Lebowski Fest
Encyclopedia
Lebowski Fest is an annual festival begun in 2002 in Louisville, Kentucky
celebrating Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1998 cult film
The Big Lebowski
, whose fans' line memorization and creative attire rival those of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
. The Festival's main event each year is a night of unlimited bowling with various contests including Costume, Trivia, Hardest and Farthest Travelled contests. Held over a weekend, events typically include a pre-fest party with bands the night before the bowling event as well as a "garden party" event (a day long outdoor party with bands, vendor booths, games) at the Louisville fest. Various celebrities from the film have attended some of the events, including Jeff Bridges
, who attended the Los Angeles event. An account of the first ever Lebowski fest is included in Mike Walsh's non-fiction account of his endeavor to bowl in all fifty U.S. states, Bowling Across America.
An earlier, some claim first, incarnation of Lebowski Fest occurred in Bowling Green, KY in February of 2000. It was organized by film theory professor Dr. Ted Hovet and involved advertisements of the Dude saying the Bowling Alley really ties the campus together (it was in danger of closing). However, there is no connection between the two festivals.
The Festival has also appeared on Ace of Cakes in the 5th series. The episode named 'The Big Cakeowski' is centered around the severed toe cake that the Charm City Cakes staff create.
The Festival is now in its tenth year and has been held in Louisville, New York
, Las Vegas
, Los Angeles
, Austin
, Seattle
, Chicago, San Francisco
, and most recently Portland
, London
and Boston.
The organizers of Lebowski Fest: Bill Green (also graphic designer), Scott Shuffitt, Ben Peskoe, and Will Russell have also published the book, I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski: Life, The Big Lebowski, and What Have You, described as "a punch-drunk tribute worthy of a bowling-loving stoner named 'the Dude.'" There is also a documentary about Lebowski Fest, entitled The Achievers.
The British equivalent, inspired by Lebowski Fest, is known as The Dude Abides and is held in London.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
celebrating Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1998 cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
The Big Lebowski
The Big Lebowski
The Big Lebowski is a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges stars as Jeff Lebowski, an unemployed Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler, who is referred to as "The Dude". After a case of mistaken identity, The Dude is introduced to a millionaire also named...
, whose fans' line memorization and creative attire rival those of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
. The Festival's main event each year is a night of unlimited bowling with various contests including Costume, Trivia, Hardest and Farthest Travelled contests. Held over a weekend, events typically include a pre-fest party with bands the night before the bowling event as well as a "garden party" event (a day long outdoor party with bands, vendor booths, games) at the Louisville fest. Various celebrities from the film have attended some of the events, including Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
, who attended the Los Angeles event. An account of the first ever Lebowski fest is included in Mike Walsh's non-fiction account of his endeavor to bowl in all fifty U.S. states, Bowling Across America.
An earlier, some claim first, incarnation of Lebowski Fest occurred in Bowling Green, KY in February of 2000. It was organized by film theory professor Dr. Ted Hovet and involved advertisements of the Dude saying the Bowling Alley really ties the campus together (it was in danger of closing). However, there is no connection between the two festivals.
The Festival has also appeared on Ace of Cakes in the 5th series. The episode named 'The Big Cakeowski' is centered around the severed toe cake that the Charm City Cakes staff create.
The Festival is now in its tenth year and has been held in Louisville, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Chicago, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, and most recently Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Boston.
The organizers of Lebowski Fest: Bill Green (also graphic designer), Scott Shuffitt, Ben Peskoe, and Will Russell have also published the book, I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski: Life, The Big Lebowski, and What Have You, described as "a punch-drunk tribute worthy of a bowling-loving stoner named 'the Dude.'" There is also a documentary about Lebowski Fest, entitled The Achievers.
The British equivalent, inspired by Lebowski Fest, is known as The Dude Abides and is held in London.
External links
- Photo gallery from Lebowski Fest 2009 in Washington, DC
- Lebowski Fest
- Audio (MP3) Interview with the creators of Lebowski Fest — The Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young America is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California and distributed by Public Radio International...
- Cult Films with Will and Scott The Lebowski Podcast interview with Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt.
- Interview with the Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt (creators) on the eve of the UK Lebowski fests — Trebuchet magazine
- The book at Amazon