Lebowski Fest to celebrate namesake film's 10th anniversary

Fans from across the country will gather to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Coen Brothers’ film, The Big Lebowski, this summer at the 7th annual Lebowski Fest.

The event will take place July 11-12 in Louisville, Ken., kicking off Friday evening with performances by comedian Brian Posehn, comedic Seattle band Pleaseeasaur and a screening of the titular movie. Saturday’s events include a garden party with performances from Mike Doughty, Snow Monster and Everthus the Deadbeats, as well as a bowling party with a guest appearance by actor Jim Hoosier (who played Liam in the film.)

The festival got its start when founders Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt got bored at a tattoo convention and started quoting lines from The Big Lebowski back and forth. Soon vendors and passers-by were joining in, and the two friends got the idea to celebrate one of their favorite films with fans from across the country. The events have grown every year, and have even expanded to New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Austin, Seattle and London.

Many of the film’s stars have made appearances at the annual festival, including Jeff Bridges (The Dude), Peter Stormare (Uli the Nihilist) and Jack Kehler (Monty the Landlord.) Jeff “The Dude” Dowd, who inspired the film, has also showed up several times. The festival has been so successful that Russell and Shuffitt penned the book I’m a Lebowski, You’re a Lebowski about the experience, featuring interviews with the actors, trivia and a foreword written by Bridges.

Tickets for the event are available now on TicketWeb.com, or locally at WHY Louisville and Ear X-Tacy.

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