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The city of Cottage Grove is holding what it hopes will be the world's largest toga party on Aug. 30.
The 25th Anniversary Animal House Celebration, part of Universal Studios' "Animal House Celebration Week," is timed to coincide with a new DVD re-release of "National Lampoon's Animal House."
The event will feature concerts, a parade and a day long toga and look-alike contest. There will also be two showings of the film, one at 2 p.m. and another at 5 p.m., at the Cottage Grove High School auditorium, which seats 500.
The toga party itself will begin at noon with live music beginning at 2:30 p.m. Among the bands scheduled to perform are The Power Pep Band, The Patty McCulla & Dave Clark Band, The Blue Light Special, The Blues Brothers and the party band who performed in the film, Otis Day and the Knights. The climax of the evening will be an 8:30 p.m. performance by the Kingsmen, whose version of "Louie, Louie" was featured prominently in "Animal House."
The toga party will be the largest on record if all goes according to plan, and the paperwork has already been filed with The Guinness Book of World Records, according to event coordinator Tim Flowerday. There is no previous record for largest toga party.
The parade, which begins at noon, will feature special re-creations of floats featured in a scene of "Animal House" filmed in Cottage Grove.
The event was originally envisioned by the Cottage Grove Historic Society and has since become a community effort, with various companies and nonprofit organizations pitching in.
There have been rumors that actors from the film will make an appearance, but according to Universal Studios, nothing is certain until the week of the event. Screenwriter Chris Miller, who penned the film along with Harold Ramis and Douglas Kenney, is scheduled to make an appearance. Various extras from the film will also be talking about their experiences making the film.
As the event's main promoter, Universal is giving it a national ad campaign to coincide with the new DVD. The re-release of the film, entitled the "Double Secret Probation Edition," is scheduled for an August 26 release. New bonus material includes the theatrical trailer, a "Where are they now?" update, new footage and commentary from director John Landis.
Tickets for the toga party and film showing are available at the event's Web site, www.animalhousecelebration.com. Toga party tickets are $15, with a limited number of "toga kits" also available. Film tickets are $5. The event opens with a breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and is scheduled to run until 10:30 p.m..
Ryan Nyburg is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
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