ABC(NEW YORK) — The Arizona man who made national headlines after he raised the funds to attend the bachelor party of a total stranger described the atmosphere at a ski resort in rural Vermont over the weekend as “really insane.”
Will Novak, 35, was invited to the bachelor weekend for Angelo Onello by mistake after Onello’s brother made a typo in an email invitation on Jan. 7, the pair told “GMA Day” hosts Michael Strahan and Sarah Haines on Monday.
After reading the email, which instructed invitees to bring their most ridiculous 80s skiing getup, Novak created a GoFundMe campaign to pay for his $750 flight from Phoenix to the Northeast.
“From the contents of this email, Angelo sounds tremendous, and I want to help send him off in style,” Novak wrote in the fundraiser’s description.
The campaign surpassed Novak’s goal within two hours, he wrote on Twitter, and his plot to make new friends quickly became a reality.
Novak set off for Okemo Mountain in Vermont on Friday, and his story had become so well-known that fellow passengers on his flight recognized him, he wrote on Twitter.
The ingenious party-goer had a little more help along the way, with upgrades on his flight and rental car.
When Novak finally arrived at the ski resort in Ludlow, it was 3 a.m. and the attendees were shooting off fireworks, playing the guitar and participating in a mosh pit, he said on Monday.
“It was really insane,” Novak said, adding that he had to act as the voice of reason and remind them that they had plans to ski in a few hours.
It seemed as if everyone who the rowdy group encountered over the weekend had heard the story of the accidental invitation, and “Angelo’s bachelor party” became a tagline, with members of the public acknowledging them while they were out and about.
“Kids, parents, everyone’s screaming,” Onello said.
Novak added with a laugh, “I’ve never had pretty girls know my name.”
On the first day, after the guys got off the ski lift, a member of the local fire department approached them and said he would be “honored” to take the group to the bars in the fire truck, Onello said. When the firefighters arrived at the ski house, they cranked the horns to let them know they’d arrived, Onello added.
The typo didn’t keep the other Will Novak, the one for whom the email was initially meant to be sent to, away from the fun. He attended as well, and even had a shirt made that read, “I am ‘the real’ Will Novak.”
Onello said his bachelor party was a success.
“I had a great time,” he said. “Everything fell into place. It was a totally remarkable story.”
Novak will donate all of the excess cash from the GoFundMe account, which stands at $4,375 at the time of this publication, to Onello and his wife, who announced before the party that they are expecting their first child.
“All the extra money we’re gonna give to Angelo’s wife and his new baby to help them on their life,” Novak, who has a 10-month-old baby himself, said on Monday.
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