Philadelphia's 'Awesome' Festival Opens Its Summerlong Schedule
By Hadas Kuznits
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The fifth annual Awesome Fest began today, with the aim of making Philadelphia a little more awesome with free outdoor events.
Josh Goldbloom, founder and artistic director of Awesome Fest, says nothing is more awesome than free events in the summer.
"Our signature event is a ten-week annual summer series," he tells KYW Newsradio. "We have over 30 outdoor screenings, from June through August, citywide -- all outdoor screenings, they're completely free of charge. We have a lot of concerts, stand-up comics, large independent premieres, (and) nostalgic screenings with special guests."
He says one of the favorite events he's ever produced is called "Friday the 13th Summer Camp Sleepover.
"We rent a day camp and we do horror movies all night long, outdoors in the woods, and we have food trucks, fire pits, we have tattoo artists," he explains.
Goldbloom says he actively curates movies at Sundance and other festivals throughout the year to bring the best films to Philadelphia. And when possible, he adds, he brings the actors and directors in tow.
"The heart and soul of our festival -- and what I truly love -- are these independence films. For me, the guests that we're able to bring in and to put these films on a larger platform, that's a whole lot of fun for me."
A complete schedule of events can be found at www.theawesomefest.com.
Hear the extended interview in this CBS Philly podcast (runs 14:34)...
