Shrekfest “sponsors” disavow any knowledge of Shrekfest

“We don’t know if this event is made up or not, but we are NOT a sponsor.”

Madison’s Facebook smart-asses have been having a field day with Shrekfest, which is being advertised as a celebration of all things Shrek that’s running from July 21 through 26 at Eken Park on the North Side. Just going out on a limb here, but a six-day celebration of a flatulent ogre, promoted by persons unknown as including an “onion peeling contest” and “Shrek Rap,” just might be a total crock or a brilliant act of social-media hilarity. But what did give us pause was that the event page lists three local businesses as sponsors: Zimbrick Honda, the Essen Haus, and Blain’s Farm and Fleet. And Essen Haus at least seems to makes sense, given that gastric flare-ups are so integral to the whole Shrek thing. Since I couldn’t get any of the “event’s” “organizers” to explain themselves on record, I reached out to the sponsors to see what the deal was. Fishy as it seems, if John Cale can end up on the ‘Shrek’ soundtrack, then anything can happen, right?

“We are NOT a sponsor of ‘Shrekfest,'” a manager at Essen Haus told me in an e-mail. “We wouldn’t have even known about it if you didn’t e-mail.”

Sponsor

Laura Schultz, a marketing manager with Zimbrick, was similarly perplexed. “I don’t know how they got our logo, or how they are listing us a sponsor,” Schultz said. “We do sponsor a lot of great community events, including many charitable efforts, like Meals on Wheels routes, United Way Day of Caring, United Way campaign (overall), Little League teams, Agrace Hospice Care, etc. So, we don’t know if this event is made up or not, but we are NOT a sponsor.”

And I was so looking forward to showing off my onion-peeling prowess. Well, that’s no reason the Shrek Pub Crawl can’t still happen, right?