#blamedrewscancer’s Blame-a-Thon Explained!

(Yes, I still owe you one last skydiving post. Suck it up, people. It’s coming.)

So, you’re a cancer blamer but you’re not sure what this whole Blame a-Thon thing is about? Never fear – we’re here with answers to all of your questions (and, by “we” I mean me talking about myself in the third person).

If you know the basics of #blamedrewscancer, you can skip to the Blame-a-Thon bits.

What’s Blame Drew’s Cancer
Actually, that’s “#blamedrewscancer” – a twitter hashtag that turned into a viral charity movement through the enthusiastic support of over 11,000 twitter users beating up on cancer.

It jumped into the real world with a series of fundraisers in Philly and San Fransisco, plus a literal leap out of a plane at 14,000 feet for the #blamedrewscancer team.

Who is Drew?
Drew Olanoff is a New Jersey native who was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on May 20. Since then he has kicked cancer’s ass every day in words, actions, and about $10,000 of fundraising in under 100 days.

How was your summer?

And all this money goes where, exactly?
Drew’s efforts have benefited a few different cancer-related charities over the summer, but both Drew and #blamedrewscancer are official partners of LiveStrong AKA the Lance Armstrong Foundation. All of our current fundraising goes to LiveStrong, and Drew emceed the LiveStrong Challenge in Philly.

Lance even blamed something on Drew’s cancer. We like him.

Have I heard about this somewhere else?
Maybe. Do you read or watch the Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post, MSNBC, AOL Health, CNN, Fox29, Mashable, Tech Crunch, Philadelphia City Paper, Download Squad, or The Mendte Report? That’s just a portion of the press and blogs that have covered #blamedrewscancer in the past 100 days.

Oh, and we have a really catchy theme song.

What’s Blame-a-Thon
Blame-a-Thon is a 24-hour party and benefit concert held on 9/9/09 in Philadelphia where you can blame cancer all day while enjoying live podcast tapings, film screenings, and amazing bands.

If you aren’t there in person, you can watch on the web and enter our web raffle for big prizes – like gene research kits from our sponsor 23andMe or a signed hockey stick from the Philly Flyers. All proceeds go towards our giant contribution to LiveStrong.

Where is Blame-a-Thon?
Blame-a-Thon will be three places on 9/9/09: Indy Hall, North Star Bar, and the internets.

Blame-a-thon starts when Tuesday ends, kicking off at Philly co-working space Indy Hall – 20 N. 3rd St, Unit 201, 19106. It’s free, and it lasts from midnight to noon. Just drop by. More info below.

At noon, the party shifts to venerable venue North Star Bar, where we’ll host live music past midnight, followed by a DJ’d farewell – 2639 Poplar Street, 19130. Tickets are an absurdly low $15 presale, or $20 at the door. More info below, too.

I’m not in Philly and/or I’m busy on 9/9/09, but I still want to support #blamedrewscancer and give to LiveStrong. What should I do?
You can still buy a ticket – 100% of proceeds go to LiveStrong whether you show up or not. Or, you can buy into our major twitter-based raffle. Or, just give straight to LiveStrong on our behalf.

Or do all three.

Indy Hall: A party from midnight to noon? What are you going to do all night … and morning?
We’ll kick off with a live, super-sized, back-from-hiatus version of Drew’s Best Damn Tech Show podcast, followed by staying up all night for film screenings, video games, and acoustic music. Heck, bring pajamas if you want. Then, wake-up with La Colombe coffee and breakfast from Chef-a-Me.

We’ll cap off this half of the event with a live taping of Two Guys on Beer, which just celebrated its 100th episode! In addition, a DKMS Americas sponsored bone marrow registry will take place from 7am – 12pm.

North Star Bar: 12 hours is a long concert – who’s playing?
Bamboo Houses, Dark Horse & The Carousels, Filmstar, Goodnight Lights featuring Jonah Delso, High Kick, Reed Kendall of Up the Chain, Kill You In the Face, Christie Lenee, Thom McCarthy, The Press, Elizabeth Seward, Swift Technique, The Traded Series, and Billy Woodward & The Senders, plus award-winning spinner DJ KASH.

Not in that order, though. Check back for a schedule. Or, just buy a ticket and see them all.

Have I heard of any of them before?
Possibly. Traded Series was founded by ex-Starting Line singer/guitarist Mike Golla. Jonah Delso opened for Coldplay in Philadelphia in 2008. Reed Kendall of Up the Chain has played every venue in Philly and was featured this summer on the NBC 10 Show and 6ABC’s Tuned-In. Our other artists are equally as notable and awesome.

(PS to devoted CK readers: Filmstar is my wife Elise’s rock band.)

That’s a lot of bands. What if I get bored? Or hungry?
North Star Bar will be selling food and drinks the entire time. We’ll also have the Taco Bell Truck and the Philly Buttercream Cupcake truck, plus complementary drinks from Victory beer (while supplies last). Plus awesome raffles and a DKMS Americas sponsored bone marrow registry.

Oh, and Drew.

So, buy your darn ticket already.

You keep mentioning this bone marrow registry? Sounds painful.
Totally not. It’s a simple swab of your cheek to be registered, and we’ll have plenty of info from DKMS Americas about what happens if you’re matched.

Wow, that’s a lot of stuff. How did you put it all together?
Drew has an awesome team of friends helping with #blamedrewscancer, all of whom are dedicated to kicking cancer’s ass in every way possible.

In the long-term, we plan to work with LiveStrong bring the amazing support Drew has found on social networks to EVERYONE fighting and surviving cancer.

Cancer should be terrified.

Who’s paying for all of this?
We could have never done this without the amazing support of our presenting sponsor, 23andMe, and our generous supporting sponsors blip.tv and Level 3 Media. You can multiply their support just by showing up!

Also, Indy Hall and North Star Bar have been incredibly gracious in volunteering their services for little or no cost. They are both wonderful supporters and cancer blamers!

Any questions?