Forever Fest 4EVA
My girlie date with the ladies of Forever Fest, talking cupcakes, beefcake and squee
Cupcakes, champagne and Pretty in Pink — these are just some of the things that make for a perfect night spent with your closest girlfriends. It also provides the perfect atmosphere for chatting (and gossiping!) with the founders of Austin’s newest festival devoted solely to the masterpieces of girlie entertainment, Forever Fest.
It’s a festival that embraces its feminine side, and it comes from two of Austin’s bubbliest personalities. Brandy Fons and Sarah Pitre will be your guides back to a time when Molly Ringwald pined for the cute jock from the other side of the tracks when Forever Fest makes its debut at the Alamo Drafthouse November 1-3.
Sipping on some “champers” recently, the two dished about their favorite Hollywood hunks, the story behind Forever Fest and how even the not-so-girlie among us can celebrate our feminine sides.
Look forward to a screening of Empire Records followed by a Rex Manning Day Party, The Cutest Show on Earth presented by Buzzfeed Animals that will make you squee and Sixteen Candleswith cast in attendance followed by an 80s high school dance.
Already on the docket for Forever Fest is a screening of Empire Records, followed by a Rex Manning Day Party, The Cutest Show on Earth presented by Buzzfeed Animals that will likely make you squee, Sixteen Candleswith cast in attendance followed by an 80s high school dance and The Wild Brunch, a tribute to the most chiseled hunks in Hollywood.
So which beefcakes can we expect to see at The Wild Brunch? “For me,” says Pitre, “it’s going to be Ryan Gosling, Channing Tatum, Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. I have a huge crush on Timothy Olyphant and Alexander Skarsgard.”
“I’m obsessed with Jon Hamm,” says Fons. “I like Channing Tatum, too, but I like Alex Pettyfer more. Also Matthew Modine. It really upsets me that Jake Ryan never takes off his shirt, because he’s my diehard favorite. Also Henry Cavill.” They say that for The Wild Brunch, expect it to be Magic Mike, but without the boring parts.
And what about their personal favorite girlie movies? For Pitre, it’s You’ve Got Mail. “That is like the ultimate comfort food to me. I love Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. I love its portrayal of New York. For me, it’s the perfect movie.”
The number one spot for Fons goes to Pretty in Pink. “I was the alternative girl growing up, and I used to dress like Molly Ringwald and make or alter my own clothes.” However, both seem to agree that Ringwald didn’t really improve her dress all that much for the big dance in Pretty in Pink, and like so many others, they also think she would have been better off with Duckie.
When Fons isn’t spending some of her free time rewatching some totally 80s John Hughes classics, she’s heading Fons PR and coordinating some of the Alamo Drafthouse’s premier events, including Fantastic Fest.
Pitre is able to devote even more of her professional life to movies, acting as the lead programmer for the Drafthouse’s signature Girlie Nights and Afternoon Tea events and founding Forever Young Adult, a site devoted to “YA readers who are a little less Y and a lot more A.”
It was Fons who originally had the idea for a feminine film festival. “I was in the middle of Fantastic Fest in 2012, and Pitch Perfect had just come out,” says Fons. “I just loved the movie and started quoting it, but I was in the middle of Fantastic Fest, which is completely different.” Fons thought about how there wasn’t a women-oriented film festival dedicated to the movies that you'd expect to watch at a slumber party.
She discussed her idea with Pitre, and together they pitched the idea to Drafthouse CEO Tim League — who might have also been a fan of Pitch Perfect. A year later, as if in a scene from a Hughes movie, the fantasy of Forever Fest is ready to come true.
The duo also wants to make the entire weekend fun and accessible for everyone — including guys, who are heartily invited to join in — and hope to make their inaugural year even bigger via their Kickstarter drive. Funding will help bring in more special guests and rent out event spaces for all the shindigs the duo has planned.
While your wish of kissing Jake Ryan may not come true at Forever Fest, your dream of the ultimate weekend out with the girls definitely will.
If you can’t wait until November to get your fangirl on, Pitre and Fons explain the vital components to have a successful girlie night at home. “I would say champagne, or some kind of adult beverage. That’s vital,” says Pitre. “When you think back to slumber parties it was all about staying up late and whispering secrets, and as slightly older women we can’t stay up as late as we need, so we need alcohol to get those secrets out earlier.”
While your wish of kissing Jake Ryan might not come true at Forever Fest, your dream of the ultimate weekend out with the girls definitely will.
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Tickets for Forever Fest go on sale to the public Monday, October 14, the Alamo Drafthouse. Backers who $100 or more on Kickstarter can begin purchasing tickets as early as today.