62 Days of Summer
One of the pleasures of summer is spending as much time as possible outdoors: meals on the picnic table, concerts in outdoor amphitheaters, plays and musicals in parks.
There are also plenty of opportunities to watch movies from a lawn seat — for free — in parks all over the area.
Tonight, for instance, there’s a free showing of “Charlotte’s Web” at 7 p.m. in the High Rock
Pavilion Park in Saratoga Springs. Because the pavilion is roofed, the movie will be shown rain or shine.
The High Rock series includes two movies more appropriate for older crowds — “Edward Scissorhands” (Aug. 14) and “The Shawshank Redemption” (Sept. 4). But lots of the outdoor movies in the region focus on family fare.
For all outdoor movies, viewers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on.
The mother lode of free movies comes this Friday and Saturday, when Ballston Spa hosts its annual film festival. The family-friendly festival this year will present 38 short films, from 1 to 18 minutes long, made by young and emerging filmmakers from around the world.
Half the films will be shown indoors, at the Ballston Spa High School Auditorium. And there will be two full evenings of movies screened outdoors, beginning at 9 p.m., at the Old Iron Spring Park on Front Street.
For more information and a full schedule, visit bspafilm.org.
If you — or some kids you know — like “The Lego Movie,” Schenectady County has scheduled six outdoor showings in parks around the county. The first is Friday at Freedom Park in Scotia. The fun begins at 7 p.m. with free ice cream, kids’ activities and music. The movie starts at dusk.
Other “Lego” dates and sites in the county are: Aug. 8 at Niskayuna Town Hall; Aug. 15 at Eunice Esposito Park in Rotterdam; Aug. 18 at Princetown Town Hall; Aug. 22 at Shafer Memorial Park in Duanesburg; and Aug. 29 at the miSci museum in Schenectady. The times are the same: 7 p.m. for fun and ice cream and dusk for the movie.
In downtown Glens Falls, “The Wizard of Oz” will be shown Aug. 19 at dusk, in City Park at the corner of Bay and Glen streets.
In Lake George’s Shepard Park, Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” will be shown Aug. 29 at 8:30 p.m.
Other film series in the area include:
— Dan DiNicola Memorial Little Italy Film Festival, Friday nights in the parking lot behind Perreca’s on North Jay Street in Schenectady. All moves begin at dusk, and in case of rain will be rescheduled for the following Saturday. These movies are geared toward adult audiences:
Friday: “Big Night” (R)
Aug. 8: Fellini’s “81⁄2” (Not Rated)
Aug. 15: “Roman Holiday” (Not Rated)
Aug. 29: “My Cousin Vinny” (R)
— High Rock Pavilion series in Saratoga Springs:
Today, 7 p.m. “Charlotte’s Web” (G)
Aug. 5, 7 p.m. “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” (PG)
Aug. 14, 8:30 p.m. “Edward Scissorhands” (PG-13)
Sept. 4, 8:30 p.m. “The Shawshank Redemption” (R)
Sept. 13, 7 p.m. “E.T.” (PG)
Have a favorite summer activity? Let us know about it. Share your ideas for Summer Days at www.dailygazette.com/summerdays or [email protected]
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Categories: Entertainment, News, Schenectady County
