Dreaming Ant Hosts Anniversary Celebration on Sunday, March 30th

Local DVD rentailer thanks its members for 5 years of business

On Sunday, March 30, Dreaming Ant, one of Pittsburgh’s surviving independent DVD rental shops, will commemorate its first five years of business by throwing a party – a high-five to its members. Customers can ease into the evening’s activities beginning at 8:00PM with movie soundtrack music & trivia games, cake, a raffle and member awards (Dreamies). At 10:00PM, when Crazy Mocha Coffee Company closes, the store will be transformed into a mini-screening room and an exhibition of local short films and ‘Ant’ecdotes - video clips from members sharing brief accounts of Dreaming Ant-related experiences - will commence. Short films from local filmmakers Christopher Smalley, Keith Tassick, Eric Swisher, Tara Merenda and Gordon Nelson along with art collective Paper Rad have been confirmed.

WHAT: Dreaming Ant 5-Year Anniversary Celebration
WHEN: Sunday, March 30 | 8-10pm: PARTY: music, cake, games & Dreamies | 10pm-12am: SCREENING: short films & ‘Ant’ecdotes
WHERE: Dreaming Ant, 4525 Liberty Ave, Bloomfield (inside Crazy Mocha)

Dreaming Ant opened its weather-worn, green wooden doors to the public for the first time on March 23, 2003. Initially, just a single, sparsely-filled wall with slightly more than 800 DVDs tucked in the back of Bloomfield’s Crazy Mocha Coffee Company, this one-man operation opened during a time when brick & mortar rentailers, chains and independents alike, were thriving due to the skyrocketing success of the DVD.

Then, web-based services, video-on-demand, and digital downloading began luring customers with promises of convenience, selection and low prices, a triumvirate that many brick & mortars couldn’t compete with. “We’re celebrating because, despite the current economic and industry conditions, we’re still here.� Dreaming Ant owner Dean Brandt offers. “Since opening in 2003, I’ve watched most of Pittsburgh’s video stores close: 3 West Coasts, 9 Blockbusters, 3 Hollywoods, and at least 5 independents – Classic Video and Incredibly Strange being the most recent casualties. So we’re grateful. We have amazingly loyal and supportive members, people we care about. So we want to publicly thank them for their support over the past five years.“

Dreaming Ant continues to survive in this Internet age in part due to the standard appeal of independent retailers – an eclectic inventory built by listening to customer requests, personal service, immediacy that only a physical store can offer, and a sense of community. But Dreaming Ant has also thrived by building a reputation for being fair, for supporting local filmmakers, and for innovating – implementing services like an interactive website that enables members to check real-time availability of movies and maintain a record of past rentals and wishlists, return-by-mail envelopes enabling distant members to return rentals when not in the area, partnerships with local universities, DVD delivery (since cancelled, Dreaming Ant partnered with Wheel Deliver for this service), and unique, high-traffic locations with small physical imprints and low overhead.

Now, five years later, although Dreaming Ant’s wooden entranceway has been replaced by glass & aluminum, the warm independent atmosphere remains. And the burgeoning DVD collection has actually outgrown Crazy Mocha’s walls, motivating a second store to be opened in Oakland in 2007. Dean’s vision quest has also been blessed with seven affable employees – Andrew, Jenn, Rob, Ben, Ashley, Bill and Colleen. As suburban landscapes grow more homogenous, Dreaming Ant hopes to remain competitive for years to come, offering personal attention and a selection of movies aligned with its philosophy of independence and diversity. As Giovanni Ribisi exclaimed while on break from shooting 10th & Wolf in September 2004, "This place is f*#kin' great!"

Voted best local video/DVD rental store in Pittsburgh City Paper’s 2004 Best of Pittsburgh Reader’s Poll, Dreaming Ant boasts an eclectic collection of DVDs for rent, brimming with international, documentary, independent, gay-lesbian-transgender, television, music and Hollywood movies. Dreaming Ant Bloomfield is located inside Crazy Mocha Coffee Co. at 4525 Liberty Avenue. Dreaming Ant Oakland shares 426 South Craig Street with fellow independent retailers Phantom of the Attic Comics, Wicked Discs and History Beads.

For further information about Dreaming Ant’s 5-Year Anniversary celebration, visit www.dreamingant.com or contact Dean Brandt at [phone] or via email at [e-mail].