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NEWS Hundreds attend 'Shermer High' dance Weekend moves pretty fast for fans at 'Ferris Fest' ERIN HOOLEYCHICAGO TRIBUNE Ryan Stajmiger performs as Ferris Bueller in a reenactment of the parade scene from the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Ferris Fest celebrated the film's 30th anniversary with events around the North Shore and Chicago. need to get out of our everyday stuff once in a while." "Everyone wants to be like Ferris," Jenkins said. "He was so cool. He fooled his parents, he got the girl and he would win most likely to succeed in high school." Nancy Ainscough, her son, Harry, 22, and her daughter, Emma, 20, traveled here from Honolulu to attend "Ferris Fest." "Emma sent me a text with a link to the site and said, 'Can we go to Nancy Ainscough said. "Like Ferris, I said, Why We all love this movie.

Emma can recite all the lines. If I give her a clue, she'll just run with it." David Blanchard is the creator of Ferris Fest. "This weekend is a celebration of the film, as well as the character of Ferris Bueller, who is kind of like a super hero to people because he represents what we always want to do, which is to put our worries aside, embrace life and have an adventure," said Blanchard, who hired four movie lookalikes to portray Ferris, Cameron, Sloan and Ed Rooney. "I've been told I look like Cameron for the last decade," said 29-year-old Derrick Hill of Lake County, who was hired to dress up and mingle with the crowd as Ferris's best friend. When asking several guests their favorite quote from the film, the two most popular answers were, "The sportos, motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, was-toids, dweebies, dickheads they all adore him.

They think he's a righteous dude," said by Grace, and of course, Ferris's famous line, "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it." Jackie Pilossoph is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. By Jackie Pilossoph Pioneer Press Northbrook's Athletico Center was built just a few years ago, but on May 20, the facility's main gymnasium looked like a 1980s school dance as it hosted the "Shermer High School 1986 Spring Dance," an event that was part of "Ferris Fest," a 30th anniversary celebration weekend of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." The weekend's events also included a two-day bus tour of the filming locations and a screening of the film. "We've been dating since 1984, and we saw the movie in a theater together when it came out and just loved it," said Lisa Costanzo of Westchester County, whose now-husband, John, bought the "Ferris Fest" tickets as a birthday gift for her. "The whole idea behind taking a day off and just having fun has always resonated with me. It's such a perfect attitude." Madonna-style big hair, ruffled miniskirts, leather jackets, big earrings, leggings and fingerless gloves were popular attire, as hundreds of Ferris fans danced to tunes from the film's soundtrack, as well as 1980s bands and artists including Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, New Order, Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson.

The guests also had a chance to mingle with some of the film's cast members, including Edie McClurg, who played Grace; Cindy Pickett, who was Katie Bueller, Ferris' mom; Lyman Ward, who played Ferris' dad, Tom Buehler; Jon-athan Schmook, who played the maitre d' in the French restaurant, and Larry "Flash" Jenkins, who played a garage attendant. "This movie hits a nerve," Pickett said. "It makes you want to stand up and dance. It is a gift of how alive everything is and how life is short, and that we Festival celebrates all things 'Bueller' 30 years after comedy debuted By Jackie Pilossoph Pioneer Press Hanging on a wall in Melinda Sklenars's Perth, Australia, home is a large canvas that reads, "Life moves pretty fast If you don't stop and look around every once in awhile you could miss it." That's just one of the dozens of 'Terris Bueller's Day Off" quotes that Skle-nars said she adores. The film, celebrating its 30th anniversary, brought Skle-nars and her boyfriend Jonathan Watts to Chicago and the North Shore from halfway around the world.

"I first saw the movie when I was seven years old, and Jon and I used to watch it once a week for two years when we first started dating," Sklenars said. "As a teenager, I was a bit uptight and I loved Ferris because he didn't care what people thought He broke all the rules." Sklenars and Watts were among the hundreds of guests who attended Ferris Fest this past weekend. The celebration of all things "Bueller" included a Shermer High School 1986 Spring Dance, a two-day bus tour of filming locations, and a special screening of the beloved film followed by a session with cast members. "When we were making the film, we never dreamed it would become what it became," said Cindy Pickett, who played Ferris's mom in the film 'John (Hughes) was a brilliant writer and director and he knew what he wanted, but he loved when we would ad lib. He really let us go." KARIE ANGELL LUCPIONEER PRESS Cast members, from left, Larry "Flash" Jenkins, Cindy Pickett, Jonathan Schmock, Edie McClurg and Lyman Ward, appear at Ferris Fest.

going to Chicago and visiting all the locations of 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off and making it a fun weekend," said Blanchard, who explained that Ferris Fest is the first of many movie events he plans to organize. "We started thinking that with the anniversary, why isn't anyone doing something wonderful to acknowledge such a beloved film?" Blanchard, a former movie trailer editor, said the minute he began selling tickets online, the media got wind of it and interest in the event exploded. "We didn't spend a dime on advertising," he said. Lyman Ward, who played Ferris's dad, said he knew the John Hughes script had the makings of a successful movie. "Ferris was this youth who understood the idea of seize the day, and that was the whole basis of the movie," Ward said.

"Life really does move pretty fast" Jonathan Schmock played the maitre d' at the French restaurant Ferris, or the sausage king of Chicago depending on who's asking, and his friends dined at "I think people relate to the great friendship between Ferris and Cameron," Schmock said. "If you have trouble and problems, you want a friend like Ferris." In addition to the 250 attendees from around the world who bought weekend passes for Ferris Fest, hundreds of locals showed up for the movie screenings, which were held May 21 and 22 at the John and Nancy Hughes Theatre in Lake Forest's Gorton Community Center. "Ferris is a lovable rogue against the world," said Nevin Liber of Libertyville, who attended the entire weekend's events. "It has been really fun hanging out with everyone who loves the film as much as I do." David Blanchard is the founder of his Los Angeles-based immersive movie event company, Filmed Here, and the creator of Ferris Fest. "About a year ago I was talking to my wife about Jackie Pilossoph is a.