Photo Essay: Louisville KY’s 9th Annual Lebowski Fest
What started as trading lines from the movie between friends on a boring afternoon grew into a network of fandom, where ‘achievers’ come from from far and wide to spend two days enjoying Lebowski music, games, costumes, trivia, film and of course bowling. I had the pleasure of participating this year, my band C+ played, and I took some pics along the way. Despite the intense heat, achievers from all over the country came to show their love and eerie knowledge of every nuance of the movie.
Some highlights of the 9th Lebowski Fest that deviate from the norm are that ABC’s Nightline came to interview Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt (the founding dudes) and do a piece on the festival. Liam (actor James G. Hoosier) who was bowling partner of ‘The Jesus’ in the movie was in attendance to the delight of all the achievers. And it seemed like this year there were even more obscure and cerebral costumes that often times referred to a quick bit of abstract dialogue or an inanimate object in the film.
1.My friend Kent flings a bag of underwear at the target to try for a prize.
2.Liam from The Big Lebowski (far right) with some achievers.
3.“I don’t need your fuckin’ sympathy, man, I need my fucking johnson!”
4.LAPD working around the clock.
5.The Jesus and The Chinaman is not the Issue.
6.Cash Machine
7.One of the ‘leg stealing Chinamen’. The line is, “I didn’t blame anyone for the loss of my legs! Some Chinaman took them from me in Korea.”
8.The ingredients for a white Russian and some “Chinamen” as seen on TV.
9.White Russians $4.50.
10.Me and the Seedy Seeds (a band that also played the show) whose costumes are in reference to the overdubbed for TV line “You see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?” The line being covered up for the censors is “You see what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass?”
11.A girl from the dream sequence, an In and Out worker, and a Walter
12. This dude is making me feel funny.
13. A photographer takes photos of achievers in front of the dream sequence stairs.
14.Achievers range from the deranged to the relatively sane.
15.This guy’s balls are coming out of his kilt.
16.“Sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes the bar eats you” and “The fucking park ranger.”
17.The King
18.GourDude
Community Connection
Matador is all about The Big Lebowski. If you’re at all confused about what all the fuss is about, David Page will set you straight with In Search of the Real Dude: Notes From a Lebowski Fest.
And if you want even more Matador Lebowski madness, look no further than The Dude Abides: The Meaning of ‘The Big Lebowski’ Ten Years Later.
MatadorU Travel Photography Program
MatadorU’s Travel Photography Program gives you direct feedback on your work, and lifetime access to the most supportive, dynamic, and fun community of Travel Writers, Travel Photographers, and New Media Professionals on the web.
About the Author
