The Hollister Downtown Association’s first summer movie series
began last Thursday with a crowd of around 450 showing up to
see
”
Grease,
”
HDA Events Coordinator Jeana Arnold said.
HOLLISTER
The Hollister Downtown Association’s first summer movie series began last Thursday with a crowd of around 450 showing up to see “Grease,” HDA Events Coordinator Jeana Arnold said.
“It was really good,” said Arnold. “The attendance was higher than we anticipated for a first run.”
The series, being held at the grassy spot at the intersection of Fourth and San Benito streets, will be running for a total of 14 weeks and will be showing a variety of different types of movies, from musicals such as “Hairspray” to comedies such as “Ghostbusters.” All movies are rated PG-13 or under.
The next movie, scheduled for Thursday at around 8:45 p.m., is “Casablanca.” Arnold said while she expects attendance to go up after school lets out for the summer.
“I think that ‘Casablanca’ will probably be about the same (attendance-wise)”, she said. “On June 11, when school is out, we expect an increase in viewers when we show “Shrek.” Cartoons will probably increase the attendance.”
Although no outside food is allowed in, attendees can still visit the concession stand and buy it there. Premiere Cinemas will sell popcorn and nachos, and the HDA sells pizza.
“We are trying to raise some funds from that,” Arnold said. “It’s a nice thing to have there.”
Some of the funding for the 14-week movie series comes from the Hollister Redevelopment Agency. The RDA members approved $20,000 to help cover the cost of renting a 25-foot by 15-foot inflatable movie screen and the licensing fees to show the movies in public.
The estimated cost for the series is $40,000. The HDA is soliciting sponsorships from the community. Due to in-kind donations, Arnold said the total cost has gone down to $35,000 so far.
The crowd filled about half the area for the first movie – the grass can seat around 1,000 people – and Arnold said that she “anticipates a very successful series.”
For more information on the movie series, go to the HDA Web site at www.downtownhollister.org. If you would like to volunteer at the movie series, call the HDA office at 636-8406.
Date, movie, rating, estimated starting time.
June 4: “Casablanca,” PG, 8:57 p.m.
June 11: “Shrek,” G, 9:01 p.m.
June 18: “Bee Movie,” G, 9:04 p.m.
June 25: No movie due to Saddle Horse Parade
July 2: “Nacho Libre,” PG, 9:05 p.m.
July 9: “Ghostbusters,” PG, 9:04 p.m.
July 16: “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” PG, 9:01 p.m.
July 23: “Kung Fu Panda,” PG, 8:56 p.m.
July 30: “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” PG, 8:50 p.m.
August 6: “E.T.,” G, 8:43 p.m.
August 13: “Over The Hedge,” G, 8:35 p.m.
August 20: “Twilight,” PG-13, 8:26 p.m.
August 27: “Hairspray,” PG, 8:17 p.m.
September 3: “Mamma Mia,” PG-13, 8:07 p.m.
All movies are subject to change without notice.
