Everyone knows there will be some serious bowling going on this Saturday. Well, not that serious. But, there are also a bunch of other activities planned for the day for those not on a team but looking to participate (or for those on a team, but who are finished participating). Here’s a look at what we expect to have going on besides bowling at North Bowl this Saturday:

The Silent and Chinese Auctions: We have tons of amazing prizes lined up for our silent and chinese auctions, which will be taking place during the two bowling sessions. Want to take a look at a few of the prizes that will be available that day? Click here.

Bean Bag Toss (a.k.a “Cornhole”): Partner up and play Cornhole in the upstairs lounge of North Bowl. We’ll have a couple sets going at once, and a sign up sheet to determine who plays next.

The Strikes Challenge: During the second bowling session from 4:15 – 7:15, Lane 8 will be set aside for the Strikes Challenge. For a $10 donation, you get one chance to roll a strike. If you roll a strike, you get your $10 back plus an additional $10. Participants may enter as many times as they’d like until they roll a strike.

Drink Specials: $2 Narragansett lager cans, $3 Philadelphia Brewing Co. drafts, $4 UV vodka drinks, $5 White Russians

On-Site Massages: Therapist arrives at 3:00pm and will be providing short chair massages upstairs

Pool Tables, Arcade Games, Public Bowling: There are several pool tables upstairs at North Bowl, along with arcade games and four public lanes. You’re welcome to strike up a game.

Ice Sculpture: A professional ice sculpturist will be carving out our logo in the lobby during the first session.

DJ: DJ just_for_kids will be set up downstairs during the second session, playing some very Dude-like selections amongst others.

Cupcake Truck: The Cupcake Truck arrives at 3:30pm outside of North Bowl to sell cupcakes – donating a portion of sales to LLS!

Drawing for Philly Restaurant Pass: If you bought tickets, be there at 6:00pm to find out if you’re the lucky winner! (Note: You don’t have to be present to win, though.)

We’ve amassed a number of wonderful prizes for our silent auction, and we’d like to share a few of them with you now to wet your appetite. All of these will go to the highest bidder on Saturday…

 
 
“The Dude Himself!” (Value: Priceless)
The Dude himself, actor Jeff Bridges, sent an autographed picture and tee shirt! The winner of these items will have some serious bragging rights.

 
 
“With Love, XoXo Philadelphia” (Value: $410)
After your evening at the Pennsylvania Ballet with two tickets to “Triple Bill with Carmen,” enjoy great views of downtown Philadelphia during your one night stay at the Double Tree Hotel!

 
 
“Historic Philadelphia Package” (Value: $260)
Enjoy two tickets to any show at the Arden Theater (not valid on Saturday, opening night or Dec 25 – Jan 1) and a night’s stay at the Holiday Inn Historic District located in the heart of Philadelphia’s Olde City.

 
 
“Anyone up for a round of golf?” (Value: $160)
Enjoy eight (8) weekday greens fees on Manada Golf Club’s picturesque golf course lying at the base of the Blue Mountains.

 
 
“We are…Penn State!” (Value: Priceless)
All you Nittany Lions out there can kick off the 2010 Football season with your own autographed football (signed by Penn Staters Paul Posluszny, Brian Scott, Lydell Sargent, and Mike McQuery)!

 
 
“Amour Romance” (Value: $425)
Just the two of you. Take some time to reconnect and enjoy each other’s company with this amazing one night stay and dinner for two at the Hyatt at Penn’s Landing!

 
 
“Dance The Night Away” (Value: $320)
Want to learn so new moves? You’ll learn everything you need to know with this 6-session intro package at the Academy of Social Dance (located at 20th & Sansom Street)

 
 
“Iron Chef Philadelphia” (Value: $250)
In addition to representing Philly in Kitchen Stadium, Iron Chef Jose Garces also runs some of Philly’s best restaurants. How about trying them out? This delicious package features $50 gift certificates to five different restaurants in the Garces Empire: Amada, Tinto, Chifa, Distrito, and Garces Trading Company!

 
 
The best part? There are plenty more where this came from!

SOME BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR SATURDAY:

Tator Tots for All!

As a reward for all of the fundraising being done by our participants, we’re happy to announce that we’re providing a free tator tot bar at North Bowl for all bowlers.  It’s not much, but we wanted to show our appreciation for all of your hard work.  We hope you enjoy the delicious, potatoey goodness as much as we do!

This Year’s Dude is More Fun Than Ever!

Also, for those that are bowling in the first session, we’re going to have a bunch of stuff going on during the second bowling session including a Strikes Challenge bowling lane ($10 gets you a chance to roll a strike and double your money), bean bags in the upstairs lounge, pool tables upstairs, the silent and chinese auctions, a DJ, and much more.

