Another Successful Summer Series for the Town of Kent in NY
The Kent Recreation Summer Movie Series in the Town of Kent in NY had something for everyone this year, showing family favorites like “The Lion King,” “Jumanji,” “Coco” and “The Incredibles.”
All showings started around 8:30 p.m. when the sun set and were absolutely free to the public. For the third year in a row, pre-show games and activities were sponsored by Ted Hill Pest Control, a local business. Popcorn and candy were the provided snacks, but attendees were encouraged to bring other movie munchies, their own camping chairs, blankets and anything else that would make their movie experience even more magical.
“Our showings are outdoors, and for us, it’s just a great way to bring the community together and enjoy a summer night,” stated Jared Kuczenski, Acting Recreation Director for the Town of Kent. Jared is also quick to note the outdoor movie showings at the park are a time-honored tradition, an event he’s been attending since he was a kid.
“An hour before each movie, since people arrive early but it’s not dark enough to show the film, we [host] games with prizes donated by our sponsor. For the ‘Lion King,’ we held a 20 question Disney movie trivia game. Most of the questions were geared toward kids, but we threw in a few questions for the parents too,” he adds when talking about what programming they’ve included before their movie events start.
In terms of volunteers and donations, the community loves these movie events so much Jared and his team don’t have to do anything extra to attract volunteers or sponsors. “They come to us because they want to be part of the fun,” Jared explained. To advertise their showings, a large majority of their promotional push was accomplished through Facebook, with a few emails sprinkled in. “Simple efforts through those mediums seemed to do the trick [for us],” he added.
“Our showings are outdoors, and for us, it’s just a great way to bring the community together and enjoy a summer night." Jared Kuczenski, Acting Recreation Director for the Town of Kent
When asked if he has any advice to pass on to others looking to host their own movie series, Jared stresses the importance of the movie event’s location: “If you’re going to be outdoors, make sure you have a good location. Location is everything. If you’re cramming too many people into too small of a space, if the location is too far from where people live, if parking is inadequate, if the bathrooms are too far away from where the movie is being shown, if the location is too buggy – all of those things are enough to make people think twice about coming out.”
He also gives a major shout out to his Swank account manager, Meghan: “I can’t say enough about the time and effort that our account manager, Meghan, put into making sure our movie series went off smoothly. It’s incredibly rare that you encounter someone who is so willing to go the extra mile and beyond, and we can’t thank her enough for her help in making our summer such a success!”
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