Outdoor Movie Screen Rental Directory - United States

A church might not be the first place that you think of when you plan to attend an outdoor movie event. Movie nights at the park are the most common outdoor movie events but outdoor movies can be seen everywhere from alley ways to parking lots. In Spokane, one of the best places to see outdoor movies this summer happened to be at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. These outdoor movies began at dusk at the church which is located at 2715 S. Ray St. in Spokane. 

These outdoor movies were shown at the church every Wednesday night in July and August except for on the Fourth of July holiday. Films were family-friendly and included Night at the Museum, Happy Feet and Charlotte’s Web. The last outdoor movie shown here was Dreamer which screened on August 22nd to a full audience of interested outdoor movie goers. The summer outdoor movie fun may be over but keep your eye on the news coming from Bethlehem Lutheran Church.  Rumor has it that they plan to begin showing classic movies throughout the late fall and winter.

Bellingham residents and visitors alike enjoyed the Fairhaven Outdoor Cinema series that graced an inflatable movie screen at the Village Green every Saturday this summer. The weather this summer in the area was mostly beautiful, making everyone especially excited to get outside and enjoy the outdoor movies. In fact, so many people came out to fill the grass and sidewalks with their blankets and lawn chairs that it was necessary to arrive quite early if you wanted to get a good seat for the show. Arriving early was a treat in itself, though, since there was pre-movie entertainment and live music to enhance the experience.

The Fairhaven Outdoor Cinema is a free event although a donation of $5 per person or $15 per family is strongly recommended. This donation goes to the Fairhaven Association which puts on this outdoor movie event. The Association also funds other events throughout Bellingham so the money goes directly towards the community. The Bellingham Kiwanis Club also earns money through your help if you purchase sodas or popcorn from them at the outdoor movies. If you don’t have the cash, though, you can feel free to bring your own picnic and enjoy the no-cost outdoor movies. They start up again next July.

Not to be outdone by other Washington state outdoor movie events, Tacoma introduced an interesting outdoor movie series twist to its film series. Sure, Tacoma had outdoor movies every week from July through September. But before each movie was a live local band bringing the “summer sounds” part to the Summer Sounds and Outdoor Cinema event. You’re shaking your head and thinking that you’ve heard of dozens of other outdoor movie events that have this same kind of pre-movie entertainment right? Perhaps, but is the band followed (and the movie preceded by) a local contest like Tacoma’s Tacoma Idol?

The pre-show entertainment drew a large number of people this outdoor movie event season because of the additional fun that it presented. Would-be singers brought their karaoke-style skills to the makeshift stage and entertained the movie watchers. Of course, the films themselves were also fun. They were located at different parks all throughout Tacoma and included showings of Akeelah and the Bee, Charlotte’s Web and Yours, Mine and Ours. A similar event was held in Auburn, WA but Tacoma residents say that theirs was better.

Seattle has a number of outdoor movie events to its name. College campuses and other organizations set up inflatable movie screens and offer screenings of outdoor movies at various times throughout the year. However, it is the Fremont Outdoor Movie Series which people think about when they think about watching movies outdoors in Seattle. The Fremont neighborhood has been the home to this outdoor movie series for 15 years now and the number of attendees that it sees just keeps increasing year after year.

The 15th Annual Fremont Outdoor Movies series just wrapped up after a long summer of a lot of fun. The movies happened every Saturday and included such favorites as The Neverending Story, Moulin Rouge and Dreamgirls. Fremont Outdoor Movies also presented four “twisted flicks”, Bad B Movies by local Jet City Improv actors. In addition to the films, every week had a theme night and guests came in costume to participate in the costume contest. For example, during the outdoor movie showing of The Princess Bride, everyone dressed as storybook characters. The fun also included games and entertainment. Seattle will surely be looking forward to resuming the outdoor movie event again next year.

The Sedro-Wooley outdoor movie series started back in 2005 as a way to help revitalize the downtown area of this small Washington city. The outdoor movies were such a success that they were brought back in 2006 and again this year. The movies only last for four Fridays in a row, during the month of July, but they bring a sense of spirit and community to the area. Hundreds of people turned out each week to enjoy the movies and to participate in the re-building and revitalization of Sedro-Wooley.

The Sedro-Wooley outdoor movies take place at The Masonic Center which is located in the city’s downtown neighborhood at the intersection of Walley and Warner. The outdoor movies and comfortable grass seating are free and popcorn and sodas are available for a small fee. Watching outdoor movies together helps build community and bring neighbors together in a safe and fun meeting space. These movies are just one of the many events and attractions that are helping to bring people back to the heart of this small city.