. Full rules and registration information can be found at the Contests page.

Proceeds from Geekstravaganza 2009 are going to SafePlace, an amazing non-profit shelter working to end violence.

Tickets on Sale

5/1/2009

Tickets are on sale at our website: http://geekstravaganza.com/tickets.php. Even if you can't make it, think about donating the value of a ticket to SafePlace. You can do so by purchasing a ticket to our event as a one-time donation. Hope to see you there!

Geekstravaganza 2009 is a charity geekfest organized by the Austin Browncoats with proceeds going to SafePlace, an amazing non-profit shelter working to end violence.

Air Combat Tournament Call for Participants

5/1/2009

Looking for something fun to do on May 17th? Tired of playing Tekken and Soul Calibur at home with your friends? Always wanted to compete in Austin's Air Guitar tournaments, but realized your guitar skills are lacking? Or maybe you're just a huge fan of Jean-Claude Van Damme and want to show Chong Li a thing or two about saying "matte".

Sounds like you need to compete in our Air Combat match! Never heard of Air Combat, huh? We're not surprised. We just made it up!

Here are the rules and all the information you need to be a part of it.

There will be no physical contact during this tournament. All fighting will be done against a live opponent, but contact will only be made with the air. Or their invisible appendages. If there is any contact, the person responsible is automatically disqualified.
You can use any form of combat during this competition, i.e. kung fu, taekwondo, shootfighting, heavyweight boxing, but please keep it clean. No air-eye gouging, no air-crouch shots and no air-biting.
Maximum number of competitors: Six
We will allow you to fight for up to 2 minutes.
There will be three first round matches, with contestants chosen at random. The three winners will be placed from first place to third place. Second and third place contestants will air fight, and the winner of this match will fight the first place contestant from the first round. Whoever wins the final match wins the prize!
You will need to sign up for air combat ahead of time, as well as sign a liability waiver. Please email ryan@austinbrowncoats.com to sign up for Air Combat, as well as set up your event bio.
Live strong. Fight hard. Air combat!

Join us at Buffalo Billiards on May 17th starting at 5:00PM to celebrate Geekstravaganza 2009, a charity geekfest the Austin Browncoats host to raise money for a worthy cause while uniting Geeks, Nerds and Browncoats alike. This year, we're supporting SafePlace, in their goal to end sexual and domestic violence through safety, healing, prevention and social change.

For more information, visit: Air Combat Tournament. To sign up, email Ryan at: ryan@austinbrowncoats.com

See you at Geekstravaganza and don't forget to put up your "Dux".

All-Geek Talent Show - Have you got talent?

5/1/2009

In 2007, we had some of the best talent in Austin compete for the top award in Geekiness, first place in the Geekstravaganza Talent Show. The winner, Ernie Cline created the geek favorite, Fanboys.

Second place went to the extremely talented Cry Havoc, a martial arts performance group. Would you like to be part of this extraordinary group of talented individuals?

You must sign up for the Talent Show prior to the event. Sign up's will end either before May 13th or when we reach our maximum capacity for acts.
All acts must be under 7 minutes. We will have about 7 to 8 acts within 75 minutes, so shorter is better.
Space is limited, so the maximum number of act participants is 6 adults. If you require an allowance for more people, you'll need to get that approved ahead of time.
In all cases, decisions of the judges are final and will not be open to debate, unless we determine a Lincoln-Douglas is required.
All acts must be somehow geek-related.
All acts must be appropriate for this event. We are supporting the charity, SafePlace. Please review the Austin Browncoats mission statement and our support charities for more information.

Join us at Buffalo Billiards on May 17th starting at 5:00PM to celebrate Geekstravaganza 2009, a charity geekfest the Austin Browncoats host to raise money for a worthy cause while uniting Geeks, Nerds and Browncoats alike. This year, we're supporting SafePlace , in their goal to end sexual and domestic violence through safety, healing, prevention and social change.

