Eliot Ness Fest – An Untouchable Experience

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The inaugural Eliot Ness Fest in Coudersport, PA was the bee’s knees and the cat’s meow!

The Eliot Ness Fest celebrated Coudersport’s famous son with a three-day festival full of everything that made the Roaring Twenties so memorable: Prohibition, speakeasies, flappers, jazz, movies, vintage automobiles and of course, Eliot Ness’s relentless pursuit of Al Capone.

I went into the festival fresh from a viewing of “The Untouchables”, the iconic Hollywood version of Eliot Ness’s Chicago years. Truth be told (and spoiler alert), it wasn’t until the festival that I realized much of what I’d believed to be true in the movie… just wasn’t.

I know. I’m still reeling.

Fortunately, both the fictionalized Eliot and the real Eliot are worthy of celebration, and the festival did it up with a bang.

Eliot Ness Fest

Those Roaring Twenties

Flapper dresses and pin-striped suits. Cloche hats, headbands and bowlers. Fringe, feathers, sequins, shawls and long pearl necklaces – the vintage party glamour of the Roaring Twenties was everywhere (even during the daytime).

Vintage Car Show

A walk down Main Street lined with antique vehicles from the 20’s and 30’s transported festival-goers back in time to the early days of the automobile. Some cars were restored to perfection and some were left untouched and showed their age, but all lent authenticity to the time period and were arguably the heart of the festival.

A Saturday afternoon parade gave everyone another good look at each and every automobile.

It was Prohibition, but… 

If you knew the password to Jack’s Place, you could enter an old-fashioned speakeasy with bootleg liquor, games of chance, photo opps and on Saturday night – a Roaring ’20’s Dance and Costume contest.

Another juice joint was across the street at Hotel Crittenden where the bar used to drop through the floor into the basement when the law came around. Live music added to the atmosphere and there were special festival menus with Prohibition-themed cocktails.

Gangsters vs. G-Men

Several times throughout the weekend, costumed characters took to the streets for a bit of mobster mayhem in the form of street theater. Each performance lasted just a few minutes, but that’s all it took to hijack a shipment of illegal booze or for Eliot Ness to finally, get his man.

The Real Eliot Ness

The Coudersport Theater played host to a number of presentations and movies highlighting Eliot’s career in Chicago, Cleveland and ultimately, Coudersport. I didn’t know anything about his years in Cleveland fighting corruption and trying to catch the notorious serial killer!

And yes, there was a showing of The Untouchables.

The authors of the two most comprehensive and accurate Eliot Ness books shared their insights and discoveries, and there was a fascinating then and now look at law enforcement vs. organized crime. I even had the chance to pick up a Tommy Gun.

Was Al Capone Just Misunderstood?

For those who purchased tickets to “Pasta with Capone”, it included a classic Italian lunch with Scarface himself at La Famiglia OIP. After we’d had our fill, Al tried to persuade us that he’s not such a bad guy.

The baseball bat said otherwise.

Find the Missing Body Parts

While living in Cleveland, Eliot worked tirelessly to find the notorious serial killer known as the “Mad Butcher”. Not only was there an option to watch a film at the theater about the still unsolved Kingsbury Run murders, but there was also a scavenger hunt throughout downtown Coudersport for body parts.

Seriously. I couldn’t make that up.

Follow in Eliot’s Footsteps

Two tour options gave festival-goers some historical context for Eliot’s life. There was a guided van tour with some interesting Potter County Prohibition history, and there was a self-guided tour of Eliot’s last walk which finished at the home where he lived out his final days.

I’ve never spent more than a few hours at a festival in my life and I spent two days at the Eliot Ness Fest. Next time, I think I need to go in costume! By the way, other than tickets to Lunch with Capone, I paid for everything on my own.

Eliot Ness Festival Tips

• Accommodations: There are a limited number of hotels and motels in the area (no chains), so reserve a room well in advance.
• Tickets: Some events are ticketed and should be reserved ahead of time. Watch the festival site and Facebook page for details.
• Parking: Parking is a bit tricky, but the festival map will help guide you to parking lots and shuttle sites. (Be sure you don’t park on Route 6 overnight!)
• Festival Info: There are festival tents with information, maps, guides and food and craft vendors in the park. Porta-potties can be found there as well.

Visit the Eliot Ness festival website for more information and contact Visit Potter-Tioga for help in planning your visit.