The night was filled with so many Mario characters…

There are so many words that begin with the letter, c, that just feel good together like cookies and cream, cheese and crackers and caviar and Chardonnay. The outlier seems to be charity and cosplay, but the event team at Battle and Brew, located in Sandy Springs, Georgia, decided that it was something that might just work.

October 24, 2016, was a night to celebrate the youth of your spirit while simultaneously raising money for youth battling Type 1 diabetes, it was an idea that seemed far-fetched but came together the way anyone fully thought out an innovative event should.

“Press Start for Murder” presented by GASM media, was a combination of charity gala, birthday party and a cosplay live action roleplay, L.A.R.P. According to larping.org, “[live action roleplay] is a continuation of a table-top roleplaying game that people choose to act out by becoming a character and staging a fantasy world experience in which their character lives.”

“My friend is the birthday girl and we do [these events] annually, to throw her birthday party,” said Samantha Osburn. “So when the opportunity came up, to like, combine it with something else and make it for a good cause that was something [GASM media] was totally on board with.”

The event was atypical for a charity gala which is most likely why it received the response that it did. The night was an oddity that words can only do true justice in the moment of such an event. The event was filled with unique accents and costumes from childhood games, comic books and cartoons. Each patron staying true to their character for the entirety of the night, a feat that does not just come easy to the average individual. The easiest thing to compare the experience to is like visiting your first ever improv class.

Not being able to speak to the patrons, as to not force them to break character, would normally be an issue as a journalist, but the beauty of the night was observing as much as possible without the slightest form of interaction.

Battle and Brew curated an interactive night of murder-mystery, games, a five-course dinner paired with five different beers, prepared by executive chef, Ted Kupferman and information on who exactly the patron’s money would be benefiting.

“This year we chose to work with JDRF, one of my co-workers, Todd Evans, his son, has Type 1 diabetes,” said Jennifer McGlynn. “He was diagnosed about five years ago and so that’s the journey their family has been on. This year we decided to make it truly our focus, to bring our entire company to this mission.”

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the beneficiary of the night, “[invests] to ensure that the most life-changing breakthroughs can make it through the long research, development and delivery process and get to people living with [Type 1 diabetes] sooner.”

“Inglett and Stubbs is one of our top corporate teams for the JDRF walk and that walk took place on October 15 and as a part of their fundraising effort they decided to do this additional fundraiser,” said Lauren Kennedy, director of development for the Georgia chapter of JDRF. “Jennifer McGlynn, her father owns Battle and Brew, so she coordinated the fundraising efforts so the proceeds from this event are going to JDRF.”

It could not be fathomed that a night of cosplay and gaming would have attracted many attendees, even for the backing of such a great cause but the rather intimate event gathered over 30 guests in attendance. The tickets were $100 each so the event pulled gross funds of approximately $3200, which even after covering overhead and paying the staff should be a gracious donation.

Seemingly most charitable donations are made because of a personal tie to the charity or the cause and Battle and Brew’s owner and his co-worker do in fact have personal connections to the charity which makes the success of such an event even more worthwhile.

“My son’s best friend, when he was in high school, actually died because he was not following the protocols [to treat diabetes],” said Tom Sapitowicz, owner of Battle and Brew and senior project manager at Inglett & Stubbs. “Inglett & Stubbs adopted JDRF mainly because Todd’s son is affected by Type 1 diabetes.”

According to Sapitowicz, after the venue factors in expenses, the net total of revenue to be donated to JDRF will be about 50-60 percent of the earned funds for the night. Considering the event rose about $3200 in just ticket sales the expected donation of approximately $1,600-$1920 which considering the intimacy of the event size is very charitable.