This story was originally produced by the Keene Sentinel. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
A prominent area nonprofit is planning a three-day "Jumanji" festival in downtown Keene, where some scenes from the 1995 movie starring actor and comedian Robin Williams were filmed.
Plans call for a 30-year anniversary celebration of the film to be held on parts of Main Street, including Central and Railroad squares, on April 11, 12 and 13 next year.
Cathy Bergstrom, a board member of the Greater Monadnock Collaborative, which would host the event, presented the festival proposal to the City Council's Planning, Licenses and Development Committee at its meeting Tuesday night. Committee members voted unanimously to recommend the full City Council approve the chamber of commerce's request to hold the event on city property.
Bergstrom and the chamber hope to kick off the three-day festival with a "Jumanji" film screening at The Colonial Theatre on April 11. Events proposed for the rest of the weekend include a scavenger hunt involving downtown businesses and a mock stampede to replicate a popular scene from the movie where jungle animals of all sorts run free down a main street.
The movie takes viewers through the adventure of two kids who inadvertently bring a magic board game, called Jumanji, to life. While playing, they encounter Alan Parrish, played by Williams, who has grown up in the game after being trapped in it since he was a child. Monkeys, mosquitoes and a lion, among other creatures, are released into the streets of the small town where the movie is set as the kids play the game and return it to a dormant state.
At Wednesday's meeting, Bergstrom said organizers also hope to recruit cast extras who still live in the area for festival activities.
Event organizers also hope to bring attention to mental health during the event, since Williams died by suicide in 2014 and experienced depression. Bergstrom told city councilors they hope to commission a mural with elements related to mental health and the film.
Sony, which owns the company that produced the film, has granted organizers permission to host the event, according to a letter Bergstrom sent to the city Sept. 19.
