Fans flock to 'Big Lebowski' festival

A convention, of sorts, celebrating my favorite Coen brothers film, featuring "the Real Dude;" check it out:

Russell and Shuffitt, lifelong friends, first conceived the notion of the Lebowski Fest while running a T-shirt and sticker booth at a tattoo convention. The pair found a small, affordable bowling alley, printed up $30 worth of flyers and waited to see what would happen. Russell is a Web developer and Shuffitt designs T-shirts and concert posters.

What happened was about 150 people showed up for the inaugural Lebowski Fest last year. Fans of the movie gathered in a tiny bowling alley to bowl, sip white Russians -- The Dude's adult beverage of choice -- and wear the costumes of their favorite Lebowski characters.

Word of mouth and other Lebowski fan sites touting the festival spurred this year's massive turnout.

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