Free Movies a Big Hit in Old Town Monrovia
By Monrovia Weekly
Published: Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
Monrovia’s Old Town merchants are entertaining shoppers, diners and neighbors one night each month with free “stroll-in” movies.
Old Town’s Summer Movie Series has attracted large crowds in both June and July, with the next free movie scheduled for Saturday, August 29.
That evening, the 1980’s classic “The Neverending Story” will screen in the middle of Colorado Boulevard, just east of Myrtle Avenue. Whole families will be attending, bringing lawn chairs and blankets and setting themselves up in the closed-off street to enjoy the film on a cool summer night. The show starts at sundown – about 8 p.m.
The free films are shown on a giant inflatable movie screen and the event has the feel of an old-fashioned drive-in movie. In June, when “Casablanca” was shown, about 225 people attended. The July showing of “ET” brought out more than 400.
August’s movie, “The Neverending Story,” concerns a boy harassed by schoolyard bullies hides in an abandoned attic with an extraordinary book about an amazing universe – a land filled with rock-eating creatures, racing snails and flying dragons. Director Wolfgang Petersen’s first English-language film was so successful that it spawned two live-action sequels as well as an animated television series.
Each of the Movie Nights is held in conjunction with Art Walks along Myrtle Avenue, sponsored by the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts (MAFA). The movies are sponsored by the Monrovia Old Town Advisory Board.
For information, contact Diane Delmatoff at (626) 303-6600.
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