BROWNCOAT BALL
OMNI HOTEL
Austin, Texas
October 10th – 12th, 2008
POLICY STATEMENT
Austin Browncoats, a Texas
not-for-profit organization, is host for the
2008 Browncoat Ball convention in Austin, Texas! We all look forward to
having a fun, successful and safe gathering. As part of achieving this
goal, persons planning on attending the Browncoat Ball functions are
asked to read and understand the policies set forth below, which will
be enforced for the gathering. Any attendee who violates these policies
(i) may be asked to leave the function immediately, (ii) may have his
or her admission to the remaining functions of the Browncoat Ball
revoked, without refund, if the violation is deemed serious enough to
warrant such action, in the sole judgment of the Austin Browncoats and
its officers, and (iii) if violations of law are involved, will be
reported to the local police.
Limited Admission to Events
Because of the size of the
available facilities at the Omni Hotel,
admission to the Browncoat Ball will be limited to approximately 250
people, including members of the Austin Browncoats. Aside from a
limited number of tickets set aside for the members of Austin
Browncoats and the Browncoat Ball staff, all admissions will be sold on
a first come, first served basis. Obtain your tickets in advance – do
not count on showing up at the event and being able to acquire tickets
at that time.
Merchandise Sales
At this time, Austin Browncoats
anticipates that the some or all of the
various performance artists engaged for the Browncoat Ball will be
selling their own cd’s, videos and other items in connection with their
performances at specific Browncoat Ball functions. However, no person
will permitted to sell souvenirs, t-shirts, cd’s, records, videos or
items of any other sort at the Browncoat Ball except pursuant to the
prior written consent and agreement of Austin Browncoats.
Children
No children under the age of 16
will be admitted to any of the
Browncoat Ball functions. No baby sitting or child care services will
be provided by Austin Browncoats. Attendees are responsible for
arranging for their own child care. Babysitting in guest hotel rooms
may be arranged directly through the Omni Hotel, for a fee.
While children of 16 years age
or older will be allowed to attend the
various Browncoat Ball functions without having to have their parents
or guardians present, parents and guardians remain responsible for the
conduct of such children.
Pets
The Omni Hotel prohibits pets
of any kind in any area of the hotel,
including guest rooms. Only service animals (such as guide dogs) are
exempt from this prohibition.
Alcohol
In Texas, the legal drinking
age is 21 years of age. Under Texas law,
(i) a minor may not purchase or attempt to purchase alcohol, (ii) no
one may sell or attempt to sell alcohol to a minor, and (iii) a minor
may not be given alcohol by another person or even be in possession of
alcohol unless the alcohol is provided to the minor by the minor’s
adult parent, legal guardian or spouse and that parent, guardian or
spouse is “visibly present” while the minor possesses or consumes the
beverage. Austin Browncoats does not authorize, endorse, or condone
under age drinking under any circumstances.
The only times alcohol will be
available for purchase by adults at the
Browncoat Ball will be at the Cocktail and Crafts events on Friday
night and the Dinner and Ball events on Saturday night. The purchase
and consumption of alcohol at these events will be through the Omni
Hotel’s beverage license and will be subject to the Omni Hotel’s rules
and regulations. Among other matters, this means that the restrictions
imposed by the Omni Hotel on the consumption of alcohol in public areas
of the hotel will be in effect. No one may consume alcohol in the hotel
public areas used in connection with the Browncoat Ball – if you
purchase alcohol at one of the Browncoat Ball events, the alcohol must
remain in the room where the event is being held.
Austin Browncoats cannot and do
not prohibit “room parties” in a
private hotel room, but we remind all attendees that their conduct
within their hotel room remains subject to applicable law and the rules
and regulations of their hotel. We encourage all attendees to be
responsible for their party and guests.
Drugs
The possession, sale,
manufacture and distribution of controlled
substances are illegal under both state and federal law. Violators are
subject to criminal prosecution, fine and imprisonment. A “zero
tolerance” policy will be in effect at the Browncoat Ball. Any person
found to be in possession of, or under the influence of, a controlled
substance at a Browncoat Ball function will be asked to leave the
function immediately and will be subject to the other measures first
mentioned above.
Smoking
Austin, Texas has a no-smoking
policy, and by city ordinance requires a
smoke free indoor environment in most local businesses and restaurants.
Violations are punished by fines.
All function rooms of the
Browncoat Ball are non-smoking! Smoking in
other areas of the Omni Hotel is allowed only in those areas designated
by the Omni Hotel. This applies to guest rooms in the hotel – if you
want to stay in a smoking guest room, you must make those arrangements
directly with the Omni Hotel.
Weapons
No bladed weapons or live
firearms of any kind will be permitted at the
Browncoat Ball functions, with the single exception of the knife
throwing demonstration being held at a separate site away from the Omni
Hotel. If an attendee registers to participate in the knife throwing
demonstration, throwing knifes will be provided at that location for
the attendee’s use during the demonstration – there is no need to bring
one’s own knife to the demonstration.
