The afternoon crew is here! Today, we’d like to introduce you to the team that’ll be running the bus during Alpha Flight, 12pm-6pm Pacific Time, coming to you from onsite at the Moonbase.

Entertainment

These are the volunteers you’ll see every day on Alpha Flight. They laugh, they do challenges, they roll dice, they… oh, right, also make sure the bus doesn’t crash.

Cameron Lauder
he/him

Cameron is an integral function of the universe as expressed as a collective of trillions of cells held together by assorted organic mucilage that spends most of its time being afraid of things that aren't real.

Erika Cole
she/her

By day Erika is a mild mannered public servant, but by night she is a mild mannered Shipping & Prizes coordinator for Desert Bus for Hope. She is also the self-proclaimed second most popular Minecraft stream who exclusively digs out chunks. [citation needed]

She is also an above average Magic player, a below average Warhammer painter, and a perfectly average baker.

Jacob Burgess
he/him

Jacob Burgess is an actor, writer, and helps run indie game publisher Ysbryd Games. You may have heard him in Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers or Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between, read his works in Vampire: the Masquerade or Exalted, or seen him run Not a Drop to Drink, a V5 Chronicle over on LoadingReadyRun.

If not, you're encountering him now. He says hello.

Kathleen De Vere
she/her

Bog witch who works by day as a video editor and producer for LoadingReadyRun, and by night as that too if I have a deadline to meet.

Mikey Neumann
he/him

Mikey Neumann is the creator of the YouTube channel Filmjoy where he spreads joy and talks about why film is art on his show Movies with Mikey. Before beginning his channel, he worked in the video game industry as a creative director on games such as Brothers in Arms, Borderlands, and Borderlands 2.

Stage Friend

Matt Griffiths, he/him, they/them

We know the energy of Desert Bus can look chaotic… and maybe it kinda is. But… that’s why our Stage Friend, Matt, is here to help keep the show rolling and organized. From picking challenges to reminding us that there’s another giveaway ready to go, the Stage Friend keeps everything running smoothly.

Broadcast

Joe Trollo
he/him

Martin “Map” Pittenauer
he/him

The fine broadcast team of Joe and Map is here to capture every moment and every happening of Desert Bus 2022. They make sure the video is hi-def, the audio is leveled properly, the dance party button is properly calibrated, and that the lower third is on standby to provide well-timed remarks.

Shipping

Jo Stinson
she/her

Should you be fortunate enough to win a giveaway or auction, Jo from the Shipping team is here to help get your sweet swag from Point A to Point B. The team also manages the on-site Prize Mines, albeit smaller than in years past, and makes sure to stress that, no matter how cool that sword is, you really shouldn’t try slicing bread with it.

Site Managers

Emily Jarrett
she/her

Sarah Toney
she/her

With Alpha Flight once again broadcasting on-site this year, the Site Manager team of Emily and Sarah are here to coordinate on-site logistical matters and make sure that no one burns anything down during the run. We hear that a burning Moonbase isn’t really suitable for an event.

Communications

Taylor “TQ” Quinn
she/her

Tim Lindvall
he/him

And finally, the Comms crew of TQ and Tim are here to words words words words words. We’ll keep you up to date on what’s happening and share the most premium GIFs on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and the blog right here at desertbus.org.

Let’s set the scene for this prize preview… you find yourself riding in a van capable of traveling all across the multiverse. It comes to a stop, and you step out into a grand library! Suddenly, as you step forth to explore further, an assortment of characters leaps out from the tales within and stand before you, from dashing bards to strong-willed warlocks, clever androids and road-rage vampires. Where will the adventure go next? Perhaps an investigation roll is in order?

This “Dice Friends” display set includes 54 miniatures, each modified and painted as characters from 10 “actual play” game campaigns hosted on the LoadingReadyRun and Desert Bus channels, including last year’s D&B Alpha Flight campaign. At 28mm or ~1:56 scale, they’re perfectly sized for your next D&D tabletop adventure.

And, to tie it all together, this set includes 8 upcycled books with magnetized covers, featuring the various tales these characters come from painted on the spine. Use them as miniature storage, dice tray, or a super stealthy way for your rogue to pass along coded messages.

This collection was hand-crafted and donated by Carrie Emmerich (@iris_of_ether) and is the result of over 8 months of planning and effort!

We’ll publish more information about this prize, our other prizes, and other scheduled happenings at #DB2022 very soon! Until then, check back on desertbus.org and our social channels for ongoing updates as this year’s event approaches.

Ladies, gents, and friends beyond the binary, it's time to ZETA! Okay, maybe not time to Zeta just yet, but it is time to show off who will be joining in on the overnight fun. A few new faces, a few returning faces, all of them ready to keep the bus on the road in the wee hours of the morning! Just a reminder, Zeta is remote this year, so we'll see you from the comfort of our homes!

