Bring a chair and popcorn to catch some free outdoor movies next month in downtown Kent.
The city of Kent Parks Department will show movies on three Friday nights in August on a big screen at Town Square Plaza, Second Avenue and Harrison Street.
The movies are “Footloose,” at 9:15 p.m. Aug. 7; “Mama Mia!”, the sing-along edition, at 9 p.m. Aug. 14; and “Kung Fu Panda,” at 8:45 p.m. Aug. 21.
“There is strong interest in this site from the public and the parks department to have programs as often as we can here,” said Ronda Billerbeck, city program manager for cultural events, during an interview Thursday at the plaza that opened last summer. “We thought, let’s see if we can do movies.”
City officials are calling series Summer Nights and the Silver Screen, as they aim to provide family-style entertainment for residents.
Movie-night flyers posted at businesses around town as well as announcements at the city’s summer concerts continue to attract interest in the park department’s latest offering.
“The reaction has been positive,” Billerbeck said. “We expect at least 250 to 300 people and maybe up to 600 or 700.”
Movier goers must bring their own chairs to set up at the plaza. No seats will be provided. There is a small grass area where people can spread blankets.
The inflatable screen measures 20 feet wide and 40 feet high. The screen will be placed in the northwest corner of the park, in front of the carousel, and face toward the fountains.
The city has a contract to pay Epic Events, of Bellingham, $1,800 per movie to provide the screen, projection equipment and sound system. The company has produced similar outdoor movies in other communities. The city also pays another $175 to $300 to the movie-licensing companies for the rights to show the movies.
With the city budget tight for the summer of 2009, parks department officials cut the children’s stage the city had previously sponsored at Kent Cornucopia Days in order to pay for the movie nights, Billerbeck said.
The city continues to seek a sponsor for the free movies, similar to businesses that help pay for the free summer concerts.
In fact, the idea for an outdoor movie night originated a few years ago when Comcast approached the city to sponsor such an event. Comcast paid for the showing of “The Princess Bride” two years ago at Lake Meridian Park, but the company did not offer to pay for any future movies.
“That was successful,” Billerbeck said. “We had the desire to do it (last year), but no funding.”
As far as picking which movies, city staff compiled a long list of movies and then tried to pick family-oriented films that adults also could enjoy watching.
“’Footloose’ is from the 1980s and almost is a cult-type film now,” Billerbeck said. “’Mama Mia!’ is more recent and the words will be on the screen to sing along. And we wanted one animated film, so we picked ‘Kung Fu Panda.’”
Disney films were unavailable because the company does not license its movies for outdoor venues, Billerbeck said.
City staff plans to offer a few games and other activities (still to be determined) about an half-hour before the film starts. Moviegoers are welcome to show up early to grab spots where they want to sit.
Even if it rains, the movie will be shown. Donations are taken the night of the movies to help fund the city’s summer programs.
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