Serenity Saturdays

Philadelphia area Equality Now screenings

2007-05-24T11:56:00.000-04:00

For the second year in a row, dedicated Firefly fans are hosting events around the world to raise money for Equality Now, an international women's rights advocacy group supported by Joss Whedon (see Joss's post from earlier this week on Whedonesque for more on just how important this cause is). This year Bryn Mawr Film Institute is hosting a 2-day event, beginning with a midnight showing of Serenity on Friday, June 22nd, followed on Saturday, June 23rd by 6-episodes of Firefly in the upstairs screening room and another midnight showing of Serenity. Info is available on their site - scroll down to 'Hollywood Summer Nights'; also see their 'Preview' publication (available as a PDF) for more details.

This is an important and worthy cause, and a chance to see our Big Damn Heroes on the big screen. Hope to see you there!

Serenity Saturdays 2007

2007-05-24T11:51:00.000-04:00

May 12 was our final Serenity Saturday for the year, and once again I'd like to give a shout-out to our regulars, the faithful who come to every showing and bring goodies to share with the crew. We also had some new recruits this year, and as always, the more the merrier.

We had a great time this year - good food, great conversation, and of course, the best show in the 'verse.

Hope to see you all at the Equality Now benefit screenings in June - more info on that to come.

Excitable as to choice?

2007-05-08T14:19:00.000-04:00

Choose to come to Serenity Saturday, this weekend - May 12th. The thrilling heroics begin at 1pm with the River Tam Sessions and conclude with the Big Damn Movie.

Leave the hand grenades. Take the cupcakes.

Monastic humor abounds - don't miss out on all the fun!

2007-03-05T16:01:00.000-05:00

Serenity Saturday #3 is this weekend! Come watch the show, and enjoy the company - and the increasingly creative and clever foodstuffs.

The fun starts at 1pm at Indian Valley Public Library. This week we'll be watching Out of Gas, Ariel, War Stories, and Trash.

Hope to see you there!

Early quantum state phenomenon

2007-02-09T12:27:00.000-05:00

The second Serenity Saturday is this weekend - come one, come all!

This Saturday, February 10th, we'll be watching Shindig; Safe; Our Mrs. Reynolds; and Jaynestown. The fun starts at 1pm - hope to see you there!

Hang on, travellers ...

2007-01-15T09:47:00.000-05:00

The first Serenity Saturday has come and gone, and a good time was had by all. We had a nice crowd, and some wicked good food (props to Ana for the 'hands of blue' cookies). As always, it's a fine thing to see Firefly on the big screen, surrounded by fellow Browncoats. We had some new faces and some old friends - and here's where I have to bid a fond farewell to one of Flandom's shiniest - Chris Lark, the Captain himself. Chris is heading north, and he'll be missed by the Philly area Browncoat community. Serenity Saturdays won't be the same without him!

Next up is Shindig, Safe, Our Mrs. Reynolds and Jaynestown on Saturday, February 10th (1:00-5 pm). Don't miss your chance to see Kaylee interrogate the buffet table! Watch the Big Damn Heroes doing their big damn heroics! See YoSafBridge render men helpless! And last - but certainly not least - sing along to 'The Hero of Canton'!

Hope to see you there.

Serenity Saturdays start this week!

2007-01-09T08:02:00.000-05:00

The first Serenity Saturday of 2007 is this weekend - January 13th. We start at 1pm with Serenity (the pilot). Come out and join us - watch the Big Damn Series on the big (or, well, biggish) screen! Sing along to the theme song (you know you want to)! Hang out with other Browncoats and remember why we love this show so very much. It's all good, people.

Directions by car and Septa are below. Questions? Email dont.wanna.explode@gmail.com . Hope to see you there!

Making the signal go further

2006-12-13T11:44:00.000-05:00

Hey all! It's that time - Serenity Saturdays will be starting up again in January. This time we'll be doing one Saturday a month, which makes it easier not just for us, but hopefully also for those of you planning to come.

