The Blobfest Returns To Phoenixville Today Through Sunday

PHOENIXVILLE, PA— The movie monster that put Phoenixville’s Colonial Theatre on the map returns for a live festival today through Sunday after being only virtual during the last two summers due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 23rd annual festival commemorates the theatre’s history as a filming location for the 1958 classic sci-fi film, The Blob, which stars a young Steve McQueen.

The festival provides The Blob double features, followed by a question and answer session with Bill Jersey, art director of the film. Tickets are available here.

Jennifer Carlson, the theatre’s new executive director, said she looks forward to experiencing the event for the first time.

“Blobfest helps define the Colonial Theatre and contributes to our identity and sense of place here in the borough,” Carlson said. “It’s a bright spot in our year that’s made other year-round programs possible, like our very successful horror cult film series.”

Festival highlights

• Friday: 7:00 p.m. re-enactment of the famous 'Run Out' scene in the The Blob that was filmed inside the Colonial Theatre’s auditorium on Bridge Street. Other events include a show hosted by Aurora Gorealis of Baltimore’s Shocktail Hour and live music by Beach Creeper.
• 9 p.m. to midnight Blob ball dance party hosted by Lulu Boutique & Gifteri, featuring Dibbs and the Detonators. Tickets are available here.
• Saturday: Street Fair featuring live music, vendors, a kid’s activity table, as well as costume, tattoo, and Tinfoil Hat contests, a parade and scienec-fiction double features. More information is available here.
• Sunday: Double Feature of The Blob and The Man From Planet X with retro boxed lunches scratch made by Malvern’s Dixie Picnic.
• The Blob 5k and 10k hosted by Runegades
• Self-guided driving tour of film locations for The Blob and other movies in Chester County. Information is available here.

Blob’s history

Director Irvin “Shorty” Yeaworth filmed The Blob in Phoenixville and Downingtown. The movie was produced at Good News Productions studio, Yellow Springs.

The film was sold to Paramount Pictures and its first full-length, color feature.

The Blob was reportedly inspired by a 1950 Philadelphia police report that involved an object falling from space to the corner of Vare and 26th streets.

Investigators said they encountered a jelly-like mass they claim moved on its own.

The film centers on a small, rural town beset by a similar, amoeba-like creature intent on consuming everything in its path.

When adults fail to heed the warnings of local teens, the ‘blob’ overtakes the town theater in a climactic scene shot inside and outside the Colonial Theatre.