PRESTON, Idaho — People from all over the country gathered here Friday and Saturday to show off their sweet skills, meet their favorite characters and see where it all began.

By some estimates, as many as 3,000 people flocked to this southern Idaho town of 5,000 for the 2005 Napoleon Dynamite Festival over the weekend, competing to eat the most tater tots, doing their best impressions of Napoleon and the gang, trying to throw footballs as far as Uncle Rico or just wandering the streets, seeing the sights and collecting autographs.

They were here to celebrate "Napoleon Dynamite," the hit movie that, since its release in 2004, has brought international attention to Preston, the town where it was filmed and set. The Preston Chamber of Commerce put together the festival as a nod to the film that just about everyone has been quoting for the last year or so.

There were lots of "Vote for Pedro" T-shirts, lots of moon boots, lots of side ponytails.

And lots of Utah license plates.

Ken and Virginia Burgess and their daughter Becki, all of West Valley City, were in Providence, Cache County, when they heard about the festival happening just over the Idaho border. They decided they had to check it out.

"We saw the movie, and we thought it was cute," Virginia Burgess said. "We're looking for Tina."

Tina, Grandma Dynamite's pet llama, is just one of the many characters who left an impression on the movie's fans and one of the memorable sights people on the streets of Preston were hoping to see.

There was a lot of interest in the Deseret Industries thrift store on State Street, where Napoleon bought his stunning — if a bit out of a date — suit for the prom. There were performances by the Happy Hands Club, famous for converting last decade's hit songs to American Sign Language. And many of the movie's stars were on hand to offer up autographs and begrudgingly repeat their infamous lines from the movie.

And while there were some visitors who, like the Burgesses, stopped by because they happened to be in the area, there were many more die-hard fans who came from far and wide — in recreational vehicles announcing they were "going to the friggin' festival!" and vans with license plates reading "LUCKY."

David and Liz Parkinson of Spanish Fork brought their four kids to Preston to check out the city that inspired a family favorite.

"It's our whole family's favorite movie," Liz Parkinson said. "My kids watch it all the time, and I'm glad — they could be watching something lots worse. We wanted to show our support that a family-friendly movie can be so successful."

"And we love Kip," David Parkinson added.

Indeed. Seven-year-old Connor Parkinson perked up when Dad mentioned Napoleon's brother, Kip Dynamite, and offered his nearly dead-on impression of Kip's love song to his new bride, LaFawnduh, on their wedding day:

"I love technology, but not as much as you, you see. But I still love technology, always and forever."

Wearing a T-shirt bearing the image of a liger — Napoleon's favorite fearsome beast, half lion, half tiger — Connor grinned proudly when asked about it.

"It's probably my favorite animal, too," he said.

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E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com