You’re all aware that there’s some little deal happening in New York in a couple of weeks, right? There’s, um, a screening of some kind, and some little parade… And I’m going to be at all of it! But guess who else is making the trip – the Outlander set drivers! That’s right, coming straight from Scotland, where they drive on the wrong side of the road, some of the men who drive our cast members around are being treated to a special trip to New York! The trip is, in large part, being financed by Outlander fans. To support that effort, North American Bear Co. is generously letting us give away a Wedding Claire Bear right here – read more below. (You don’t have to donate to enter to win, however.)
The trip is the brainchild of Ohio fan Candi Spencer. Here’s what she had to say about the event:
“I started following the drivers on Twitter two years ago when I was looking for anything and everything about the show. They had fun behind-the-scenes tweets and occasional pictures. They even had their own twitter fan page, OutlanderDriver fans (@outlandervrooms). I set up a Facebook page for them in April of last year just prior to them returning to filming for season two. I was more familiar with FB than Twitter at the time as were many of my friends, so I thought I would post some of their tweets to share with others. Since then the Outlander Drivers Facebook page has grown to over 600 including some of the drivers and crew.
“Sharon Plemons Ferguson, one of the members of my Ohio regional fan group “OH-landers”, sent care packages to the boys occasionally, so when I went to Scotland last summer I took along a few things and met Davie, Peter, and Kenny at the studio. I was talking with Leesa Caudill a few days after I got home from Scotland about finding a way to get the boys here for San Diego ComicCon, but since we are both volunteers with Outlander United for the New York Tartan Day festivities, we decided to ask Davie if he would be interested in coming to NY and marching in the parade with us if we did a bit of fund raising and covered the major expenses. Ten crew were originally invited and we had five accept. I’ve just found out one may not be able to come due to a personal situation, but we do have four who will march in the Parade with Outlanders United.
“In order to raise the funds, we decided to sell small notepads with a collage of driver photos and recently added drawstring bags. Every purchase or donation gives the buyer chances to win some really nice Outlander related prizes. There are six of us behind the fund raising, Sharon, Leesa, Julie Fancher, Jessica Dotters and Terri Cauto, and we contributed all of the items we have as prizes (1st edition/1st printing books, autographed photos, book related items – for example, Parisian soaps are part of the DIA basket and there’s a small ship in a bottle for the Voyager basket, etc.) with the exception of a Scotland day-tour by Chauffeur Drive Scotland, donated by John and Pauline Wright. John is one of the Drivers who will be joining us in New York. In addition to the sales we have had several people donate cash to the fund (donations are also included in the drawing.) Our regional group had 50/50 drawings at a couple of our gatherings and the OH-landers have held two painting parties with proceeds donated to the cause. ”
It’s simple, the real reason is that we had the opportunity to do something nice for some people who make us happy. I enjoy the tweets and photos. I enjoy the smiles every day. These are genuinely nice people and that’s why we’re working so hard to thank them.
To help Candi raise the funds for this huge event, North American Bear is letting us give away one of the new Claire Wedding Bears! Do you have the original Jamie and Claire bears? Then you know how beautiful they are. And this new 13″ bear wears a lovely embroidered version of Claire’s wedding dress, and both gold and silver rings. Want this Claire bear for yourself? Then enter our contest, below! There are several possibilities to gain entries. Feel free to do some or all of the entries – you’ll get the most entries if you make a donation to the New York Driver’s Fund of $10 or more, but you don’t have to donate to have a chance to win (of course, you can donate without entering to win the bear, if you like!). IF YOU HAVE ALREADY DONATED OR PURCHASED ITEMS WORTH AT LEAST $10 OR MORE, you can go ahead and click the entry for donation! If you donate, you will also be eligible to win all the great prizes that are being offered directly from the fundraiser (through March 31). This contest is open to US residents only, per North American Bear (due to licensing/shipping restrictions). Winner should allow a week from notification to receipt, as the bear will come directly from North American Bear Company.
Want to buy a Wedding Claire Bear? They’re available directly from North American Bear, through the Poisoned Pen bookstore (be sure to ask for one with a signed-by-Diana heart tag), or from other outlets!
For more information about this fundraising effort, or to make a donation or purchase of backpacks or notepads without entering the Bear contest, go to OutlanderFanatics.com!
Want to follow the Outlander Drivers on Twitter?
Search for: David Stewart @DavieHollywood, John Wright @jwchauffeur, and @OutlanderVrooms!
Follow me on Twitter: @OutlanderTIBS, @ErinConrad2 and @threeifbyspace
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