PLANET OF THE APES DAY 2016 RECAP

The Damn Dirty Geeks thank all of our podcast listeners, friends and fellow APES fans for making our 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day event a huge success! Over 60 people attended our meet up at the Idle Hour bar in North Hollywood to celebrate the legacy of the PLANET OF THE APES films and share their fandom with friends old and new. Lucky guests received some cool APES raffle gifts including a Go Ape t-shirt, comic book collections and DDG magnets, while everyone received a limited edition souvenir DDG newspaper commemorating our party.

One of the highlights of the night was the arrival of our special surprise guest, actor Lou Wagner, who played Lucius in the original PLANET OF THE APES film, co-starring with Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Charlton Heston and Maurice Evans. APES fans will also recognize Lou as the chimp busboy who has a flambé problem in CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES.

Lou was most generous in chatting with fans about his work in films and television roles, signing a few autographs and posing for photos with his fans — which numbered all of us, of course! Lou is such a kind gentleman and a delight to meet in person, and we thank him for joining us.

Below is a photo gallery of highlights from our Planet of the Apes Day festivities that will give those who couldn’t attend in person a feel for the hours of fun, sharing of stories and making new friends.

Announcement for the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day fan meet up event and celebration, held April 2, 2016 at the Idle Hour in North Hollywood, CA.

John Goodwin, Trish Geiger and Emma Julia Jacobs inside the Bulldog at Idle Hour, celebrating the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

(L to R) David Moore, Perry Shields, Brice Cranston, Frank Woodward and Jeff Barkley inside the Bulldog at Idle Hour, celebrating the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

Rebecca Lord and Ken Daly arrived in their finest APES attire at Idle Hour, celebrating the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

PLANET OF THE APES actor Lou Wagner (Lucius) and Damn Dirty Geek podcaster Frank Dietz pose for a photo at our 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day fan event at Idle Hour in North Hollywood, CA.

PLANET OF THE APES actor Lou Wagner checks out our souvenir newspaper as we celebrated the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day. Photo credit: Rebecca Lord

Actor Lou Wagner, who played Lucius in the original PLANET OF THE APES, and fan David Moore celebrate the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day. Photo credit: David Moore

(L to R) Frank Woodward, Scott Weitz, Jack Bennett, Lou Wagner, Trish Geiger and Frank Dietz celebrating the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day. We were honored that Lou, who played Lucius in the original PLANET OF THE APES film, join our fan event.

Superb sculptor/artist Mike Hill poses with our special guest Lou Wagner, who played Lucius in the original PLANET OF THE APES, are all smiles as we celebrated the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

Of course there were cocktails as the Damn Dirty Geeks celebrated our 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day. Issues of our Damn Dirty News special edition souvenir we given out to attending guests.

Yes, folks, that's our podcast sound engineer Brice Cranston joining us at Idle Hour, celebrating the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

Frank Dietz and Rebecca Lord at Idle Hour, celebrating the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

Frank Dietz handing out the DDG swag and gifts as we celebrate the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

Our friend Perry Shields shows off his DDG magnet gift while celebrating the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

John Goodwin takes home a Go Ape t-shirt prize, celebrating the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

Mike Hill and Frank Dietz share a few laughs outside the Bulldog at Idle Hour, celebrating the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

Jamie Kristen (center) and Garrett O'Brien (middle right) win a Mego Go Ape poster as the Damn Dirty Geeks and friends celebrate our 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

Our friend and previous podcast guest Mallory O'Meara took home an Apes/Star Trek comic book, one of our raffle gifts celebrating the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

Frank Dietz goes bananas with a visiting gorilla at Idle Hour, celebrating the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

Evening view of the Bulldog at Idle Hour, where the Damn Dirty Geeks and friends celebrated our 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day.

Thanks to all our listeners, friends and fans for making the Damn Dirty Geeks' 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day fan meet up event and celebration a huge success!

We’ve received many compliments and positive reviews of our event from those attending, and we thank you for the kind words. We couldn’t put this meet up together without you all joining in the spirit of the event, so congratulate yourselves on making the 2nd annual Planet of the Apes Day a big hit. Our sincere thanks to everyone at Idle Hour for letting us host POTA Day at their cool, fun venue!

Be sure to follow the Damn Dirty Geeks’ Facebook page for future notifications of the 3rd annual Planet of the Apes Day coming in 2017!

Meanwhile, we welcome you to RSVP and join us for the Damn Dirty Geeks’ next fan event: our PLANET OF THE APES Screening Fan Event on July 24, 2016 in Burbank, CA, hosted in conjunction with TCM and Fathom Events’ screening of the original 1968 PLANET OF THE APES film. To learn more details including movie ticket purchase (sold separately), please RSVP at our Facebook event page linked above.