AMANDA DEDIE
Assistant News Editor
Freedonia Marxonia, the annual Fredonia village and campus event highlighting the lives and accomplishments of the Marx brothers, is now accepting art submissions for the event’s art contest.
Students are welcome to submit art pieces of any medium, from paint and clay to twigs and glue. The art has been small to human-sized. Any rendition of the Marx brothers goes! One year a student won having constructed the faces of the trio with vegetables.
Entries will be displayed as part of the Freedonia Marxonia exhibit in Reed Library, opening Oct. 1 and running until Oct. 25, and are eligible for cash prizes: $75 first prize, $50 second prize, $25 third prize.
Says Academic Affairs via email, “All ages and skill levels are welcome to participate. The art contest is intended as a fun activity to increase awareness of Fredonia’s connection to the Marx Brothers. Their 1933 movie “Duck Soup” was set in the fictional country of ‘Freedonia.’”
In 1933, the Mayor of Fredonia, Harry B. Hickey, sent a letter to Paramount Studios, complaining about the use of the village’s name in the movie. Groucho had a sarcastic response, suggesting the village change its name because it was hurting the movie. The exchange was said to be a just publicity stunt, but it got Fredonia’s name in the press.
“I imagine because the Marx brothers are so zany and anarchic﹘they’re wacky people, and comedic and all that, that [the mayor] probably knew that in this made up country of ‘Freedonia,’ maybe he thought that it was just so wild that it wouldn’t reflect well on the village of Fredonia, because they have the same name,” said Cindy Yochym, Reed Library’s reference librarian.
Years later, in 1987, Fredonia students created the event to incorporate the Marx brothers with the history of Fredonia and bring the campus and community together in events that play out for the whole weekend.
On Oct. 1 at 3 p.m., Reed Library will present the Exhibit opening and welcoming remarks. A group photo will be taken, with attendees wearing complimentary Groucho glasses; there will also be a cake in honor of Groucho Marx’s 125 birthday.
The same evening at 7 p.m., McEwen Hall will have a screening of “Duck Soup,” the 1933 movie set in Freedonia.
On Oct. 2 at noon, in the garden at Reed Library, there will be a “Lunch with The New York Times,” with keynote speaker Doug Canham, class of 1987, speaking about the origin of Freedonia Marxonia. After the speech, lunch will be provided by The New York Times.
The same evening, at 7:30 p.m. at the Fredonia Opera House, there will be a screening of “A Night at the Opera”, the Marx Brothers’ 1935 movie, as well as a Marx Brothers trivia contest.
From Oct. 1 to Oct. 25, Reed Library will have all of the Freedonia Marxonia art contest submissions on display. All events are free and open to the public through the support of the Hahn Family Freedonia Marxonia Fund of the Fredonia College Foundation.
Submissions are accepted until Sept. 25. For submissions or questions, please contact Cindy Yochym, the reference librarian of Reed Library, at Cynthia.Yochym@fredonia.edu.