Free Movie Night Under the Stars is Saturday

TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR

This Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, Movie Land, a mobile outdoor cinema service, will host a free Movie Night Under the Stars at Normal Park in Merrill; but the 4:30 to 10 p.m. event will include more than just the showing of Encanto, which begins at 8:30 p.m.

Area businesses and community organizations are joining in to create an afternoon and evening of fun for kids of all ages.
The Merrill Cub Scouts will have concessions available for purchase, and the mobile popcorn stand will be on site selling popcorn.
In addition to the evening movie, Park City Credit Union is planning to set up kids activities, and the Merrill Police Department and Merrill Fire Department will be there for a show-and-tell from 6:30-7:30 p.m. to interact with families and kids. Face painting will also be available for a small fee. There will also be door prizes, with a chance to win one of four $20 gift certificates from Los Mezcales.
Plan to bring your own blankets and chairs and bring the family for the late afternoon and evening.
Note: Rain date is the following day, Sunday, Aug. 4, same time and place.
Admission to the event is free, although Movie Land owner Dylan Thomas said donations will be accepted and will go to the Lincoln County Humane Society and HAVEN.
Weinbrenner Shoe Company is the premier sponsor, helping to cover the licensing cost to show the movie, and event co-sponsors include Jansen Heating & Cooling, Park City Credit Union, Park City Aviation, Pier 2 Cenex, Premier Touchless, Los Mezcales, NAPA Auto Parts, and Quirt Family Dentistry.

From idea to fruition

“I realized when I first moved to Merrill a year and a half ago that the city needed something unique and fun to do at one of the parks,” Thomas said. “Then it hit me: Why not a ‘Movie in the Park’ - a unique and memorable way of watching a movie?”
“It was back In 2013 when I researched a few parks in Merrill, and it was Normal Park that caught my attention. they played the movie E.T. there. That is why I decided to do this event for the community. Bringing it back, I like to call it.”
Thomas said he planned this event “so that our community can have some more activities to do, and have individuals or families have an opportunity to be a part of a unique and memorable way of watching a movie under the stars.” He said he also welcomed the opportunity to give back to the community.
“I also did this event to hopefully Inspire others, and to make them want to do something unique and fun, as well, for the city of Merrill,” Thomas said.
“With this being my first time organizing an event kickoff, it has been a fun and challenging learning/opportunity experience along the way.” He said he’s really proud of how it came together and hopes many people will come out for the event.

The idea was the easiest part, Thomas said. He contacted the Merrill Parks and Recreation Department, met with the Merrill Mayor, and spoke with the Merrill Area Chamber of Commerce to be sure he had the proper approvals and support for the event. He put together sponsorship folders with information about Movie Land and his plan to create this event for the community. Then he went “door to door to local businesses meeting with owners/managers” to generate support for the event and afterward followed up with them after they had time to consider how they could help.
“Without doing this step of reaching out, this couldn’t have happened,” he said. “So a big thank you to all the sponsors who helped in making this event possible!”
“I still remember getting my first sponsorship and telling myself, ‘It looks like great things are about to happen,’” he said.
Thomas said facilitating the event was both fun and challenging at times. He said he learned along the way and met many people who then referred him to others who helped make this event possible. “It was the phone calls, the late nights, meetings, building that network of people to make this event happen,” he said. “I had a lot of great help along the way from the beginning. I thank them all a lot.”
There are always fun and creative ways to make an event possible, Thomas said. And it’s the people he met along the way who really helped him make his idea a reality.