Annual Lebowski Fest celebrates quotable cult classic
Multiple Lebowski Fest attendees in costume as “The Dude,” originally portrayed by Jeff Bridges in the Coen brothers’ movie, “The Big Lebowski.”
By Arit John
March 31, 2010 10:37 p.m.
It’s Friday night, and there’s a guy dressed up as Jesus walking with another guy in a skin-tight, forest-green dance costume. That’s when you know Lebowski Fest is in town.
The event is an annual two-day celebration dedicated to embracing the cult following behind “The Big Lebowski,” the 1998 Coen brothers’ movie starring Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges as “The Dude.” This year’s festival takes place in Los Angeles April 2-3 at the Wiltern Theater and The Cal Bowl for the screening and bowling party, respectively.
The festival started out in 2002 in Louisville, Ky., after co-founders Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt bonded over the movie with fellow vendors at a tattoo expo.
“The first time we did it, we thought 20 of our friends would show up,” Russell said. “We ended up with 150 people.”
The festival has since expanded across the country and to the United Kingdom.
Russell and Shuffitt founded the festival for fans of the film to share their common obsession with the movie. The weekend consists of costumes, trivia contests and the drink White Russian, heavily featured in the film.
The festival thrives on the fans’ expert knowledge of all things Lebowski. It’s the difference between knowing that a White Russian is a sweet cocktail drink and that it is the drink the Dude is drinking when he’s drugged by a mob boss.
“All of it is pretty much an inside joke. That’s the fun of it. We all get it, and we’re all into it,” Russell said.
Despite expanding geographically and being recognized in publications as varied as The New York Times and Playboy magazine, Lebowski Fest has changed little from its origins eight years ago.
“It’s basically the exact same event that we started with,” Russell said.
