Kevin Bacon Applauds 'Hilarious Effort' of Small Town Who Invited Him to 'Baconfest'

— -- One small town's big ambition fell short this month after they were unable to convince Kevin Bacon to attend their annual bacon festival.

The residents of Brattleboro, Vermont, spent weeks tweeting to the actor -- publicly inviting him to their third annual "Baconfest," which kicks off this weekend.

"We thought, 'What kind of fun thing can we do to get attention for the 'Baconfest' and for the town of Brattleboro?'" said Kate O'Connor, executive director of the Brattleboro-area Chamber of Commerce. "Since we are celebrating bacon, we can't have a celebration without Kevin Bacon."

O'Connor said the people of Brattleboro loved the idea to have Bacon as their special guest. They even purchased a life-size cutout of the "Footloose" star and snapped photos with it all over town. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin also invited Bacon to "Baconfest" in a video posing with the cutout.

Yesterday afternoon, Bacon replied to the invitation, regretfully declining since he'll be out of town.

"Hey, this is Kevin Bacon sending my regrets to the good people of Brattleboro, Vermont," Bacon said in a video he posted on his Twitter page. "I wish I could be there this weekend. I'm in Vancouver shooting a film. I really appreciate all the support and the hilarious effort that Brattleboro and the state of Vermont has made to try to get me there."

He added: "I'm a big fan of Vermont. I got two sisters that live in that great state and unfortunately, I got to be working. So, have a great time and enjoy the bacon."

"Baconfest" will begin this Saturday. About 2,000 bacon-lovers will be present -- enjoying live music while sampling the trendy food.

Kevin Bacon's 1984 film "Footloose" will be shown at the event and although Brattleboro failed at their attempt to "bring home the bacon," O'Connor said the town was still thrilled to receive a repose.

"We didn't know if he would see our tweets, but he was very gracious," she said. "He's got an entire fan base in southern Vermont. We all love Kevin."