read about the first night of the 8th Annual Lebowski Fest
Saturday afternoon Garden Party
Prior to Saturday’s Lebowski Garden Party, director Eddie Chung presented a viewing of his Lebowski Fest documentary, The Achievers: The Story of The Big Lebowski Fans, which he’d premiered at the San Francisco Lebowski Fest. It was wild to learn that The Big Lebowski, expected to be a Cohen Brothers crowning achievement hot off the heels of the hit Fargo, was pulled from the theaters only 6 weeks after it opened. The documentary followed original forum members and featured interviews with the Lebowski Fest creators, a friend of the Cohen Brothers and the basis for the film’s Walter character, Jeff Bridges, and Jeff Dowd, inspiration for the film’s main character, The Dude.
The DVD will be released on August 18th. You can find more information about The Achievers: The Story of The Big Lebowski Fans at http://www.theachieversmovie.com.
A short while after the documentary’s viewing saw the commencement of the Garden Party in the Executive Strike & Spare’s parking lot. The party featured DJ Matt Anthony dressed up as Jesus (from the film, not the religious fellow) mixing as Achievers, many elaborately dressed as the movie’s characters and concepts (the more obscure the costume, the more revered), mingled, played games and drank. The games, played for $1 each – with all proceeds going to benefit Kentuckiana Big Brothers Big Sisters – were all Lebowski themed, naturally, and included a marmot fling, ringer toss, and cornhole.
The greatest part of the Garden Party was checking out all the clever costumes that die-hard Achievers were able to come up with. Since pictures are worth a thousand words, I’ll let them do the talking.
Saturday night Bowling Party
The line for the bowling party formed early – Achievers were concerned about getting lanes. The White Russians were abundant as Achievers bowled and formed friendships over their love of Lebowski. The end of the night saw the judging for the Costume competition and a bowl off between the best Dude, the best Walter, the best Jesus and the best Maude.
Having grown tired of bowling, my boyfriend and I joined friends we’d made from St. Louis, Washington DC, and Pittsburgh in the bowling alley’s bar/lounge which was hosting karaoke.
I had a blast at the 8th Annual Lebowski Fest and want to thank Scott and Will for throwing such an awesome party! I’m definitely stoked for the party to come to Philadelphia at the end of September as part of the Speed of Sound Tour. Check out the dates below of a Lebowski Fest coming to a city near you!
Speed of Sound Tour Dates:
Denver - Sept. 8th & 9th
Minneapolis - Sept. 11th & 12th
Chicago - Sept. 13th – 15th
Toronto - Sept. 17th & 18th
Boston - Sept. 19th & 20th
New York City – Sept. 22nd – 24th
Philadelphia - Sept. 25th & 26th
Washington DC – Sept. 28th & 29th
Austin – Oct. 9th & 10th
Lebowski Fest: website | tickets
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