Since the release of The Big Lebowski on home video, it has achieved cult status through a fan movement that has spawned several events celebrating the legacy of the film. The newest one of these events has been dubbed LebowskiPalooza, taking place in Winnipeg March 6.
Greg Skazyk and Trent Whidden are the co-founders of this event, which originated with an idea the pair had two years ago. The pair were lamenting the fact they never got to see the movie originally in the theatre and how much fun they would have if they rented a theatre and played it for themselves and a few friends. The friends’ joke soon turned serious as Whidden made a few phone calls and started getting their idea into motion.
“ ”˜What the hell, let’s do it. Book the theatre,’ ” Skazyk remembered saying. “We almost immediately decided to donate the money to charity. And so Lebowski Night 2009 was born. We had the event and it went really well.”
The success of the first endeavour encouraged them to make this a yearly tradition that will hopefully grow. Skazyk and Widden are the first to their knowledge to organize a Lebowski event in Canada, which is something they’re excited about.
“They have the Lebowski Fest that happens in the States. Our event is more of a ”˜palooza.’ We can confidently say ours is the biggest Big Lebowski event in all of Canada,” Skazyk said.
From the beginning, the pair decided that all proceeds from their event would go to the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba. When plans were first discussed, the pair had decided they would only do this if it was for a good cause. Last year they ended up donating $1,200. It was Skazyk who had decided it would go toward Alzheimer’s.
“I had a grandmother and a great grandparent that each suffered from this brutal disease,” said Whidden. “Once we had our initial conversation with the wonderful folks at the Alzheimer Society and where the donation money was going, we knew we wanted to do our best to donate as much as possible to this great organization.”
Skazyk and Whidden have lots planned for the night that will immerse people in everything Lebowski related. The pair have a ringer toss planned, a trivia contest, a costume contest and a Shakespeare-Lebowski quote game done on stage. Aside from the film itself and the planned games, the pair promise drinks and food from the movie including White Russians and “oat sodas.”
Skazyk and Whidden hope to have 600 people show up and a night that will be memorable.
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