Your Entertainers

This is our on-screen team, bringing goofs, laughs, and some awesome guitar solos!

Beej (he/him) is the longest standing member of Zeta Shift, having been the fearless leader since the jump! A little about Beej:

"Straight up, the last thing anyone wants to do is write a bio about themselves.  Like, I've got a nice enough keyboard here and everything, but I'm not really feeling the vibe.  Anyway, if you found this somewhere, you were probably thinking "hey, maybe I'll learn something neat about Beej" and honestly, there's going to be nothing buried in this prose that'll be illuminating.  I coordinate the selling of merch and I produce the Zeta shift; same as last year, and that's pretty good.  We should all be so lucky to have that kind of consistency in our lives.  By the way, I'm selling my entire bedroom suite (bed, desk, chair, toy box, and bookshelf - all matching colours), so if you're interested, hit me up.  They're pretty old, but they're well-built so I think you or your kid will see a lot of good use out of them."

Follow Beej on Mastodon at @beej@octodon.social

Cori (she/her) makes a return to Zeta this year, after exploring strange new worlds, and seeking out new life & new civilizations with Night Watch. About Cori:

Cori is a content creator at LoadingReadyRun and tiltyhouse. She first appeared at Desert Bus 4 in 2010 and has mostly continued to do so. Her most recent project is a podcast called Hey, Check It Out where she talks about movies with a couple friends.
Likes: Pop culture media
Dislikes: Seasonal allergies

Follow Cori at twitter.com/apsalar

Paul (he/him)makes his Zeta debut after being a Dawn Guard staple. This year, he trades in the coffee pong for mysterious lego, and we couldn't be happier to have him! More about Paul:

On vacation in South America, Paul was bitten by a radioactive sloth. He gained the proportional laziness of a sloth but has pledged to use his powers only to help those in need. Upon further investigation, it is possible that the sloth wasn't actually radioactive, in which case, the laziness was inside him all along!

Hang out with Paul at loadingreadyrun.com!

Broadcast

All of our teams rule, and none could do it without each other, but we literally could not do it without Broadcast.

Jen (she/her) returns for her second year as Zeta producer! We're thrilled to have her back and be continuously baffled by how to pronounce the names of tiny towns in the UK, and astounded with how awesome her graphics are.

Sarah (she/her) says Bye Bye Bye to Alpha Flight to get NSYNC with Zeta. She's here as director to overwatch the shift, and be a real daredevil in the broadcast booth.

Communications

Someone has to keep you in the loop, and provide your daily dose of silly memes and gifs. For that, we have our Zeta comms!

PJ (he/him) returns for his fourth year of Zeta shenanigans and consistent bus-posting.  While he may wrestle with finding the perfect gif, his posts are always too sweet. He's the reigning 24/7 Zeta comms champ!

Matthews (he/they) is also returning for a fourth year, tag teaming Zeta comms with PJ. Last year they brought a Desert Bus for Hope sign to an AEW event, so they've got that going for them. Which is nice.

And that's your Zeta for the year of our bus, 2022! Keep your eyes peeled for more previews coming soon! We have prizes, volunteers, and more coming soon!

HELLO AND WELCOME

We wanted to give you all a little taste of our prizes this year, and we are starting off strong with a beaut!

Celebrating the imagery and motifs from the timeless RPG masterpiece "Chrono Trigger", this handmade clock can sit handsomely on its LED-backlit base or can be lifted out and hung on a wall with the base used as a standalone art piece. Made by Odd Fox Laser Creations.

"Only time will see how it all ends."

- Guru Balthasar

Keeping track of time has challenged humanity since 65 million BC. Now you can take control of the 4th dimension with this one-of-a-kind hybrid mantle & wall clock.

At the bottom of the clock looms the fearsome destroyer Lavos. Above him rises a 3D time portal glowing with mysterious energy. At the center is the golden crest of the Eternal Kingdom of Zeal, and the face, hands, and pendulum pay tribute to the clock seen in the original title screen of the game.

Made from woods including Japanese tamo ash, spalted maple, and South American bocote, the clock has been sealed to protect against the passage of time. While seated on its base it measures 14"W x 17"T x 5"D and is powered by one AA battery and an optional USB cord for the LED backlight.

Does this clock intrigue you? Do you want to get your hands of this ART?!
Are you excited for even more wonderful creations to be shown to you?!
Then make sure to stay tuned as we slowly give you little snippets of our goodies!
This incredible prize and many more will be auctioned off & given away during our run, and that starts on Saturday, November 12th at 2pm PST!