If you're new to Serenity Saturdays, here's the deal: One Saturday a month we'll be screening 4 episodes of our beloved Firefly at the Indian Valley Public Library in Telford, PA, ending with a screening of 'The River Tam Sessions' and 'Serenity'. All are welcome; admission is free. Episodes are shown in digital projection on a large screen in the Community Room. You're welcome to bring food - for yourself or to share. Last time lots of folks brought enough for all, everything from homemade cookies and cupcakes to chips and soda - protein in all colors of the rainbow. It's a friendly crew.

The library is located at 100 E. Church Avenue in Telford, PA. You can Mapquest it for specific directions; general directions and public transport info are below. Please email us at d mailto:dont.wanna.explode@gmail.com with any questions.

Hope to see you there!

Schedule:

Saturday, January 13th(1:00-5 pm): Serenity (parts 1 & 2); The Train Job; Bushwhacked

Saturday, February 10th (1:00-5 pm): Shindig; Safe; Our Mrs. Reynolds; Jaynestown

Saturday, March 10th (1:00-5 pm): Out of Gas; Ariel; War Stories; Trash

Saturday, April 14th (1:00-5 PM): The Message; Heart of Gold; Objects in Space

Saturday, May 12th (1:00-5PM): 'The River Tam Sessions' and 'Serenity'

Directions to Indian Valley Public Library:

From Philadelphia and south:

Take I-76 W toward Valley ForgeMerge onto I-476 N; take exit 331B toward Plymouth Meeting (portions toll).
Take exit 31 for Lansdale/PA-63
Turn right on Sumneytown Pike/PA-63.
Turn right on Wambold Road.
Turn left on Allentown Road.
Turn right onto Harleysville Pike/PA-113 (Bergey’s car dealer on right).
Turn left onto Cowpath Road.
Turn right onto Church Road (big brick UCC church on corner); this road turns right but remains Church Road/Church Avenue.
Go straight through first intersection (Main St./County Line Road; Cumberland Farms on left). The Indian valley Public Library is just through this intersection on the left.

From Allentown and north:

Follow directions for PA turnpike to exit 31 Lansdale/PA-63, then same as above

OR

via PA-309 S:
Merge onto PA-309 S via EXIT 60 toward QUAKERTOWN.
Take the PA-152 ramp toward TELFORD.
Turn RIGHT onto STATE RD. STATE RD becomes E CHURCH RD.

From New Jersey:

NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE EXT (Portions toll).
NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE EXT becomes I-276 W/PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE (Portions toll).
Take the PA-611 exit- EXIT 343- toward DOYLESTOWN/JENKINTOWN.
Take the US-611 N ramp toward DOYLESTOWN/WILLOW GROVE NAVAL AIR STATION.
Merge onto EASTON RD/PA-611.
Turn LEFT onto COUNTY LINE RD.
Turn LEFT onto LINE LEXINGTON RD.
Turn RIGHT onto BETHLEHEM PIKE/PA-309. Continue to follow PA-309 N.
Take the PA-152 ramp toward TELFORD / SELLERSVILLE.
Turn LEFT onto STATE RD/PA-152.
Continue to follow STATE RD. STATE RD becomes E CHURCH RD.

Via public transportation

From Philadelphia:

Take the R5 Lansdale/Doylestown Septa regional rail train (go to http://www.septa.com/ for schedule). You'll disembark at Lansdale station.
The #132 Septa bus stops just past the Lansdale train station (with the station at your back, cross the train tracks to the right; the bus stop is on the first corner, where the parking lot begins). Take the #132 to Landis Market in Telford; it’s the last stop. The bus will let you off in front of the supermarket. Across the parking lot to your left you’ll see the library – a one story brick building.

Serenity Saturday - the last one (for now!)

2006-03-29T09:32:00.000-05:00

Well, travelers, this is it - next up is the Big Damn Movie. On Saturday, April 8th we'll be showing Serenity, with a start time of 3 PM. For those of you can make it a bit earlier, we'll be showing the River Tam Sessions starting at 2:45 PM.

This marks the last of our Serenity Saturdays, at least for now. The turn-out has been so good - and the attendees such a great group of people - that we've decided to do it once a year. We'll no doubt make some changes the next time around - like doing it one Saturday a month instead of 4 in a row - so if you want to be updated, check back here periodically, and/or send me an email at dont.wanna.explode@gmail.com to be added to the mailing list.