This is the story of Jordyn Alexa McKannan, a six-year-old with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia who will be serving as an Honorary Hero at this year’s The Dude Hates Cancer:

Jordyn McKannan was born on December 29^th , 2003. The first year or so of her life she was no different than most other children her age – she was generally healthy and happy. But in the summer of 2005 things started to change. At her dad’s company picnic in June 2005, Jordyn took a fall in the grass. She was able to continue playing that day, but the next day she awoke in severe pain and after a trip to the emergency room she was diagnosed with a splinter fracture above her big toe – an uncommon injury for a child her age. A couple of weeks later, Jordyn started to suffer nose bleeds at night and, shortly thereafter, a mysterious bruise appeared on her underarm. Her mom, Balinda, thinking it might be anemia (which ran in the family), had her doctor perform a blood test later that week at her routine 18-month checkup. The results turned the life of the McKannan family upside down.

Jordyn was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) – the most common form of blood cancer amongst children her age – and a long journey of treatment to knock out the disease had begun.

“We spent the next month at Children’s Hospital where Jordyn had to undergo painful treatments, including extensive tests on her bone marrow and spine every week. They also had to draw blood from her every single morning so that her blood counts could be monitored,” said Jordyn’s mom, Balinda.

After her first month of treatment, Jordyn was sent home to begin her next phase of chemotherapy. But it was by no means a smooth ride from there on out. Jordyn underwent routine spinal taps and was placed on a steady dose of medications for the next couple of years. She had a port inserted into her chest so that doctors could administer medication and take the routine blood samples they needed without constantly drawing blood from her arms. Furthermore, the drugs she was taking had an adverse side-effect on her leg muscles, and doctors had to put her in leg braces and prescribe physical therapy to build her leg strength.

There were, of course, other roadblocks. Due to her weakened immune system, colds and sickness had to be monitored, and fevers sent her to the hospital on numerous occasions. (A particularly rough stretch in December of 2005 saw her and her family spending Christmas week at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.) She also learned of personal loss at far too young an age, as several friends she met along the way – kids battling similar illnesses – lost their battles with cancer.

But throughout her treatment, Jordyn remained upbeat and provided a source of strength for her parents and those around her. She’s now six and a half years old and doing well!

“Without all of the money raised by programs like the The Dude Hates Cancer, Jordyn would have been an angel floating above us instead of an angel walking beside us,” said Balinda. “We all work together toward the same goal: to cure the diseases that have changed the lives of our loved ones forever. With programs like this, we help to rid these diseases of their powers…and together we can make a difference.”

Like eating out in the city? Hate cancer? Then The Philly Restaurant Pass is right for you! The Dude Hates Cancer is raffling off a chance to win Dinner for Two for a Year, with proceeds going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The Philly Restaurant Pass, the top prize in the raffle, features 26 gift certificates to a wide variety of restaurants throughout the city, with a total prize value of over $1,600. That adds up to two delicious nights out every month for a year! There will also be a second place prize awarded: a weeknight stay at Bally’s and dinner for two at the Knife & Fork Inn in Atlantic City!

Raffle tickets are priced as follows:

1 ticket for $5
3 tickets for $10
7 tickets for $20

We’ll be drawing the winning ticket at The Dude Hates Cancer event, but the winner need not be present to win. We’ll contact the winners after the drawing and arrange delivery/pickup of the prizes.

For a complete list of the restaurants included in The Philly Restaurant Pass, please visit: http://www.thedudehatescancer.com/raffle.shtml

To buy tickets, check with someone you know that’s participating in this year’s event! You can also contact Tim Maxwell at tim@thedudehatescancer.com.

Like good music and delicious beer?  Hate cancer?  Well then we have just the thing for you!  Tomorrow night, we’re hosting a fundraiser for The Dude Hates Cancer at the Dawson Street Pub, with six great musical acts signed up and a keg of Yards donated to the cause.  Oh, and there will also be a little bit of Family Feud as well.

The Dude’s Feud starts around 6pm, and the following musicians have donated their talents to the evening:

6:30 – 7:15 – Bill Butler
7:30 – 7:50 – Dan Kelly
8:15 – 9:00 – Jeremy Hollis
9:30 – 10:15 – Dan Rendine
10:30 – Family Feud
11:00 – 11:45 – Brian Flanagan
12:00 -  Early Ape

We’ll be selling beer from the Yard’s keg at $3 a pint, with all proceeds going to The Dude (and, therefore, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society).  And, of course, there will be a brief game of Family Feud played at 10:30pm between the two bowling teams that bring the most people to the event.  The winning team gets to add the total raised from the evening to their fundraising total.

So come on out!  $5 cover at the door goes to fight cancer, and everyone hates cancer!