Photo by Graham Stark

I know we’re all a bit distracted with Hallowe’en Season kicking off today, but we’ve got one other major ‘holiday’ on our minds: Desert Bus 2022 is barely 40 days away!! We can’t wait for it to start and also we have so much work left to do, so let’s get started.

With #DB2022 fast approaching in yet another unusual year, we once again want to provide an update for you on this year’s event structure. As with the last couple years, our first and foremost priority is the safety of all of our team members and ensuring that we’re following all applicable health regulations here in the province of BC. Things are definitely looking up compared to the last couple years, but we still want to ensure we’re remaining safe & accessible. We’ve also been able to learn a lot from how well LoadingReadyRun’s precautions and policies have been working as they’ve returned to live broadcasting from the Moonbase.

We’ll be adopting a similar hybrid model to last year, but with three shifts broadcasting in person this year & one shift remaining remote. Alpha Flight, Nightwatch, and Dawnguard will be broadcasting in person this year, with Zeta Shift broadcasting remotely in a similar format to previous years. We’re not returning to a full-scale event this year but we’re looking forward to welcoming more of our volunteers back to participate in person, while allowing folks to still participate remotely if they prefer.

As with last year, a few of our volunteers both in front of & behind the cameras will be moving around to different shifts. Expect to see some fun new combos of people working together! We know you’re excited to learn more, and we’ll have more to share about shift lineups during the lead-up to the event.

We’ve all gotten our vaccinations and our boosters, and we’ll be taking additional precautions both in the run-up to & during the event. We’re working hard to make sure we’re putting on the best event possible while ensuring the comfort and safety of all our volunteers. We’re continuing to follow the latest provincial health guidance available and will adjust our plans as needed.

As always, we are endlessly grateful for your patience and understanding. We think we’ve done some of our best work ever in the last couple years and we’re looking forward to doing it all over again. Don’t forget our start date & time will be a little bit different this year as we kick off our 2022 run at 2pm Pacific on Saturday November 12th!

And yes, Desert Bus is a bit different every year, but it’s also the same every year; No matter what it is, it’ll be something incredible that we’re all going to make, together.

Desert Bus for Hope 2022 Craft-Along Submissions are now Live!

Do you paint? Sew? Crochet? Use found objects to create adorable sculptures of creatures and characters from your favourite games? Any number of other things that one can consider crafty? Are you interested in being a part of this year’s Desert Bus? Well I have good news for you, because it’s that time again!

As of today, May 8th, submissions for the Desert Bus 2022 Craft-Along are now officially open. We’re inviting crafters of all backgrounds to consider crafting & donating a wonderful prize to help Desert Bus For Hope raise money for Child’s Play this year. Crafters will have until May 29th to get their proposals in, so that we can review what folks are interested in doing & get back to you soon with enough time to complete your crafts. We’re excited to see what our community comes up with, but because we get so many incredible applications, submissions will be limited to one item per crafter. We appreciate the enthusiasm, but we’d like everyone to have a chance.

We’re hoping to have all submissions reviewed & provide our wonderful crafters with a response by June 6th. Once that’s sorted, our accepted crafters can start crafting those masterpieces! The deadline for receipt of finished crafts this year will be September 30th. The earlier you can get your item in, the easier you make things for our prize team!

If you’re new to the Craft-Along, and have a great idea for a craft, the process is simple: just click here to get to the Craft-Along submissions page and fill out the form!  We’ll need your contact information, a description of your proposed craft, and a few other pieces of info.

The Desert Bus For Hope Craft-Along community is full of incredibly kind and gifted people who give so much of themselves, and for that we continue to be eternally grateful. It’s folks like you who make Desert Bus what it is, a positive gathering of people from across the world to help kids be kids.

The entire Desert Bus team thanks you, and we can’t wait to see all the incredible work you put together this year!

Posted by btetta.

We now have DB2021 merch available for our fans in the EU and UK!!!

Desert Bus for Hope will be offering its 2021 Merch Collection for sale to customers exclusively in the UK and EU, starting on May 2nd 2022 at 15:00 UTC, at store.desertbus.org

And now, a word from our Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Why is the Desert Bus for Hope 2021 Merch Collection being offered again?

A: During DBfH 2021, shipping to the UK and EU was disabled for all products on the LoadingReadyRun Store, which includes merch for Desert Bus for Hope. So UK and EU customers could not purchase anything from the store due to the changes in the VAT collection laws. We have, however, found a solution for our fans in the UK and EU.

Because of the VAT laws in UK and EU countries, retailers normally have to collect and remit VAT at point-of-purchase (usually along with customs fees, duties, and other fees involved in shipping). However, a retailer can instead choose to ship a product without collecting VAT (and duties, etc.) and the country’s customs agency will hold the package, assess the taxes/fees, and collect them directly from the customer before releasing the package. This will likely also include a holding fee from the post office for managing the duty. This process is called shipping “Delivery Duty Unpaid” and we will be shipping all packages to the UK and EU as DDU.

