Southern Cross is Nationally known for our annual 4th of July week benefit, where in the past we have raised over $3,000.00 in one afternoon for a good cause.
Southern Cross is proud to announce the annual Valley Fundraiser at Edges: A Night at the Hollywood Canteen
Pull out your service wear (those in full correct military wear get in FREE with a case of water), yank on your skivvies, dress up or down and join us for a day of fun and one great fligh before you ship out!
Your admission at Edges includes free coffee, donuts, and all you can eat soup as well as a chance to negotiate with one of the stars (better than dancin' hu?) for a small donation to the cause.
Music to play by includes hits from the Big Bands that helped keep us free and new salza hits to interrogate your prisoner by! The folks at the canteen welcome you to a fun filled day, doors open at 2 PM and the party runs till 1 AM. Advanced tickets on sale as of May 1 through Edges and SX Staffers to be announced.
The Hollywood Canteen operated between October 3, 1942 and November 22, 1945 (Thanksgiving Day) as a club offering food, dancing and entertainment for servicemen, usually on their way overseas.
The Canteen, a former livery stable and nightclub, the Old Barn, was located at 1451 Cahuenga Boulevard, off Sunset.
We at SX offer you a cyber trip down memory lane to peak your interest and give you some ideas for the fund raiser this summer. Many of the pictures have links if you click on them to the original pages or other info.
Even though the majority of visitors were U.S servicemen, the Canteen was open to servicemen of allied countries as well as women in all branches of service. The serviceman's ticket for admission was his uniform and everything at the Canteen was free of charge.
The driving forces behind its creation were Bette Davis and John Garfield, along with composer Jules Stein, President of Music Corporation of America, who headed up the finance committee.
"Jules Stein, up to this time, was seldom ever seen. Few people even knew what he looked like. He preferred to live this way. It was a big decision when he said he would head the financial committee. He would have to alter his way of life. Without his hard work, advice, and investments of our funds the Hollywood Canteen could not have been successful, to say nothing of the work of his wife, Doris, who I asked to be the head of the committee for the hostesses necessary for dancing partners for the servicemen.
When the canteen was no longer needed after V-J Day, $500,000 remained in the canteen account. These monies were the result of Jules's ideas. A great source of revenue came from a film he urged Warner Bros. to make called Hollywood Canteen, a large percentage of which was allotted by Mr. Warner to the canteen itself. With the remaining monies a foundation was formed, and to this day contributions are made to worthy projects dealing with the armed forces."
Bette Davis devoted an enormous amount of time and energy to the project. Materials for repairs and decorations and actual labor were donated by members of the fourteen guilds and unions of the industry, which included the board of directors of the Hollywood Canteen, with Davis as president and Garfield as vice-president. Artists and cartoonist painted murals on the walls.
The Canteen was operated and staffed completely by volunteers from the entertainment industry. By the time the Canteen opened its doors, over 3000 stars, players, directors, producers, grips, dancers, musicians, singers, writers, technicians, wardrobe attendants, hair stylists, agents, stand-ins, publicists, secretaries, and allied craftsmen of radio and screen had registered as volunteers.
The Canteen charged $100.00 dollars to sit in the bleachers for opening night, October 3, 1942. Davis, "This also was Jules Stein's idea. The canteen made $10,000 that night from the bleacher seats. It seemed thousands of men entered the canteen that night. I had to crawl through a window to get inside."
Glamorous stars volunteered to wait on tables, cook in the kitchen and clean up. On September 15, 1943 the one millionth guest walked through the door of the Hollywood Canteen. The lucky soldier, Sgt. Carl Bell, received a kiss from Betty Grable.
Actress Shirley Temple, a United Service Organizations (USO) volunteer, holds a bowl of cookies for servicemen at the Hollywood Canteen, Ca., Aug. 21, 1944.
Want to spend the day with us, but not sure? Well, aside from those in uniform, there were hundreds of volunteers- Hollywood elite, and regular Joe's and Jills dressed in their best dancing clothes or manning the food lines- not always in what you would think!
A Hall of Honor at the Hollywood Canteen had a wall of photos which honored the film actors who served in the military.
Ooh yeah-- that's Rita Hayworth!
In 1944, Warner Bros. made a star-studded film about the Hollywood Canteen. At the time the Canteen closed its doors, it had been host to almost three million servicemen.
Some of the celebrities who donated their services at the Hollywood Canteen were:
* Bud Abbott & Lou Costello * June Allyson * Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson * The Andrews Sisters * Dana Andrews * Eve Arden * Louis Armstrong * Fred Astaire * Lauren Bacall * Lucille Ball * Tallulah Bankhead * Lynn Bari * Diana Barrymore * Lionel Barrymore * Anne Baxter * Wallace Beery * William Bendix * Joan Bennett * Jack Benny * Edgar Bergen * Mel Blanc * Ann Blyth * Humphrey Bogart * Ray Bolger * Beulah Bondi * Walter Brennan * Fanny Brice * Joe E. Brown * George Burns & Gracie Allen * James Cagney * Cab Calloway * Rod Cameron * Eddie Cantor * Judy Canova * Kitty Carlisle * Jack Carson * Marguerite Chapman * Charles Coburn * Claudette Colbert * Jerry Colonna * Ronald Colman * Perry Como * Gary Cooper * Jackie Cooper * Bing Crosby * Joan Crawford * George Cukor * Robert Cummings * Xavier Cugat * Cass Daley * Dorothy Dandridge * Linda Darnell * Bette Davis * Yvonne De Carlo * William Demarest
* Olivia de Havilland * Marlene Dietrich * Jimmy Dorsey * Tommy Dorsey * Irene Dunne * Jimmy Durante * Deanna Durbin * Nelson Eddy * Faye Emerson * Dale Evans * Jinx Falkenburg * Alice Faye * Gracie Fields * Errol Flynn * Kay Francis * Joan Fontaine * Glenn Ford * Eva Gabor * Ava Gardner * Judy Garland * Greer Garson * Betty Grable * Cary Grant * Kathryn Grayson * Sydney Greenstreet * Paulette Goddard * Benny Goodman * Jack Haley * Phil Harris * Moss Hart * Dick Haymes * Susan Hayward * Rita Hayworth * Paul Henreid * Katharine Hepburn * Bob Hope * Hedda Hopper * Lena Horne * Edward Everett Horton * Ruth Hussey * Betty Hutton * Harry James * Gloria Jean * Van Johnson * Al Jolson * Jennifer Jones * Danny Kaye * Buster Keaton * Ruby Keeler * Gene Kelly * Evelyn Keyes * Andrea King * Kay Kyser
* Alan Ladd * Bert Lahr * Angela Lansbury * Veronica Lake * Hedy Lamarr * Dorothy Lamour * Carole Landis * Frances Langford * Pinky Lee * Mervyn LeRoy * Vivien Leigh * Joan Leslie * Ted Lewis * Beatrice Lillie
* June Lockhart * Anita Loos * Peter Lorre * Myrna Loy * Bela Lugosi * Ida Lupino * Diana Lynn * Jeanette MacDonald * Irene Manning * Groucho Marx * Herbert Marshall * Victor Mature * Elsa Maxwell * Hattie McDaniel * Roddy McDowall * Butterfly McQueen * Ray Milland * Ann Miller * Glenn Miller * Carmen Miranda * Maria Montez * George Montgomery * Dennis Morgan * Ken Murray * The Nicholas Brothers * Jack Oakie * Margaret O'Brien * Maureen O'Hara * Donald O'Connor * Maureen O'Sullivan * Merle Oberon * Eleanor Parker * Louella Parsons * Gregory Peck * Mary Pickford * Walter Pidgeon * Dick Powell * Eleanor Powell * Jane Powell * William Powell * Anthony Quinn * George Raft * Claude Rains
* Basil Rathbone * Martha Raye * Ronald Reagan * Donna Reed * Bill "Bojangles" Robinson * Edward G. Robinson * Ginger Rogers * Roy Rogers * Cesar Romero * Mickey Rooney * Jane Russell * Rosalind Russell * Ann Rutherford * S.Z. Sakall * Ann Savage * Randolph Scott
* Toni Seven * Norma Shearer * Ann Sheridan * Dinah Shore * Sylvia Sidney * Phil Silvers * Ginny Simms * Frank Sinatra * Red Skelton * Alexis Smith * Kate Smith * Ann Sothern * Jo Stafford * Barbara Stanwyck * Craig Stevens * Leopold Stokowski * Shirley Temple * Danny Thomas * Gene Tierney * Martha Tilton * Claire Trevor * Lana Turner * Spencer Tracy * Gloria Vanderbilt * Beryl Wallace * Nancy Walker * John Wayne * Clifton Webb * Orson Welles * Paul Whiteman * Chill Wills * Marie Wilson * Jane Withers * Anna May Wong * Jane Wyman * Rudy Vallee * Lupe Velez * Loretta Young * Vera Zorina Bette Davis hosts a 26th anniversary celebration of the founding of the Red Army. The sailors are from a Russian ship anchored in Los Angeles Harbor.
HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN VOLUNTEER'S ARM BAND AND ID CARD The movie premier of the real life story
Ladies and Gentlemen, set your calendars for a whole new kinda convention!
AUGUST 21-23, 2009
EDGES, Santa Clara, California
What is Efest West?
Efest is an enema-centric event where people can meet others with similar interests to socilize, learn and play. It is a fun filled weekend full of discussions, socials, parties, classes and other medical fetish demonstrations.
The E-fest schedule includes play parties on Friday and Saturday nights, Thursday meet & greet, and classes Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Early registration includes discounted prices at:
http://www.efestwest.com/efest1.html
~~~~ Presenters include Southern Cross's BEAUTY and shadow . Together, they present "Give the Little Lady a Hand", the fine art of vaginal fisting for men and women. The class with live demonstration and question/answer period, will give information on health, medical supplies, attitudes, advice, and general anatomy while offering a frank and informative look at how to insert or accept a fist and then offer pleasure to the other partner. There will not be snackies.
Come gather ye Lords and Ladies of the Court, thy Jesters and Merrymakers,Wenches and Nobles, to Edges on July 5th, 2008 from 2pm to 3am to make merry and be gay!
Southern Cross Hosts the Annual Valley Fundraiser. One inclusive fee at the gate includes:
Vendor Alley For those choice delights, both Kink and Ren Faire related.
The Games Wild entertainments and joyous games, including "The Strap On Joust".
The Glen A hearty meal with drink in classic Elizabethan Countryside flavors.
The Rack Medieval torturers to poke and slap, prod and smack, cane and wax your body delights.
The Dungeon A fully equipped dungeon for your own entertainments,to use as you see fit.
The Entertainment Dancing wenches, belly dancers, jugglers and fire players that delight the senses.
The Charity Event Our annual charity auction, featuring hand crafted toys from vendors far and wide, and featuring an item from the legendary Viper Leatherworks.
Musicians for merriment, and more!
Enter our tent and live the enchantments of Elizabethan life as we never knew it!
***Advanced ticket sales at discounted fare for thy Lords and Ladies who plan ahead, beginning April 1st.** *
SX doesn't have dues, memberships, mandatory fees. We don't charge for classes, we take no profits, and our costs come out of our own pockets up front and (hopefully) get reimbursed after a great event.
We raise funds because we BELIEVE in charity and giving back. We do it without putting our names on things, taking credit, or making demands.
We GET to do it because a great many more people believe as we do, and volunteer so much more to help out than we could do alone.
THANK YOU.
Support our playspace, our kink community, and our local opportunities to live out our fantasies.
Dear Community, Friends, Sacramento folks, SF supporters, fellow kinksters, newbies, oldbies, and everyone in between: We at Southern Cross central cannot ever thank you enough for the contributions you made directly to EDGES at our Annual Valley Fundraiser. Many of you spent WEEKS preparing to dazzle us with your talents, classes, and specialties- your time and energy is appreciated.
We raised a total of $3,547.00- a new one day record!
*YOU FOLKS* did that- not us. We just showed up and fed ya. *YOU FOLKS* are magnificent- and all of us kinksters are very lucky to live and play together so well.
The bottom line is that we are supporting our play space and having FUN!