——————————————————

Saturday, 7/24 @ 6pm

The Dude’s Feud

The Dawson Street Pub

100 Dawson Street

Philadelphia, PA 19127

Public Transportation:

- Regional Rail:  R6 Norristown Line from city to Wissahickon station (1/4 mile from stop — walk up hill, cross Ridge Ave onto Terrace St., take left on Dawson and bar is at bottom of the hill) – Last train back into city leaves Wissahickon at 1:05am

- Bus: Route 27 bus stops at Ridge and Rochelle (just up the hill from the Wissahickon Regional Rail stop).  Last bus back into city comes at around 12:30am.

Map:

In case you didn’t see the announcements posted on our Facebook or Twitter accounts, we’ve added some new prizes for participants in the fundraising competition!  Specifically, the top individual fundraiser will be taking home a 32″ LG flat-screen HDTV (valued at $499.99)!  Also, the second place finisher in the individual fundraising competition will win a Calming Embrace package from Art+Science Spa and Salon in Manayunk (valued at $365)!

You can check out all of the prizes by clicking here: http://www.thedudehatescancer.com/2010-details-fundraising-individuals.shtml#prizes

Good luck to all of our fundraising participants!

"Show me constipation!"

Think your team is out of the race for “The Big Booze Prize” in the fundraising competition? Not so fast! On July 24th, we’re giving every team a chance to add a lot of money to their fundraising total. And we’re doing so in the time-tested way that groups of people have been making money since 1976: Family Feud!

All teams are invited to bring their friends out to the Dawson Street Pub in Manayunk (100 Dawson Street) that night for drink specials, live music, and a chance at big money. The $5 cover at the door will go to The Dude, but the total raised from the night will also be added to one lucky team’s fundraising total!

It’s pretty simple: The two teams that bring the most people to the event that night (we’ll be tallying for each team at the door) will square off in a high-stakes game of Family Feud. The winner of Family Feud gets the prize!

More details to come, but in the meantime save the date and start getting people interested.

Some great ‘Dude’ events are in the works!  Go out and have a few drinks with your future competitors before August’s main event…it’s all going to a good cause!

Friday 6/25
Happy Hour Fundraiser at Stir
1705 Chancellor Street
6:00 to 9:00 PM
$5 donation at the door for drink specials; bring cash for raffle prizes
(by team: We Roll on Shabbos)

Friday 7/9
Casino and Karaoke Fundraiser at Tazia
101 N. 11th Street
$5 donation at the door for drink specials, casino games and karaoke
(by team: Bowl Movements)

Wednesday 7/21
Happy Hour Fundraiser at Drinker’s Tavern
124 Market Street
6:00 to 9:00 PM
$5 donation at the door for drink specials; bring cash for raffle prizes
(by team: We Roll on Shabbos)

Got a ‘Dude’ event you’d like to promote?  Let us know!

Dear TDHC Bowlers:

As participants in this year’s The Dude Hates Cancer, you’ve joined an elite club we like to call “The Society of Awesome People.”  It’s an esteemed group, and we’re happy to welcome all of you to it.  In other words, thank you for participating in this year’s tournament!

One top fundraiser will win this bowling ball

We’d like to extend an invitation to all of you to help us raise more money for the cause and, in doing so, win some great prizes.  While bowling is fun, our main goal is to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  That’s what this event is all about, and it’s the reason why we save the best prizes for those teams and individuals that raise the most money for our cause.

Our fundraising competition is now underway…here’s what you need to know:

1. We’re not even close to finished assembling the prizes for this year’s fundraising competition. The prizes this year will be bigger, better, and more plentiful.  And we’re introducing more ways for you to win them.  Click HERE for more information.
2. We’re introducing prizes for the top individual fundraisers, as well as milestone-based prizes for all fundraisers this year. Rest assured, though, the winning team will once again take home “The Big Booze Prize.”
3. We’re expecting some big additions to the prize list. Stay tuned!
4. We’ve added links to your fundraising page from this site. If you have a fundraising page setup, we’ve put a link to it on our Donations page so that visitors can find you and donate to you and your team.  If you don’t see your team or page linked there, let us know.
5. We’ve added directions for setting up your fundraising page. In order to compete, you’re going to need to set up your fundraising page on the donations site (http://epa.dude.llsevent.org).  Here’s how:
   • Team Setup
   • Fundraising Page Setup
6. This isn’t just about online fundraising. We encourage raising money outside of your fundraising page.  Here are some ideas.
7. Find a sponsor?  You and your team get the credit! Know a company that might be interested in sponsoring the event?  If you or someone on your team enlists a $500 sponsor for this year’s event, we’ll add the $500 to your team’s fundraising total!

We hope you’ll take part in our fundraising competition this year.  Your efforts to raise additional money for the cause are the only way we’ll meet our ambitious goal of $40,000 for LLS in 2010, and we look forward to rewarding you with prizes!

Love,
The Dude Hates Cancer Organizing Committee

P.S. Want to hear about new prize incentives for the fundraising competition as they come in?  Add us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!: