Top 5: Appreciation festivals

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Lebowski Fest hits Washington next week: The 9:30 Club is hosting a screening and band on Monday night, while the Bethesda Lucky Strike hosts a bowling party on Tuesday. Inspired by the Coen brothers' cult classic "The Big Lebowski," it's one of many celebrations in which participants dress up as characters from the film and convene to pay homage to a favored cultural object.

1. Star Trek conventions — Memorably captured on film in "Trekkies," the Star Trek convention subculture remains one of the strongest in the country: Fans dress up as characters of all kinds, from Starfleet crew to Klingons to the dread Borg.

2. Midnight screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show — For more than three decades, people have gathered to watch "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" at midnight, some showing up as the transvestite Transylvanian himself, Dr. Frank N. Furter.

3. The San Diego Comic-Con — It's not so much a celebration of any individual artifact as a celebration of the entirety of pop culture, so it's not odd to see Spider-Man mixing it up with Edward Cullen from "Twilight" or the Predator.

4. James Dean Museum Days — The Fairmount Historical Museum in James Dean's hometown of Fairmount, Ind., annually plays host to an antique car show, parade, a screening of the legend's movies and a look-alike contest. While there, make sure to swing by the Park Cemetery, where the idol — who died at age 24 — is buried.

5. Troll 2 screenings — Memorably captured in the hilarious documentary "Best Worst Movie," "Troll 2" has captured the imagination of a number of people who consider it the best terrible movie of all time. Fans come dressed as, among other things, bushes from the film to show their affection.