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Freedonia Marxonia came back to Fredonia in 2009. Photo by Patrick DePuy. Contests open to all members of campus and community in these categories:
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The zany fun of Freedonia Marxonia will hit SUNY Fredonia on Saturday, Nov. 6 from 1 to 5 p.m. in The Spot in the Williams Center. Freedonia Marxonia: Marx Brothers Film Festival and Symposium celebrates the unique relationship SUNY Fredonia shares with the Marx Brothers.
Festival participants are encouraged to dress in Marx Brothers costumes. Free “Groucho Glasses” will be distributed to all participants.
Cash prizes will be awarded for best of show in the following Marx Brothers related contests: Costume, Skit or Dramatic Presentation, Art Work, Short Film (three minutes or less). A new contest this year is a literature contest.
Contest entries may be prose, poetry, fiction or factual, or any combination thereof. Send entries by Nov. 4, for the contests in Art, Short Film, and Literature to Karen West, Foundation House, SUNY Fredonia, 272 Central Avenue or by e-mail to Karen.west@fredonia.edu. To arrange a time in the festival for a skit or dramatic presentations, contact Karen West.
Why Marxonia in Fredonia?
In 1929, the Marx Brothers made the film Duck Soup, with the film’s activity located in a fictional country called "Freedonia."
Local lore suggests that the Marx Brothers performed in Fredonia in the 1891 Opera House during a vaudeville trip and were quite taken with the name, deciding Freedonia would be a good name for the fictional country in their film. Regardless of the accuracy of the local lore, there are many documented links between the Marx Brothers and Fredonia and much fun to be had learning about these links and enjoying the fun of the festival.
Freedonia Marxonia had a four-year run in from 1987 to 1990 at the suggestion of a student at the time, Douglas Canham, who graduated in 1987. Alumnus Canham funded a rebirth in 2008. The November 2010 will be the third festival in the recent re-birth.
Hahn Family Freedonia Marxonia Fund Established
In 2009, Marx Brothers aficionado Matthew Hahn and his wife, Cheri, of Severn, Md., established The Hahn Family Freedonia Marxonia Fund, an endowment to provide permanent funding for Freedonia Marxonia. Mr. Hahn is employed by the Ciesla Foundation, a non-profit organization that makes films. Ms. Hahn is assistant vice president for Quality and Safety at Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Md.
For more information contact: Karen.west@fredonia.edu.
