After Firefly was cancelled and taken off the air, the fans of the show were excited to hear that a movie, Serenity, was going to be released in 2005. In anticipation of the movie, the Chicagoland Browncoats wanted to unite the fandom. Taking a cue from the Firefly episode "Shindig," they began organizing a large, gala-like event. They invited Browncoats from around the world to come and join them. Thus, the Browncoat Ball was born.
The Browncoat Ball is a weekend-long social event that is held in the fall, usually around September or October. Browncoats from all over fly into the hosting city, a different locale every year. Some fans come in early or stay a few days after to see the extra sites each host city has to offer.