Q: I live in the UK or EU. How much will I be paying for shipping/taxes/duties/customs fees/etc.?

A: All packages are shipped to the UK and EU Delivery Duty Unpaid (DDU), so we do not have any estimates on what you will be paying. Unfortunately, we’re not able to calculate that for you.

Q: Why is the Desert Bus Merch collection open ONLY to UK and EU customers?

A: We held a percentage of merch items back from the initial sale, so that UK and EU fans would have a chance to purchase merch at a later date. Since they weren’t able to purchase anything during the run itself, it’s only fair to give them their own Exclusive Merch Window.

Q: If you have merch left over, what will happen to it?

A: We like to sell as much merch as possible, so we will make it available at a later date TBD to all customers worldwide (or at least the ones our fulfillment company can legally ship to).

Q: What merch does this include?

A: This includes the pin, poster, playmat, DBloon, and water bottle offered during the 2021 run, plus the USS Tucson playmat and poster. This also includes other miscellaneous Desert Bus merchandise from previous years that we still have in stock.

Q: Does this include the 2021 T-shirts?

A: Unfortunately, no. The T-shirts are produced and sold independently by Fangamer and are not offered through the LoadingReadyRun Store.

Q: Can I bundle this up with other LoadingReadyRun merchandise?

A: It’s all from the same store, so yes, you can. Bundle away!

Q: How long will this merch be on sale for?

A: That’s a very good question, and one I (Andrew) really should have asked Beej before posting this in the middle of the night. I can now confirm that sales will open for one week!

Thank you all for your patience while we got this figured out!! We’re so glad we can offer our UK and EU fans the merch they have been craving for so long!!

THANK YOU!

Thanks to the generosity of the entire Desert Bus for Hope community, we’ve raised $1,188,128.81, and bussed 167 hours for Child’s Play Charity!

To everyone that’s part of our community – our crafters, guests, sponsors, moderators, VST members, volunteers, and most importantly, viewers like YOU – thank you from the bottom of our hearts for joining us on this ride. We can’t say enough that this all wouldn’t be possible without your support.

For ongoing news during the year, check the blog here at desertbus.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also relive the greatest moments from this year’s run at YouTube. And, if you’re so inclined, you can donate to Child’s Play Charity year-round at their website. Until next time…

Posted by btetta.

We chatted, we animorphed, we minecrafted, we danced… we’ve started the final countdown of Desert Bus for Hope: Omega Shift!

Just in case you’re catching up on some of the numbers…

• We sold the Large Format Desert Bus for Hope 2021 Poster for $6,969!
• We gave away the giaaaaant Replica Buster Sword and raised $110,170!
• We’ve raised over ONE MILLION for Child’s Play Charity! 🤯
• And, so far, we’re bussing for 166 hours… but maybe more? We’ll see!

The Prize Mines are emptied out and all we have left to give away is the Mystery Box. We’ll give that away at the very end of the run. If you’ve donated $5 or more at any point during the run, you have a chance to win. Unlike our other giveaways, the amount donated doesn’t increase the number of entries, so everyone that’s donated has an equal chance. (And if you haven’t donated yet, and you’d like to do so, you can do so here at desertbus.org!)

With all that business out of the way… we’re just going to be hanging out, having a good time for the rest of Omega Shift. Please enjoy the show and The Final Busdown!

Here’s some of what you’ve missed during the first part of Omega Shift…

Did we mention that you all have raised over $1 million dollars this year? Here’s the moment in case you missed it:

We go on the final Minecraft server tour of the run:

The Homega crew shares some media recommendations:

We throw it over to Studiomega:

Graham reads some heartwarming messages from the challenges:

And, finally… more crosswords!

Remember, for the latest updates, stay tuned to desertbus.org. You can also catch up on the latest #DB2021 happenings around the web…

• Visit youtube.com/user/DesertBusForHope for the latest video highlights from the Video Strike Team (VST).
• Check out some of the photos you’ve submitted from home at photos.desertbus.org, and submit your bus-from-home photos at yourphotos.desertbus.org.
• Be our friend on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• And, of course, the live stream is always available at desertbus.org and twitch.tv/desertbus!

You all are absolutely amazing! We’ve raised over One Million Dollars in support of Child’s Play Charity this year! And, not only that, at the time of this blog post, you’ve also broken last year’s Desert Bus for Hope total! WOW! Exclamation points!!1!

Posted by randomtrivia.

Posted by azninsect.

Posted by btetta.

Posted by btetta.

Thank you thank you thank you thank you! You all are awesomely awesome! Stay tuned for more of Omega Shift as we bring Desert Bus for Hope 2021 to a close.