You smell that in the air? It’s the smell of DVDs and video tapes being put into their players. It’s International Independent Video Store Day.
To celebrate the sacred holiday, beloved non-profit video archive Scarecrow Video—the WORLD’S LARGEST VIDEO LIBRARY—is throwing a party on Saturday, Oct. 19 complete with giveaways, sales, food, music, games, and BEER. For a brief moment on Earth it’ll be possible to eat a burrito, sip on some beer, and dance to some tunes all while buying the Criterion Collection edition of Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank and nabbing a VHS copy of The Santa Clause before anyone else gets it. Dreams really do come true.
In addition to the in-store party, Scarecrow will host an online auction that will last until next Wednesday. You’ll have a chance to bid on some sweet items donated by Scarecrow’s donors, the proceeds from which will go back to the store so they can preserve and grow their video archive. Video stores are precious and need to be protected! Do it with your cash and your unwavering commitment to physical media!
There are many great things to bid on (all of which you can check out here), but here are the things that really caught my eye:
A GIANT VHS
Oh my God, it’s HUGE. That giant VHS sculpture (it’s five times the size of a normal video cassette) is up for grabs and is completely wall-mountable, hand-crafted, and extremely detailed. It’s perfect to hang on the wall just behind your bed or above your living room couch. You are free to imagine any film in the entire world is contained on that tape. A Star is Born? The Nutty Professor? Volver? The world is yours with this baby!
Instead of fucking under your cheap sheets from Ikea, you can do it underneath this beautiful blanket while watching Kiarostami
The “Scarecrow and Chill” package features a wool blanket inspired by Coast Salish designs from Louie Gong, the founder of Eighth Generation, as well as two Blu-Ray box sets from the Criterion Collection: The Koker Trilogy (Abbas Kiarostami’s Where is the Friend’s House, And Life Goes On, and Through the Olive Trees) and the BRD Trilogy (Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Marriage of Maria Braun, Veronika Voss, and Lola). Talk about romance. This package also comes with 40-piece box of chocolates from Fran’s Chocolates and an opportunity to tour the store’s flagship location in Georgetown. Literally cozy as fuck!
I think Scarecrow is really trying to get you laid
Or at the very least bring back romance and intimacy to your relationship. You can bid on a “Winter Night on the Town” package which includes: 2 VIP seats and Paramount Club Privileges to the Friday, Nov. 8 performance of the Moscow Ballet’s Great Nutcracker at the Paramount, a $100 gift card from Taphouse Grill to eat dinner beforehand, and a $60 Gameworks “free play” card to beat your date at laser tag. BDE!
Private Party at Grand Illusion
You ever wanted to snuggle into the rickety, velvety seats of the Grand Illusion with 40 of your closest friends? The theater in the U District is one of the most ideal locations in the entire city to watch a movie—I remember last summer getting really stoned and seeing To Live and Die in L.A. there purely because Frank Ocean name-dropped the movie in a guest verse he did for Earl Sweatshirt. It was dreamy. You can bid on a private party for 40 people at Grand Illusion that includes popcorn and whatever movie you want to watch. Dependent on their schedule of course.
ME!
The Stranger‘s Unstreamable column, written each week by Digital Editor Chase Burns and yours truly, is also jumping into the online auction. Each Friday, Chase and I blurb about four “unstreamable” films you can’t watch on major streaming platforms. (Illegally uploaded copies on YouTube don’t count.) It’s been three months since we started the project and we’ve covered everything from Meryl Streep in Silkwood to the weird, semi-gay, very Japanese anime Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. Bid here to join us for a ~private screening~ of any film of your choosing that is featured in Unstreamable. Scarecrow will provide snacks and drinks for you and up to 30 of your friends. Someone already bid $100 so get to it!
Check out more items here—the auction ends on Wednesday.
