As the 40th anniversary of "Animal House" draws near, the city of Cottage Grove is vying to break a world record the Oregon town of 10,000 once held.

We're speaking, of course, about the title of "World's Biggest Toga Party," which Cottage Grove last broke in 2003, when 2,166 sheet-clad revelers packed downtown. The latest record was set in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, in 2012 when 3,700 people joined an effort between the University of Queensland Union and Queensland University of Technology.

The latest effort in Cottage Grove will take place Aug. 18, exactly 40 years after "Animal House" first hit theaters. The movie's climax, where the scrappy fraternity led in part by the late John Belushi's iconic Bluto caused mayhem during a university parade, was filmed in the city's downtown.

Organizers are billing it as a reunion event — Lane County residents who played bit parts and were featured in the film as extras will attend the celebration, Eugene CBS affiliate KVAL reports. The toga party will be the culmination of a parade that ends at Bohemia Park in front of a 24-foot tall recreation of the Delta Tau Chi fraternity house.

Animal House of Blues Only 1 month to our 8-18-18 event! And only days to the next airing on 8-06-18 of our documentary on OPB! Please give the Event's Double Secret Society Committee some love by watching the show with us! Here's the trailer: Posted by Animal HOUSE 40TH Reunion and Toga Party on Wednesday, April 18, 2018

The day-long event will start with the parade at 11 a.m., according to the official Facebook page. Organizers have also put out a call for parts of the original set in a campaign to at least partially rebuild the Delta Tau Chi house.

"Animal House," for all its rough edges — particularly when viewed through a 21st Century lens — still commands a place in University of Oregon culture and among entertainers at large. The comedian and director Kevin Smith on Thursday tweeted from the site of the building, long demolished, that was used as the exterior of the Delta Tau Chi house.

"ANIMAL HOUSE is the one comedy that influenced me the most - so much so that Silent Bob is essentially Bluto with less lines," Smith wrote, referencing the recurring character he plays in his own films.

ANIMAL HOUSE is the one comedy that influenced me the most - so much so that Silent Bob is essentially Bluto with less lines. And I’m in EUGENE, OREGON today where it was shot, so I went looking for Delta House to stand where Belushi once stood and where cinema history happened. pic.twitter.com/Bza98GBrkt — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) April 19, 2018

In 2015, Portland-based Wieden + Kennedy produced a video homage to the famous toga party scene starring Marcus Mariota, Ty Burrell and other famous UO alumni.

And even though many of the campus buildings and landmarks used throughout the film exist in some form today, the Fishbowl, part of the Erb Memorial Union that housed the cafeteria where the infamous food fight scene was set, was ultimately demolished and replaced when the building underwent extensive renovations in 2015.

It had a good run — the place went mostly untouched for nearly four decades.

--Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344

ecampuzano@oregonian.com