Celebration Cinema Studio Park and Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. (DGRI) are teaming up to bring eight free outdoor movies to the Studio Park Piazza this summer.
Both organizations continually work to build community, activate public spaces and support local businesses Downtown.
“We love to bring people together, and summer brings new opportunities,” said Emily Loeks, Director of Community Affairs at Celebration Cinema. “The outdoor piazza at Studio Park is a great spot to gather, and from which to explore the city.”
The Sunset Cinema series builds on previous successful seasons, as well as DGRI’s public movie events over the last 10+ years, including Movies In The Park and Movies On Monroe. This year’s Sunset Cinema series is free and open to the public, offering a variety of films including old classics, family-friendly, fan favorites and modern blockbusters.
“We’re really excited to be partnering with Celebration Cinema again to bring a free movie series back Downtown,” said Kim Van Driel, Director of Public Space Management at DGRI. “Studio Park has become such a wonderful public space and we can’t wait to see it full of community members taking in a movie and enjoying our beautiful Downtown neighborhood.”
Sunset Cinema will run from June through early July then pick back up again at the end of August, taking a brief pause in July and early August to make room for the Listening Lawn series.
Movies will start at 8 PM on the Saturdays listed below.
Seating is first come, first served. Drinks will be available for purchase at surrounding businesses at Studio Park, including the indoor movie theater concessions. Outside snacks are allowed. Movie watchers are encouraged to bring their own low-profile chairs so that everyone has a comfortable view of the screen.
After an online public vote with almost 3,000 responses, the following movies were selected based on availability and popularity:
• 6/8/24 – Jurassic Park (original)
• 6/15/24 – 10 Things I Hate About You
• 6/22/24 – Toy Story
• 6/29/24 – Barbie
• 7/6/24 – Top Gun: Maverick
• 8/31/24 – Back To The Future
• 9/7/24 – Crazy Rich Asians
• 9/14/24 - Clueless
