Creating Family Traditions with Movies
The Glen Oak Amphitheatre shares how their Family Flicks program got started more than 40 years ago and entertains community members of all ages in a picturesque park setting.
For over 40 years, the Glen Oak Amphitheatre has entertained crowds on Monday nights all throughout the summer. "Family Flicks began in 1978. It's been a tradition for so many families - generations, in fact - to come out to Glen Oak Park on Monday nights and watch films with their children," explains Mary Keltner, assistant coordinator of the Glen Oak Amphitheatre.
"Our movie program actually takes place year-round. We show the films in the summer, but we begin deciding what films we'd like to show in the fall by discussing it with various audience members and people throughout the parks district," Mary said. "Then, we work to find sponsorship from within the community once we've selected our films."
Just how did this successful movie program get started? "When they started [working with] 16 mm film, we already had the projector from something else and the amphitheatre already had a sound system. [The park had] this great white band shell so we just projected movies on there," noted Todd Pilon, lead AV technician for Glen Oak Amphitheatre.
"Part of the [appeal of the] Family Flicks series is that we show PG and G-rated movies and there are lots of movies to chose from, lots of movies for all ages," added Todd when explaining how the movie selection of the program has led to its four decades of success.
"The nice thing about Swank is that they have so many [great] films in their archive and such a variety that we can choose from." Todd Pilon, Lead AV Technician for the Glen Oak Amphitheatre
Greeter Sandy Keltner has worked for the Family Flicks series for more than ten years and knows some attendees who never miss a show: "I have a couple of older ladies that come every week very faithfully, and I have families that [donate] pennies, nickles and dimes just to be able to come. This is their summer enjoyment."
Explaining why the park makes such a great backdrop for an outdoor movie event, Mary added, "When our families come to the amphitheatre, they have an entire wide open space that is secure [where] their children can run and play. It's in the serene environment of the park and just really creates a lovely entertainment venue for the evening."
As for working with Swank to obtain the proper public performance movie licensing, the Glen Oak Amphitheatre had only glowing remarks. "The nice thing about Swank is that they have so many [great] films in their archive and such a variety that we can choose from. That makes it very easy and makes great sense for us," concluded Todd as we wrapped up the interview to let them start their next show.
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