THANK YOU, ATHENS!

July 25, 2007

DARIUS GOES WEST DAY 2007 WAS AMAZING!!!

As many of you know, all four screenings of our movie sold out well before the big day, and we turned away hundreds of people. We hated that, and next year, we promise to have twice the space! It was truly the hottest ticket in town, with people lining the streets in hopes of getting tickets from no-shows.Many others with tickets who had seen the movie in January gave up their seats to people who hadn't yet seen the film and didn't have tickets. We love Athens!

The audiences were amazing...nothing like a hometown crowd! Most were people who had purchased credits in the movie; bought hot dogs, barbecue and snow cones from us; and filled all the piggy banks we'd placed throughout Athens prior to the trip. Their standing ovations seemed to last forever. We loved every minute of it!

Those who waited up for the 10:00 PM screening got a special treat. Instead of a Q&A after this show, Darius did some freestyle rapping, then challenged the audience to battle him. There were a few takers, and they were quite entertaining, but they were no match for "Big Daddy!"

Here's a link to a Athens Banner-Herald reporter Julie Phillips' blog that has an mp3 of one of D's raps that night:

http://blogs.onlineathens.com/node/597

The best news of the day: we raised almost $3,000 for DMD research! Much of this came from the sale of TWO "I am the 13th crew member" t-shirts, which sell for $1,000. HUGE thanks to Juliet Easton and Kathleen Walker for their generosity and support...and to everyone else who put donations in our Charley's Fund buckets and purchased DGW t-shirts, posters, and wrist bands!

Next year's DGW Day will definitely be bigger and better. We hope to have music (a couple of bands), at least one celebrity, and twice the screenings. So, save the date (Saturday, July 20, 2008) and plan to celebrate with us!

This special day would never have been possible without the many volunteers who helped us or our wonderful sponsors: The Athens Banner-Herald, Athens Cine, ABC Printing, Delta Airlines, Dodge, The Globe, and Shirtworks.

Know about it!

P.S. Check out our new pictures from Victory Junction Camp and from DGW Day 2007!