Chicago may not be host to the Pitchfork Festival any longer, but the City of Big Shoulders doesn't seem to have a chip on it over the loss, proving that it doesn't take big crowds or big sponsors to have a good time.
Giving a "Yes, chef" to the trend of celebrity look-alike contests started by New York in late October, Chicago followed up the Big Apple's Timothée Chalamet dupe celebration with one of their own, putting out a call for locals who look the most like "The Bear" star Jeremy Allen White, with the winner taking home $50 and a fresh pack of Marlboro Red cigarettes.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the competition was organized by Albany Park roommates Kelsey Cassaro and Taylor Vaske and drew 50 contestants to Humboldt Park on Saturday, with hundreds on hand to cheer for their favorite competitor.
According to local coverage, the majority of participants donning their best Chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto looks were white men, "but some women and people of different ethnicities got in on the fun."
At the end of the day, 37-year-old mental health therapist Ben Shabad of Glenview won out all the rest, telling the Sun-Times, “I’m so happy. This is the coolest thing I’ve done all week.”
The winner of the Jeremy Allen White lookalike contest reveals he is a mental health therapist. pic.twitter.com/N9Mfo5pHJc
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) November 17, 2024
Although New York's competition got an appearance from Chalamet himself, the real "Carmy" was a no show in Chicago as he's busy filming the Bruce Springsteen biopic, "Deliver Me From Nowhere."