Thanks so much to everyone who's joined us for these Saturdays, with a special shout-out to those who brought goodies to share. It's been fantastic to see the best show in the 'Verse with fellow Browncoats - we're already looking forward to doing it again!

Septa info - don't make no sense

2006-03-22T13:37:00.000-05:00

For those of you familiar with the illogical and confounding ways of Septa, it will come as no surprise to learn that the information on their site is conflicting.

Here's the deal: I learned last weekend, courtesy of a Serenity Saturday attendee, that the Septa info I posted here was wrong. I checked the official printed schedule, and it confirmed the info I posted. I checked the PDF online, and it, too, confirmed my info. Then I checked something the Septa website refers to as the "combined timetable' - and that says something completely different.

I have no idea what's right. I'm putting the info from their Saturday schedule for both the train and bus below (click on the image to get the bigger, legible version, with pertinent info outlined in red). But I'm adding a disclaimer, to wit: We are not responsible for the insanity that is Septa. We want you to be there, and we're happy to provide as much info as possible, but Septa's logic does not resemble our Earth logic, so - caveat, er, rider.

Shiny!

2006-03-17T14:39:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let folks know that we're having a blast with Serenity Saturdays. We're getting a great turnout - far better than anyone expected, and the library director is very impressed. This is a good thing, because it opens us up to doing this on a regular basis - probably twice a year, if there's enough interest. More on that at a later date.

In the meantime, thanks so much to those of you who are rapidly becoming regulars! Thanks for showing up to enjoy the show writ large with fellow Browncoats; thanks for hanging out and helping out by bringing food to share. This is a great group of people.

We're not filled to capacity, though - so come on out if you're nearby. We'd love to see you! It's a very enticing proposition, people:

See Firefly in digital projection on the big screen! Come on, how can you miss this? In every episode you find a million little things you've missed just watching it on your TV.
Relax and enjoy the Big Damn Series in the company of people who love the show as much as you do. Laugh at the funny! Well up at the sad bits! Sing along to the Hero of Canton! (OK, you missed that, but you're welcome to sing along to the theme song - 4 chances every week!)
Free food! We're not stuck with molded protein in all the colors of the rainbow, folks - we've got the goods here, thanks to the generosity of your fellow flans: crackers, cheese, chips, cookies, cupcakes, and the like.

So join us as Serenity Saturdays continue! This week:

Out of Gas
Ariel
War Stories
Trash

Hope to see you there! Check earlier entries for directions, and/or email us at dont.wanna.explode@gmail.com

Serenity Saturdays begin this weekend!

2006-03-01T14:04:00.000-05:00

Join the Independents for the first 4 episodes in digital projection on the big screen - Serenity Saturdays are almost here!

Feel free to dress in costume. Food is allowed, so bring some for yourself or to share, if you feel so inclined. Within walking distance of the library there's a supermarket (with some seriously delicious baked goods) and a convenience store. The library has coffee and tea for a 75 cent donation, and there's also a soda and snack machine right outside the room.

If anyone wants to get together afterward, there are a few options within a 5-20 minute drive- mostly pizza joints and the like right around there, and shinier places a little further away.

You'll find directions and public transport info below. Please email us at dont.wanna.explode@gmail.com with any questions.

Directions to Indian Valley Public Library

From Philadelphia and south:

Take I-76 W toward Valley Forge
Merge onto I-476 N; take exit 331B toward Plymouth Meeting (portions toll)
Take exit 31 for Lansdale/PA-63
Turn right on Sumneytown Pike/PA-63
Turn right on Wambold Road.
Turn left on Allentown Road.
Turn right onto Harleysville Pike/PA-113 (Bergey’s car dealer on right)
Turn left onto Cowpath Road.
Turn right onto Church Road (big brick UCC church on corner); this road turns right but remains Church Road/Church Avenue
Go straight through first intersection (Main St./County Line Road; Cumberland Farms on left)
The Indian valley Public Library is just through this intersection on the left.

