Hail, Freedonia! The Marx Brothers Tradition Continues...

UPDATE: The 2012 Freedonia Marxonia festival will be held Saturday, Nov. 3. Contact Karen West for information.

SUNY Fredonia Marx Brothers film festival returns Nov. 5!

What better way to spend a brisk fall afternoon than enjoying some “Duck Soup” with your friends?

“Freedonia Marxonia,” SUNY Fredonia’s long-standing Marx Brothers Film Festival and Symposium, returns Saturday, Nov. 5, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the lobby of the University Commons on campus. The event is once again free and open to the public.

The fun-filled afternoon will feature a presentation by Marx Brothers aficionado and event supporter Matthew Hahn, an exhibition of memorabilia from previous Marxonia festivals, and, of course, a screening of “Duck Soup,” the classic 1930s film that took place in a mythical country of “Freedonia” — a dictatorship run by comedy pioneer Groucho Marx.

The 2011 festival will feature the traditional group photo at 1:30 p.m. of all participants wearing “Groucho” glasses, followed by judging of a Marx Brothers look-alike contest and an art contest. Cash prizes will be awarded for efforts undertaken by groups or individuals. The contests are open to students, faculty, staff and community members.

The event, which first began in 1987, is today funded by The Hahn Family Freedonia Marxonia Fund, an endowment in the Fredonia College Foundation established by Mr. Hahn and his wife, Cheri, of Severn, Md. Mr. Hahn, who attended his first Freedonia Marxonia in 2009, has been a huge Marx Brothers fan since childhood after seeing the theatrical re-release of “A Day at the Races” and reading Paul Zimmerman’s classic, “The Marx Brothers at the Movies.”

A 2012 Freedonia Marxonia paid internship, funded by the Hahn Family Freedonia Marxonia Fund, will be open to all SUNY Fredonia students who attend this year’s event. Applications for the internship will be available at University Commons on Nov. 5.