This fall, fans of Friday the 13th will have the rare opportunity to watch a screening of the original movie with Jason Voorhees actor Ari Lehman at the first-ever annual Jason Fest event. Hosted by the Blairstown Museum, the event will take place at Hunter’s Lodge, which is located just minutes away from Blairstown, New Jersey, where the first movie was filmed. To really help capture the feeling of the movies, the outdoor venue features a cabin setting, outdoor stone fireplace, and large movie screen. Better yet, it will be going down on the eventing of Thursday, Sept. 12, with a countdown to bring in the next Friday the 13th. That’s right – you can bring in Friday the 13th by watching Friday the 13th near the actual shooting location with the first actor to portray Jason!
The Jason Fest event is offering tickets for both general admission and a V.I.P. experience. Fans will have the opportunity to meet Ari Lehman, who will be signing autographs, posing for photos, participating in an intimate Q&A session, and performing with his appropriately-titled band First Jason. Fans will also have access to the Machete Mall, which will offer a variety of Friday the 13th and Jason Voorhees related merchandise. There will be plenty of food and drinks on hand as well, with a roaring campfire and snacks. Needless to say, if there’s a perfect way to watch the one that started it all, Jason Fest seems to be it.
Directed by Sean Cunningham and written by Victor Miller, Friday the 13th follows a group of camp counselors preparing to reopen Camp Crystal Lake for the summer. Unfortunately for them, an unseen killer begins to pick them off one by one in a variety of sinister ways. Ultimately, the murderer is revealed to be Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer), a former cook for the summer camp whose son Jason drowned when the counselors weren’t watching him. She has since made it her mission to keep the camp closed, even if it means murdering anyone trying to open it back up to the public. In the closing moments of the film, the child version of Jason (Ari Lehman) can be seen emerging from the water, pulling final girl Alice Hardy (Adrienne King) into the lake.
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Watching the first movie with the first Jason on an actual Friday the 13th is definitely one way to celebrate an ultimate fan experience, and events like these are what major fans of the franchise have to look forward to the most at this time. We aren’t going to be seeing any new movies coming to the Friday the 13th series anytime soon. Because the rights to the franchise are still caught up in a seemingly never-ending legal battle, all fans are left to do for now is enjoy the classics. Why not do so with the actual stars from the movies?
Any major Friday the 13th fan who can make it to the New Jersey area this fall should look into Jason Fest. It’s hard to think of a better way to ring in the next Friday the 13th than by watching the original movie with the first Jason himself. The event will take place on You can find out more information and purchase tickets over at EventBrite.com.
