As Halloween approaches, it also operates as a marker for another celebration that, in a relatively short time period, has become a highly anticipated tradition in its own right. Already in its 4th year, Spoke Art‘s annual Bad Dads group exhibit is shaping up to present the best installment that the San Francisco gallery has assembled to date. Paying tribute to the works of filmmaker, Wes Anderson, through contributions by over 100 different artists of various disciplines from around the world, the show will feature everything from original paintings and limited edition prints to paper cut works, sculptures, and even puppets. As established in past years, the opening will be a 2 day event, complete with a costume party. This year, Spoke Art has brought in somewhat frequent cohorts, The Castro Theatre, expanding the festivities to a third day, which consists of a triple feature screening of Anderson films, Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Moonrise Kingdom.

When Bad Dads was first launched in 2010, along with Spoke Art itself, the entire concept seemed like it couldn’t miss. But, there was no guarantee that the gallery was going to be able to keep the content interesting; it was anybody’s guess how long the Anderson train could be milked if it was allowed to keep running. The wonderful surprise for me has been to witness how consistently the contributors have found innovative ways to reinterpret the auteur’s trademark aesthetic by filtering it through their own. Strong work, is strong work. Not only are there new contributors and pieces to discover each year, but the man being honored has been doing his own part, as of late, to help keep the source material fresh, as well. Last years release of Moonrise Kingdom, yielded a number of related contributions to the exhibit and, the filmmaker recently even made the trailer for his upcoming film, The Grand Budapest Hotel available. Wes Anderson‘s camp is well aware of the Bad Dads shows and they have become such a well respected unofficial extension of his film world, that one of the first things that I consider, whenever a new release from the director is announced, is how it might work it’s way into the next exhibit. This year, don’t be surprised to find at least a few tributes to Kumar Pallana, who appeared in a number of Wes‘ films, most notably as Pagoda from The Royal Tenenbaums. Pallana passed away earlier this month, after making it to the ripe old age of 94.

This should be another good one and, being a multi-night affair, you have that much more of an opportunity to get down there and experience it. And for those of you planning to sport a Wes Anderson related costume to the opening, there’s an added bonus. The following quote comes from Spoke Art founder, Ken Harman, via the official event page: