Muncie's Downtown Development Partnership is showing free family movies every Friday night outside on the big white wall at the corner of Charles Street and Walnut Street.-á The event features pre-show entertainment from local bands and food services by local charity organizations.-á
Elizabeth Leichman is the Outreach Coordinator for the Partnership, and she said the event is a chance to give back to the community.
"Families who maybe couldn't afford to go to the movies get to go," Leichman said.
The event may also change public perception of the downtown area, Leichman said.
"Some people have a negative view of downtown; maybe these movies will give them good memories of the area," Leichman said.
Leichman organizes the free Friday night movies, and picked the list of movies which will be shown this summer. The list includes "Cinderella," "Days of Thunder," and the "Wizard of Oz."
"These are movies we grew up with," Leichman said.
The drive-in will also feature more current movies such as "Spy Kids 3-D," Disney's "Haunted Mansion," "The Lizzy Maguire Movie" and "Hulk" all slated for July and August.
Leichman said that anyone interested in attending movie night should come early and be sure to bring a chair or blanket and some bug spray. The event, now in its second year, drew nearly 500 people on Friday nights in June.
Ball State senior Tom Cramer sat down to catch the 2003 version of "Peter Pan" last Friday. -á
"I was impressed by the picture quality, for something being shown on a wall," Cramer said. "It was a nice night to be outside, and it made me feel like a kid again, plus it's free."
Every week, a local non-profit group sells food at the event. This Friday, the volunteers are from Wayside Mission. They will sell candy, popcorn, hotdogs and pizza.-á
In June, 12 members from the Fraternal Order of the Eagles volunteered to sell refreshments. Eagle volunteer Pat Irwin said they raised over $200 in a night that was a lot of fun. The group plans to give the money to a local charity, Irwin said.
"It was great to see all the kids having a good time," Irwin said.
They sold out of almost everything, and at fifty cents a bag, the line for popcorn was down the street, Irwin said.-áShe said that the crowd last Friday filled the parking lot and the next lot over.
Free Friday night movies will run until the last Friday in August. If local families continue to show up in support of these downtown events, the Downtown Development Partnership has succeeded in its summer mission, Leichman said.
"I hope this is something that little kids will remember, a good memory of downtown Muncie," Liechman said.
This week, the free Friday night movie is "Miracle." The band Absolute Zero is the scheduled pre-show entertainment.
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