Cycle. Cinema. Tattoo. Awesomefest.
The charity event substantiating every bachelor's daydream
By Kate Liebers |
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The Awesomefest fundraiser fuses cycling, movie marathons, and tattoos into a daylong event of sweating, sharks, and Ohio pride.
It is totally random. It is totally entertaining. It is totally extreme - it is a triathlon of Awesome.
But how did this whimsical merging of activities come to be? Just as you'd expect: a bunch of guys on a road trip talking about hobbits.
About Me: Nick Fancher. Awesomefest is about all things Awesome. What is Awesome, you may ask? Tattoos are awesome. Riding bikes for long distances, I would argue, is pretty awesome. And movie marathons are also really great in my opinion. When you combine all three you get a triathlon of sorts. A triathlon of awesome.
Photo: Christopher Atwood
The conversation began when Nick Fancher, 28, and his cycling buddies were planning to train for a 160-mile bike ride to Cincinnati and back. After deciding to bike all around Columbus, the conversation took a detour.
"Our wives were driving - we were in the back, giggling like little school boys - and we started talking about Lord of the Rings and how we had never watched all three extended versions back to back," said Fancher. (This was a requirement to be completed while training for the long distance ride.) "And then I was like, 'We should throw in a tattoo.'"
Last year marked the first official Awesomefest when Fancher and friends invited the public to join them in a 35-mile bike ride around the city, wrapping up the day with a Rocky movie marathon. Fancher has the tattoo - a triumphant display of a boxer framed by the state of Ohio in front of a winged bicycle chain ring - to prove it.
"My goal is that if you participate every year you can have them almost as merit badges," Fancher said of the tattoos.
The tattoos are pre-selected in accordance with the festival's theme. This year, the featured film series is Jaws through Jaws IV, so every tattoo option blends shark, bike, and Ohio motifs.
Just as the tattoos incorporate the trifecta of the 'Fest, participants are encouraged (although not required) to partake in all three avenues of awesome.
Awesomefest attracted 20 participants last year, 15 of whom got inked. For some, it was their first tattoo - which Fancher found impressive.
"Its not as big of a deal if you already have a lot of tattoos, you can get another one," said Fancher. "But if that's your first one, that's a big deal."
And slightly spontaneous... but whatever - a tattoo promotional platform beats a t-shirt any day. (Although the official t-shirt design is, well, totally Awesome.)
The festival begins the morning of August 8 at Wild Goose Creative (2491 Summit St.). Cafe Brioso - which will be closed for the day so that employees can participate - will be there with complimentary coffee. The first Jaws flick will run, and then the cyclists will ride. Several miles later, the riders will return to take turns getting tattooed or taking part in bike-related activities from relays to bike jousting.
Participants watch, ride and repeat for Jaws, Jaws II and Jaws III, and 20 miles in the saddle. For the grand finale, Fancher plans to present Jaws IV on an outdoor, pedal-operated projector.
Fancher emphasized that the event was not intended to be competitive, but a celebration of community. All of the proceeds will go toward Asia's Hope, a local non-profit organization co-founded by John McCollum.
McCollum founded Asia's Hope after his visit to Cambodia, where he witnessed suffering from extreme poverty to human trafficking. Inspired by impoverished locals he saw helping others, McCollum decided to get involved.
"They had no resources of their own, yet they were inviting kids on the streets into their houses," McCollum said of the Cambodian people. "People about my age - people in their late 20s, early 30s - they were just scratching to get by themselves. Yet, anything they had, they were willing to give it away."
McCollum started raising money for those he had personally met. Since its establishment in 2001, Asia's Hope has obtained sponsorship by 12 churches in the U.S. and Canada, now operates 15 orphan homes and a school, and provides for over 400 children, McCollum said.
"In some senses we've achieved more than what we ever thought," said McCollum. Nevertheless, he regarded funding as the main limitation.
Awesomefest is there to help.
The event, which raised $1,000 last year, is expected to raise twice as much this year. Fancher predicts that the funky graphic t-shirts - displaying a giant shark face eating the state of Ohio - will be big sellers. All the profit from the shirts, and the silent auction of bike gear will go directly to Asia's Hope.
Although a different charity was featured last year, Fancher is considering maintaining an ongoing partnership with Asia's Hope.
"We want people to come from all over, but we want to keep it praising the local things we've got going on here, using these local non-profits, using these local business, tailoring it to Columbus in a way," Fancher said. "I really like that idea."
Awesomefest may support a consistent charity, but not consistent cinematic features. Embarking on its second year, Fancher is already worried that Awesomefest will outlast the supply of original movie series.
As for next year, Fancher mentioned the idea of featuring the series that kicked off the Awesomefest brainstorm - Lord of the Rings.
Originally Published: August 1, 2009