Attendees are permitted to
carry plastic, cast-resin or other imitation
"prop" blade weapons and/or non-firing replicas of hand firearms, but
no replicas or props of rifle or other “long arm” firearms of any type
are permitted. In the event of any uncertainty as to the nature of the
prop or replica, the judgment of Austin Browncoats will be final. Check
with Austin Browncoats in advance of coming to Austin if you have any
questions about how these restrictions affect your particular prop or
replica.
Permitted prop and replica
weapons may be worn at the Browncoat Ball
only on Saturday evening in connection with attendance at the Dinner
and Ball. There are no exceptions. Under no circumstances whatsoever
are weapons or replicas of any type to be carried outside the doors of
the Omni Hotel or other venues - not even to designated smoking areas.
All prop and replica weapons
must be inspected and registered by the Browncoat Ball staff upon the
attendee’s initial registration at the Browncoat Ball. Immediately
after inspection, all such weapons will be “peace-bound” by Browncoat
Ball staff into a holster or other carrying device. Any tampering with
peace-ties or drawing of the weapons is expressly forbidden. All
permitted weapons must be carried in such a way as to permit the easy,
visible application of peace-ties. If an attendee’s rig cannot be
easily and visibly peace-tied, he or she will not be allowed to wear
such rig to the Dinner and Ball.
Security
No off-duty police or other
security personnel are being hired for any
of the Browncoat Ball functions. While the Omni Hotel has its own
security people for its grounds, and Austin Browncoats will have
various staff members on duty at each of the Browncoat Ball functions,
no representation or warranty is made that any of such persons are
licensed or trained law enforcement personnel.
All attendees are expected to
follow the safety and security
instructions given by Omni Hotel security personnel and the designated
staff members of the Browncoat Ball. All designated Browncoat Ball
staff members will be wearing readily identifiable clothes and badges,
indicating their position.
Any person attending the 2008
Browncoat Ball does so at his or her own will, by his or her own
consent, and at his or her own risk. Austin Browncoats makes no
representation, warranty or guarantee of any kind or nature, either
explicit or implied, that the various venues, locations, tours, means
of transport, activities and events of the Browncoat Ball are or will
be safe or free of potential hazards of any kind or nature.
Release of Liability
Austin Browncoats will accept
no responsibility for anything untoward
which may happen during an attendee’s attendance at the Browncoat Ball.
As a condition to purchasing an admission to the Browncoat Ball, you
will be required to sign a release and waiver of all liability and
claims against Austin Browncoats that may incur in your favor for
injury or harm suffered by you while in attendance at the Browncoat
Ball.
Refunds
In connection with the planning
and execution of the 2008 Browncoat
Ball, Austin Browncoats is required to make a number of non-refundable
deposits and purchases based on the anticipated number of attendees, as
indicated by the number of purchased admissions. As a result, except
for what the Austin Browncoats determines in its sole discretion to be
a case of extreme hardship, no refunds will be granted after purchase
of an admission to the 2008 Browncoat Ball. Any refunds for hotel
reservations, airline tickets, etc. are at the discretion of the
issuing authorities.
The Bottom Line
REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING ELSE,
ATTENDEES MUST COMPLY WITH ALL LAWS OF THE
STATE OF TEXAS AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN, ALL RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE
OMNI HOTEL, AND ALL CONVENTION POLCIES PROMULGATED BY AUSTIN
BROWNCOATS, INC.
AUSTIN BROWNCOATS RESERVES THE
RIGHT TO REFUSE ADMITTANCE TO, OR EXPEL AND REQUIRE THE DEPARTURE OF,
ANY ATTENDEE THAT VIOLATES THE POLICIES SET FORTH HEREIN OR OTHERWISE
DISRUPTS THE BROWNCOAT BALL FUNCTIONS, WITHOUT REFUND OF THE ADMISSION
PRICE.
Legal Stuff
The Browncoat Ball is the brain
child of the Chicagoland Browncoats. It
is being hosted this year, with their blessing, by the Austin
Browncoats at the Omni Hotel in Austin Texas. Both the Chicago
Browncoats and the Austin Browncoats are purely fan-run entities, and
neither is affiliated in any manner with Joss Whedon, Fox Television,
Universal Pictures or anyone else of relevance to the Firefly TV series
or the Serenity movie.
Austin Browncoats does not
promise that this website will be
error-free, uninterrupted, or that it will provide specific results
from use of this website or any content, search or link on it. This
website and its content are delivered on an "as-is" and "as-available"
basis. Austin Browncoats will not be liable for any damages of any kind
arising from the use of this Site, including without limitation,
direct, indirect, incidental, punitive and consequential damages.
Website designed by Jenny Who.