For more information, visit: All-Geek Talent Show. To sign up for the Talent Show, please email Claudia at claudia@austinbrowncoats.com with your Name(s), Act Name, Phone Number, Best Form of Contact (email, phone number, etc.) and a 150 word or less description of your act, including a genre title, i.e. poetry, martial arts, singing, dancing, etc.

See you at the show. Bring your best material, because you're going to need it!

SafePlace, chosen charity supported by Geekstravaganza 2009

4/2/2009

Geekstravaganza is a charity geekfest the Austin Browncoats host to raise money for a worthy cause while uniting Geeks, Nerds and Browncoats alike. This year, we're supporting SafePlace, in their goal to end sexual and domestic violence through safety, healing, prevention and social change.

We take choosing our supported charities very seriously. There are so many amazing charity groups working to make this world a better place in whatever way they can. We're proud to be given the opportunity to help them with their cause.

SafePlace is an outstanding organization that is invaluable to the Austin, TX community. They envision a community free of rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence. To learn more about SafePlace: www.safeplace.org

Keira Knightley recently filmed a domestic violence PSA that really struck a cord within us. It is intense, but extremely effective: http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/04/keira-knightley.html

It is time someone called cut. According to the National Institute of Justice, from a recent National Violence survey, approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States. Those numbers are staggering. SafePlace is doing their part to save lives here in Austin. But they need our help. We hope you will all help us make Geekstravaganza as successful as it can be. SafePlace saves lives, and it's our duty to make sure they can continue to do so.

Thank you,
Austin Browncoats

Attention All Geeks - Geekstravaganza 2009 Art Contest

3/31/2009

How old were you when you realized you were a geek? Are you an out and proud geek or are you still in the closet? Think you're more of a dork than a geek? Do nerds really have more fun? What's the difference between Sci-Fi and SyFy? (Well, that's an easy one.)

We might not have all the answers, but we hope you have what it takes to win our Geekstravaganza 2009 Art Contest!

Geekstravaganza is a charity geekfest the Austin Browncoats host to raise money for a worthy cause while uniting Geeks, Nerds and Browncoats alike. Each Geekstravaganza, we invite a new musical act to regale us in song as we do our best Carlton dance. This year, we're honored to have Marian Call, a geek goddess, visiting our section of the 'verse.

We'll host an All-Geek Talent Show, All-Nerd Costume Contest and all Sci-Fi Trivia Bee. Winners get to bring home fabulous prizes and proudly let their geek banners fly!

This year, we'll even have some awesomely geeky (verging on a little too cool) demonstrations, but more on that at a later date.

Right now, I need you to get excited about our art contest. We need to find the geekiest, most fabulous big damn artist out there to help us create our t-shirt and website graphic for Geekstravaganza 2009. Your art will be featured on our t-shirts, website, as well as any promotional material we make for the event. Just think about it - you'll get to put your geeky stamp on our event and help us create a keepsake for a memorable night of charitable fun!

Of course, we have some guidelines. (I know, I know. Normally rules are boring, but fortunately, we're geeks and we can deal with a little structure!)

Due April 15, 2009.
Artwork must be geek themed.
Artwork must be original.
Remember, we're supporting charity. For ideas about themes you shouldn't include, check out the charities we support: http://www.austinbrowncoats.com/charities.php
Vector format is recommended, with EPS (Encapsulated Postscript File - Vector Mode) being our most preferred method.
Remember you're making a design that will need to translate to t-shirt printing, as well as website theme. Designs that can be rendered down to four color would be best.
When in doubt, ask us a question instead of guessing: info@austinbrowncoats.com.

But, but, but...what do you win for all of your hardwork? Fame and recognition, of course. You get to tell folks whose design reigned supreme! (Pretend that rhymed...) You might also win some autographed, geeky swag. Maybe. Just maybe. It's a definite maybe.

Think you have what it takes to make the best damn geeky graphic out there? We can't wait to see what you have to offer. And think, if you hang out with us at Geekstravaganza, you'll get to hear us tell everyone about how "the artistic force is strong with this one" and really - how can that get old?