User:Jbrannigan

Project Bueller is an ongoing attempt to recreate the parade scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in New York City. Brooklyn artists Mina Karimi and Kara Suhey conceived this performance art piece for the Deitch Art Parade’s 2008 line-up. When extreme weather forced that parade’s cancellation, it was rescheduled to take place on October 31, 2008 as part of the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade.

About the project
Project Bueller involved a float mimicking the one from the parade scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, complete with beer maids and a Matthew Broderick look-a-like lip-syncing to the Beatles’ version of "Twist and Shout." As the float rolls down the parade’s 20 block path, more than 2,000 volunteers dressed as extras from the film will be scattered randomly throughout the crowd and attempt to incite "the world’s largest Beatles sing-a-long,” in the words of the planners. Most of the volunteers will be free agents dressed in '80s business casual, but groups of people are currently organizing to recreate the high school band and the dancers on the stairs from the film.

History
Karimi and Suhey’s initial entry to the Deitch Art Parade was a parade float from which they would hand out root beer floats while covered in rainbow sprinkles. When this was not possible due to permit restrictions, they changed their sights to Ferris.

Extreme weather due to Hurricane Hanna forced the Deitch Art Parade’s cancellation, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was briefly considered as a possible option for Project Bueller. Eventually, the artists decided the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade would better suit the freewheeling and unfettered nature of this event.

Project Bueller is part of artist Mina Karimi’s ongoing performance art piece "Everything Will Be Okay" which focuses on fostering joy in the lives of everyday people in unexpected ways.