Ferris Fest Finally Allows Us All to Be Ferris Bueller (Sort Of)

Get some culture at the Ferris Fest (Paramount Pictures)

For those who have spent their entire lives imagining what it would be like to be Ferris Bueller, Ferris Fest is the equivalent of a dream fulfilled by a John Hughes fairy godmother.

In conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the movie’s release, a three-day event in Chicago will revel in all things “Bueller … Bueller … Bueller,” from May 20-22. Among the events scheduled that may convince you it’s worth faking your grandmother’s death so you can get out of work and go:

—A two-part, two-day bus tour of key sites from the movie, including Cameron’s house; the Art Institute of Chicago, where Ferris, Cameron and Sloane gaze at Monets; Wrigley Field (“Hey batter, batter, batter, sah-wing, batter”); the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower; and the parking lot of Glenbrook North High School, where Ferris, disguised as Sloane’s father, picks up his girlfriend while wearing a not-at-all suspicious trench coat and driving an even less suspicious Ferrari (“So that’s how it is in their family”).

—A screening of the movie, hosted by movie critic Richard Roeper and featuring a Q&A with members of the cast, including, so far, Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward (Mr. and Mrs. Bueller, also formerly married in real life) and Jonathan Schmock, who played the maitre’d who doubted the identity of Abe Froman, sausage king of Chicago.

—The opportunity to experience a 360-degree replica of Ferris’s poster-lined bedroom, previously displayed in Toronto.

—A live recreation of the “Twist and Shout” parade sequence. You remember the one. (By the way, Jimmy Fallon and his lip synch battles owe a massive debt to this scene.)

Passes for the full-day three-day experience are a bit pricey at $300, but you can also cherry pick and buy individuals tickets to specific events. According to the Chicago Tribune, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the anti-bullying charity Stomp Out Bullying, which is nice since Ferris basically bullies Cameron into borrowing his father’s car.

Ferris Bueller taught us that life moves pretty fast. And if you don’t stop and go to Ferris Fest, well … you could miss it.

For more information, visit ferrisfest.com.

Watch the ‘Ferris’ trailer: