Showing this summer at Rocky Point....

Tim Forsberg
Posted 6/2/15

Lights, cameras, action! The Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce (CRICC) will host four free movie nights this summer at a venue like no other: Rocky Point Park.

Billed as the first and only …

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Showing this summer at Rocky Point....

Posted

Lights, cameras, action! The Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce (CRICC) will host four free movie nights this summer at a venue like no other: Rocky Point Park.

Billed as the first and only event of its kind, the movie nights will offer free admission, food trucks and kid-friendly films, all with open parking available inside the park. Along with the Chamber, the production is being sponsored by National Grid with movies provided by Entertainment Under the Stars.

“We’re very fortunate that between the city, state and DEM that we were able to work together to plan the event properly,” said Lauren Slocum, president and CEO of the CRICC.  “We started planning for this last fall, if not before. The state was able to identify what would be required, what would be safe for everyone, and we were able to comply with all of those requirements. We’re very excited to be the first group to do something like this.”

Each movie event will take place on a Thursday, and gates will open for all showings beginning at 6:30 p.m. The first film on June 18 will feature The Lego Movie. There will be two shows in July; the first on the 16th will present the movie Annie, while the second show on the 30th will play Happy Feet. The final show on August 20 is perhaps the most appropriate for the seaside park: Finding Nemo.

“In order to be protective of the area, to ensure that everything is properly handled, there will be DEM officers that we will be hiring for Movies in the Park,” said Slocum. “We’ll also be working with the city for traffic control for the area because we’re obviously concerned that we don’t want there to be a negative impact to the neighbors.”

The event has taken a massive amount of logistic plans to ensure the show goes off without a hitch.

“Because there are no built-in facilities or infrastructure there, we have to bring everything in – generators, lighting, food, restrooms, all of the components – so there can be fairly significant costs,” said Slocum. “But this event is free and open to the public.”

While the news of the event started to trickle out last week, the Chamber believes that attendance at the events will be significant.

“We went from initially thinking that we might have two to five hundred people; North Kingstown had seven hundred at their last movie,” said Slocum. “Now we’re thinking one to two thousand people. I have trouble comprehending that’s truly what we’ll get, so I think 500 to 1000 is a fairly good guess.”

While food and beverages are allowed, alcoholic beverages are not. Movies will begin at sunset, and viewers may bring in chairs and blankets to sit on. All trash must be taken out of the park with you. Events are weather dependent.

“We do need volunteers for all sorts of things, such as parking, directions and to wear our green safety vests to help people with the event,” said Slocum. “We would appreciate the help.”

Their plan currently is to have two movie screens at each event, each about 20 feet wide, to provide a better viewing perspective.

“We’re extremely excited, we can’t wait. We’re just hopeful for wonderful weather,” said Slocum. “It’s a really nice opportunity to be able to reunite the public with Rocky Point and all of its grandeur.”

For additional information call 732-1100, or visit the Chamber’s event website at www.centralrichamber.com/3160/events/movies-in-the-park.

 

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