Goodale Park has seen its share of parties, weddings, festivals, and pre-prom photos. Did you know you can see some great movies there, too?
For the last 7 years, the Short North Civic Center has brought the big screen (an inflatable one!) to the park for a community viewing of some great flicks. Screen on the Green is back again, with a movie a month beginning Friday, July 17th with the 1982 original Poltergeist – a film longtime local film critic and freelance writer Melissa Starker proposed.
Starker’s been a part of Screen on the Green since its inception.
“I got involved through Jeff Smith, the president of Short North Civic Association and unofficial mayor of the neighborhood,” she says. “Jeff and I were talking about events in Goodale Park and I asked him if the SNCA ever considered doing an outdoor movie series. He was into the idea right away. We’ve been working on the series together since, with other SNCA volunteers, including Alex Fox, Chet Ridenour and Julie Hallan.”
Each year the group’s members bring a set of movie options.
“Film selection is always a group discussion,” Starker says. “This year, Jeff and I got together with Julie and Andrew Johnson, an SNCA volunteer and a film buff. We brought lists to start the conversation and we had a lot of the same ideas. We work out first and second choices for the summer and usually end up with a solid list to work from for the next year.”
Is there a formula for choosing films?
“We shoot for films that seem right for the neighborhood, and we always show at least one movie that works for all ages,” she says. The family film is usually the final screening for the series.
“That one plays in September when our sundown start time is the earliest, so we’re not keeping families out too late,” Starker says.
This year’s family option is Babe.
“I love the excitement that Babe is bringing out in people,” Starker says. “But I think I’m most excited for The Wizard of Oz. We’ve been trying to get that one for several years and it’ll be really fun in the park. It’s also Jeff’s favorite film. We’re going to have a costume contest and I wouldn’t be surprised if he shows up in an Oz-inspired outfit. He already dressed up as a nun for The Sound of Music.”
You can join the party this Friday when Poltergeist screens on the 30-foot inflatable screen located in the softball field at Goodale Park. The SNCA promises state-of-the-art projection and sound, as well as many local mobile vendors and the Hubbard Mastery School PTO Pop-Up Bake Shop. Food arrives at least an hour before showtime, which is sundown.
Full line up:
Friday, July 17: Poltergeist (1982)
Friday, August 21: The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Friday, September 18: Babe (1995)
For more information, visit shortnorthcivic.org.
Looking for more upcoming film events in Columbus? CLICK HERE to view our Calendar.
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