The Blobfest Returns To Phoenixville Friday Through Sunday

PHOENIXVILLE, PA— The movie monster that put Phoenixville’s Colonial Theatre on the map returns for a live festival Friday through Sunday in downtown Phoenixville.

The 24th 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.

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.

The weekend is filled with festivities for people of all ages.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Friday: 7:00 p.m. re-enactment of the famous 'Run Out' scene in 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. The show is sold out.
• 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, a parade, and science-fiction double features. More information is available here.
• Sunday: 10 a.m. Mystery Science Theater hosted by Joel Hodgson, Jonah Ray and Emily Marsh.
• The Blob 5k and 10k are hosted by Runegades as a benefit event.
• Self-guided driving tour of film locations for The Blob and other movies in Chester County. Information is available here.