From Allentown and north:

Follow directions for PA turnpike to exit 31 Lansdale/PA-63, then same as above

OR

PA-309 S.
Merge onto PA-309 S via EXIT 60 toward QUAKERTOWN.
Take the PA-152 ramp toward TELFORD.
Turn RIGHT onto STATE RD.
STATE RD becomes E CHURCH RD.

From New Jersey:

NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE EXT (Portions toll).
NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE EXT becomes I-276 W/PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE (Portions toll).
Take the PA-611 exit- EXIT 343- toward DOYLESTOWN/JENKINTOWN.
Take the US-611 N ramp toward DOYLESTOWN/WILLOW GROVE NAVAL AIR STATION.
Merge onto EASTON RD/PA-611.
Turn LEFT onto COUNTY LINE RD.
Turn LEFT onto LINE LEXINGTON RD.
Turn RIGHT onto BETHLEHEM PIKE/PA-309. Continue to follow PA-309 N.
Take the PA-152 ramp toward TELFORD / SELLERSVILLE.
Turn LEFT onto STATE RD/PA-152. Continue to follow STATE RD.
STATE RD becomes E CHURCH RD. 0.6 miles

Via public transportation

From Philly:
Take the R5 Lansdale/Doylestown Septa regional rail train (see schedule below, or go to http://www.septa.com/ )
The #132 Septa bus stops just past the Lansdale train station (with the station at your back, cross the train tracks to the right; the bus stop is on the first corner, where the parking lot begins).
Take the #132 to Landis Market in Telford; it’s the last stop.
The bus will let you off in front of the supermarket. Across the parking lot to your left you’ll see the library – a one story brick building.

R5 Lansdale/Doylestown train:

Departs 30th Street Station 11:15 AM
Departs Suburban Station 11:20 AM
Departs 30th Street Station 11:35 AM

Arrives Lansdale station 12:14 PM

Bus #132 to Telford

Departs Lansdale station 12:18 PM

Arrives in Telford 12:41 PM

RETURN trip info

Bus #132 to Lansdale station

Departs Telford 5 PM & 6 PM

Arrives Lansdale station 5:24 PM & 6:24 PM

R5 Lansdale/Doylestown train:

Departs Lansdale station at 5:51 PM & 6:51 PM

Can't Stop the Signal

2006-02-09T10:51:00.000-05:00

Here's how it is:

Firefly was the best series in the verse. But the networks, them as formed the Alliance, waged war, and cancelled the show. Few idiots tried to fight it, among them -- ourselves. We're Browncoats. Trying to spread the Signal as far as it can go - even if that means diverting the nav sats to the transmitter - or finding a way to show each episode in digital projection, live and in person, among friends. You understand. You got a notion to see the series and the BDM on the big screen, we can do it.

How, you ask? Fortunately, it's simple. One of us is a librarian, and she just happens to be involved in the library's regular movie series. The idea was born out of pure selfishness: we wanted to see the series on the big screen. Then we thought, why not invite some people? Why not make it a Thing? Before we knew it, we were planning a 7-week long shindig.

So - here's the deal:

Screenings, if that's not too grand a word for them, will be held Saturdays from 1:30-5 PM at the Indian Valley Public Library in Telford, PA - not far outside Philadelphia. Each week we'll show 4 episodes, and on the final week we'll show Serenity. The schedule is below.

If you have questions, need directions, etc., please email us at dont.wanna.explode@gmail.com - and we'll be happy to help.

Saturday, March 4th: 1:30-5 pm: Serenity (parts 1 & 2); The Train Job; Bushwhacked

Saturday, March 11th: 1:30-5 pm: Shindig; Safe; Our Mrs. Reynolds; Jaynestown

Saturday, March 18th: 1:30-5 pm: Out of Gas; Ariel; War Stories; Trash

Saturday, March 25th: 1:30-5 PM: The Message; Heart of Gold; Objects in Space

Saturday, April 8th: 3-5PM: Serenity

The library is located at 100 E. Church Avenue in Telford, PA. You can Mapquest it for specific directions. General directions will be added soon.