Our pre-sales tickets were phenominal and paid for all our pre-event shopping- thank you for planning ahead and getting tickets early (and yes, those souvenir tickets will be returned to you!), and to those who came and volunteered when feeling poorly-- we are humbled by your commitment.
Our letter to the community is as follows:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
From All Of Us at Southern Cross to all our Friends of SX, Guest Talent with their gracious donations of time and energy, and the countless volunteers who always show up and magically make these fun events happen, it is my pleasure to let the greater SF Bay Community know that tonight we raised $3,547.00 for EDGES.
We need to send a gracious bow to several people who put themselves out beyond all our expectations: Steve Bower- you could charm the snake outta the skin, and the auction was a huge success due to you. Viper- Your donations of time, the auctioned whip- and even your slave- made the night fabulous. Waldemar- the poi show ROCKED! Celeste- we send our love. Master Bob and jan... thank you for supporting us and giving it your all (and your car). Uncle Abdul- our favorite fluffy service tech. Travis & Bruce: FABULOUS Gun Play Class- we are doing it again soon in the Central Valley. Don- You light our fire. John- Our glitter king.
Sol- thank you for traveling under extreme FAA conditions. V- the coffin is GORGEOUS, the wood was shiny, and the danger was obvious! Loyd- Paddles and pain, you got the best delivery. And our own SX staffers Courtney (event Goddess, flogger queen, billboard breasts) and Vicki (photography, pain, humiliation, and office staff).
We have to thank you VERY SPECIAL belly dancing girls for one of the HOTTEST scenes of the night (dancing with a sword on your head is now my new thing!). Thank you to the folks who donated the new crock pots, who donated the leather sling to SX, to T. for the auction donation of the Killer portable St. Andrews Cross, to smO for the tent loans, to SV for your tireless set up and tear downs, to Salty Dog for the auction, Strong Eagle for the canes, The great art that was donated, the knitting, the scenes, and the plethora of tears and giggles elicited during that OFF THE HOOK AUCTION!
From our DM's to our clean up crew, Set up guys and gals and the FABULOUS FOOD Caterers (SX now can say we have the BEST EATS of the California scene-- Tina's desserts are now legends, Elfin has always been a legend, Amy rocks and Cynthia knows her way around a knife), all of us at the itty bitty kink group want to send our HUGE thank yous! We look forward to the work party weekend for the new FLOORS in the "SX wing" at EDGES. Signing off at 4am, we thank you all and hope we remembered EVERYONE of you that make us so proud to serve and play in the South Bay.
NEXT big party/fundraiser-HALLOWEEN! Saturday, October 27, 2007. Watch this space for more info.
The year is almost over and we are gearing up for a GREAT July 7th 2007 event!
Planning includes a FULL day for ONE LOW PRICE.
Classes during the day, a BBQ included, and having the WHOLE DUNGEON open so that YOU can play with your partners as well as getting to play with some of the most well known Tops in the scene.
Our "guest beaters" celebrity list includes many of our local favorites and some long distance surprises, including return engagements from Treasure, Strong Eagle, Miss Vicki, Steve Bower as auctioneer, and Miss Caz our favorite woman with a whip!
Keep checking in for more info as we welcome 2007.
is pleased to say that the Greater Bay Area generously donated
$3,200.00
to the NCSF at last weeks benefit.
There are still some items of interest being offered, and those fundraising items will be posted separately as they are completed.
ALL of us have to thank you wonderful people. We apologize for not being as fully prepared as possible. We had *expected* to raise about $1,000.00 if we were lucky- and had set up an event and staff to cover something up to about $1500.00.
WOW- you guys amazed us all, and offering food and play to upwards of 140 folks that night was more than planned upon. Thank you all for overlooking our short staffing, lack of chairs, packed play space, messy meal line, and lack of ice at times. It wasn't perfect, but YOU all made it so for us. We will continue to post notices as we wrap up ALL the items being handled throughout the summer and fall.
Meanwhile- Save the date! JULY 7, 2007....
We do it AGAIN.
We have volunteers lined up.
Bigger... better.... take vacation early and don't miss 7/7/7: One digit past the Beast, a benefit for the NCSF.
Bette Davis devoted an enormous amount of time and energy to the project.
Want to spend the day with us, but not sure?
