July 3rd, 2011
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Author: For the past 12 years, something has been growing in Phoenixville — something filled with horror, music and mayhem, and it will be taking over the Colonial Theatre and surrounding streets. Some have said it is indestructible. Others have said nothing will stop it.
Ladies and gentlemen, BlobFest 2011 is almost here.
The jelly-like alien creature from the 1958 sci-fi movie “The Blob” once crawled, leaped and glided through Phoenixville. Some fans of the movie may even distinctively remember the running out of the theater scene, which took place at Phoenixville’s Colonial Theatre. Those fans and anyone else looking to commemorate the town’s involvement in this cult classic can attend BlobFest from July 8 to July 10.
The event starts Friday night 7 p.m. with a stage show in the Colonial Theatre featuring music by City Rhythm Orchestra, ghoulish characters and hosts Dr. Frank N. Stone and Cinema Insomnia’s Mr. Lobo. This year marks BlobFest’s fifth annual amateur short film contest and winners are recognized during the show as well. Even the original caretaker of the blob, Wes Shank, will be there.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun, lots of wacky-ness and nonsense,” BlobFest committee member Joan Kelly said. “The night really culminates in the re-enactment of the running out of the theater scene.”
That’s right. Those who attend Friday’s stage show end the evening running out of the theater, screaming and scrambling to escape the horrific blob, just like in the movie.
Following the re-enactment, people have the opportunity to walk, or continue running, next door to P.J. Ryan’s Pub for the fourth annual Blob Ball. Housed underneath the pub this year, Blob Ball is a 1950s themed retro party with music from the blob years played by the Rivers Rockabilly Trio, dancing and costume contests. The bar also serves Jello shots fittingly called blob shots.
“This is a kickoff for the rest of BlobFest,” said Rivers Rockabilly Trio member and co-founder of Blob Ball Stu Frederick. “People need to have something to do after they run out of the theater. This is for people who want to keep on partying.”
BlobFest continues Saturday with a Street Fair on Bridge Street outside of the theater from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Food and merchandise vendors will line the street, and at noon a fire extinguisher parade marches through to pay tribute to the firefighting equipment that saved the entire world from the blob. A rockabilly group, the Buzzards, will also play throughout the afternoon.
For those who missed Shank and the blob the night before, he and the blob will greet guests inside the theater during the duration of the street fair.
The Colonial Theatre also shows “The Blob” along with other horror classics throughout the day and in the evening Saturday.
“You’d be watching the movie in the theater where part of the movie was actually filmed,” Kelly said.
BlobFest concludes Sunday with the last showing of “The Blob” at 2 p.m. Continued…
Wristband: $6, children 13 & under; $8, seniors and students w/ ID; $10, adults Includes access to displays & vendors inside theater and a seat for either 11:30 a.m. or 3:30 p.m.
Double feature: “The Blob” & “Invaders from Mars.”
Saturday, July 9: Spook show, 7:30 p.m., $6 children;
$8, seniors and students w/ ID; $10, adults, double feature, “The Blob” & “It Conquered the World.”
Sunday, July 10: Final showing of “The Blob,” 2 p.m., $5,
children, $6, seniors & students w/ ID; $8, adults.
Info: http://www.thecolonialtheatre.com/.
Blob Ball
Underground at
P.J. Ryan’s Pub,
231 Bridge St.,
Phoenixville, PA 19460,
Friday, July 8, Continued…
For the past 12 years, something has been growing in Phoenixville — something filled with horror, music and mayhem, and it will be taking over the Colonial Theatre and surrounding streets. Some have said it is indestructible. Others have said nothing will stop it.
Ladies and gentlemen, BlobFest 2011 is almost here.
The jelly-like alien creature from the 1958 sci-fi movie “The Blob” once crawled, leaped and glided through Phoenixville. Some fans of the movie may even distinctively remember the running out of the theater scene, which took place at Phoenixville’s Colonial Theatre. Those fans and anyone else looking to commemorate the town’s involvement in this cult classic can attend BlobFest from July 8 to July 10.
The event starts Friday night 7 p.m. with a stage show in the Colonial Theatre featuring music by City Rhythm Orchestra, ghoulish characters and hosts Dr. Frank N. Stone and Cinema Insomnia’s Mr. Lobo. This year marks BlobFest’s fifth annual amateur short film contest and winners are recognized during the show as well. Even the original caretaker of the blob, Wes Shank, will be there.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun, lots of wacky-ness and nonsense,” BlobFest committee member Joan Kelly said. “The night really culminates in the re-enactment of the running out of the theater scene.”
That’s right. Those who attend Friday’s stage show end the evening running out of the theater, screaming and scrambling to escape the horrific blob, just like in the movie.
Following the re-enactment, people have the opportunity to walk, or continue running, next door to P.J. Ryan’s Pub for the fourth annual Blob Ball. Housed underneath the pub this year, Blob Ball is a 1950s themed retro party with music from the blob years played by the Rivers Rockabilly Trio, dancing and costume contests. The bar also serves Jello shots fittingly called blob shots.
“This is a kickoff for the rest of BlobFest,” said Rivers Rockabilly Trio member and co-founder of Blob Ball Stu Frederick. “People need to have something to do after they run out of the theater. This is for people who want to keep on partying.”
BlobFest continues Saturday with a Street Fair on Bridge Street outside of the theater from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Food and merchandise vendors will line the street, and at noon a fire extinguisher parade marches through to pay tribute to the firefighting equipment that saved the entire world from the blob. A rockabilly group, the Buzzards, will also play throughout the afternoon.
For those who missed Shank and the blob the night before, he and the blob will greet guests inside the theater during the duration of the street fair.
The Colonial Theatre also shows “The Blob” along with other horror classics throughout the day and in the evening Saturday.
“You’d be watching the movie in the theater where part of the movie was actually filmed,” Kelly said.
BlobFest concludes Sunday with the last showing of “The Blob” at 2 p.m.
Tickets have sold out for opening night of BlobFest, but readers can enter a contest to win two tickets. The rest of the events are either free or tickets are still available.
If you go:
BlobFest
takes place
at Colonial Theatre &
200 block of Bridge Street,
Phoenixville, PA 19460,
Friday – Sunday,
July 8 – 10.
Friday, July 8: Sold out.
Saturday, July 9:
Free street fair
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Wristband: $6, children 13 & under; $8, seniors and students w/ ID; $10, adults Includes access to displays & vendors inside theater and a seat for either 11:30 a.m. or 3:30 p.m.
Double feature: “The Blob” & “Invaders from Mars.”
Saturday, July 9: Spook show, 7:30 p.m., $6 children;
$8, seniors and students w/ ID; $10, adults, double feature, “The Blob” & “It Conquered the World.”
Sunday, July 10: Final showing of “The Blob,” 2 p.m., $5,
children, $6, seniors & students w/ ID; $8, adults.
Info: http://www.thecolonialtheatre.com/.
Blob Ball
Underground at
P.J. Ryan’s Pub,
231 Bridge St.,
Phoenixville, PA 19460,
Friday, July 8,
8:30 p.m. – midnight.
Tickets: $10.
Info: http://www.theriversonline.com/
or http://the-rivers.ticketleap.com/blob-ball-4/.
BlobFest Contest:
Be the first reader to answer this trivia question correctly and win two tickets to BlobFest’s sold-out stage show and running-out-of-the-theatre re-enactment Friday, July 8.
Question: What was the working title for the 1958 film “The Blob?”
Email answer to: KLinsner@journalregister.com.
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