Call to action: help get Bill Murray to Maine for Portland Beer Week

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Murray in “Caddyshack”

Ever since Portlander Shahin Khojastehzad announced his #billmurraybeerweekme campaign- an effort to convince Bill Murray to appear in Portland for Beer Week- about a week ago, word has spread around town like gophers on a golf course.

Khojastehzad, a co-owner of the wildly popular Novare Res Biere Cafe on Portland’s Exchange Street, said the idea started as a late night conversation months ago, but that he held onto the thought and as Maine Beer Week approaches decided that it was worth a shot to try and get Murray to come here:

Said Khojastehzad in an interview on Monday:

Khojastehzad behind the bar at Novare

Khojastehzad behind the bar at Novare

“We wanted to shake up Portland Beer Week and make this social experiment happen! This unifies our scene and to be honest, Bill Murray is —-ing awesome! Months ago a bunch of Novare employees were hanging out after work and started the debate, “If Bill Murray was a beer what would he be?” We came up with some gems: Gosebusters, Pils Murray, Zissou Oyster Stout, Buffalo Roam Rauch, Rushmore Red, Darjeeling Jasmine IPA, Etc!! We mainly want this to be a Gonzo campaign of weirdos who love beer and Bill!”

The idea might sound a bit far fetched, but Murray is known for this sort of thing. If you search online, you’ll find endless websites and documented encounters showing him doing things like crashing random bachelor parties, singing karaoke with strangers, or just walking up to strangers and giving them a great story to tell.

My personal favorite is the one where Murray walked up to a bewildered man at a McDonald’s and, without saying a word, grabbed a handful of the man’s french fries, stuffed them in his mouth, turned to leave, and looked over his shoulder to say to the man, “no one will ever believe you,” before walking away.

Bill Murray on SNL

Murray on SNL

So the idea is to Tweet, Facebook, and Instagram using hashtag #billmurraybeerweekme in hopes of getting the star’s attention, and in turn convincing him to make an appearance.

Of course, even if he’s unable to make it, Portland Beer Week will still be a total blast.

But if he does show up, Khojastehzad imagines it will be unannounced and casual:

“I don’t want it to be weird for him, I just want him to be able to show up, have fun, and be treated like a normal dude.”

Bill Murray knows how to party.

Bill Murray knows how to party.

One of the coolest things about this idea is that everyone can help out, so pull out your smartphones and tell Bill Murray why he should come to Portland! Remember to use #billmurraybeerweekme, and keep your fingers crossed for what could be an absolutely epic day in little old P-Town.

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Chris Shorr

About Chris Shorr

Chris is a sixth generation Portlander who loves all things Maine. He has worked with mentally ill and marginalized adults at a Portland non-profit, on a lobster boat in Casco Bay, at several high-end Portland restaurants, and at a local meat packing plant. He also ran for Portland City Council in 2013, wrote a weekly column in the now defunct Portland Daily Sun, and currently writes a weekly column in The Portland Phoenix.