‘Napoleon Dynamite’ town cashes in on movie

[Cannikin]

Preston, Idaho now serves as home to ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ festival

PRESTON, Idaho - “Napoleon Dynamite,” a low-budget, feel-good comedy starring Jon Heder, put this farm town near the Utah border on the map.

It has also generated $1 million for Preston, according to the chamber of commerce, one of the first to bill the town as a destination for “Napoleon Dynamite” aficionados.

The second “Napoleon Dynamite” festival, which wrapped up this weekend, featured a Napoleon look-alike contest, as well as a moon boot dance and Happy Hands club performance at Preston High School — mimicking scenes from the movie.

About 400 people attended this year, down from 6,000 last year, the Idaho Statesman newspaper reported.

“People started coming through here wanting stuff, and we didn’t have anything,” said Pennie Christensen, executive director of the Preston Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber has marketed a popular “Vote for Pedro” ringed T-shirt that replicates a shirt worn by Heder’s character to promote a long-shot bid for the school presidency by Napoleon’s friend Pedro.


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