Each week during the summer, I believe it was on a Wednesday night, Cambridge city gets a giant inflatable screen and hosts a movie night. These movies take place at different parks every week and all the movies are kid friendly thought not all of them are animated.
We went to one such movie night, set out some lawn chairs, and waited for sun down. There was about an hours worth of pre-show entertainment in the form of Jenny the Juggler. We got to see the movie “The Penguins of Madagascar,” and once the movie started city workers showed up and handed out bags of popcorn and drinks to everyone who was there (for free).
In any case we had an awesome evening. These are really fun events to attend and they may be closer to you than the Hatch Shell movies on the Green (that happen every Friday during the summer) or the Prudential Center Movies (that happen every Saturday).
Things to Note:
1) Price
Free. Just show up at one of the parks sometime after 7 and look for the big screen before throwing down your blanket.
2) Kid Friendliness
Very kid friendly. These events are totally targeted at children and all the movies are kid/family friendly films. Also these are at park so if your child/children at not that into the movie it’s really easy to step away and run around a little bit.
3) Stroller Friendliness
Yup, bring your stroller if you so choose. I would also recommend lawn chairs if you have them and if not lawn chairs at least a blanket to sit/lay on.
4) Start Time
They start at sun down… like when the sun is all the way gone and it’s starting to get dark, so during the summer this usually means some time after 8pm, which can be late for young ones. We only went once with our two year old (as a special treat) and he loved it, but I based on the flier I had received I was expecting it to start earlier. So, note, the event starts at 7, with about an hour of pre-show entertainment and then the movie starts once it’s dark.
5) Pre show Entertainment
They had something going before each of the movies so you can come as early as you want to enjoy the park and fun before the movie begins. For us there were also a couple of different people/companies from around the area with tables set up with a few crafts/treats for the kids.
6) Parking
Most of the parks don’t have dedicated parking though there is street parking in the area and sometimes metered parking.
7) Bathrooms
Eek! A lot of these parks don’t have dedicated bathrooms. We usually end up scoping out the nearest Dunkin Donuts on our walks there (I will happily buy a $1 donut to use the bathroom, and they seem to be on just about every other street corner) You might want to scope out some business with bathrooms in advance if you think this might be a concern.
2016 Movie Line Up and Parks:
-
THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 7:00 PM – ECBA MOVIE NIGHT
THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 7:00 PM – KSA MOVIE NIGHT
@ Volpe Lawn – 55 Broadway. Cambridge
TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 7:00 PM – THE PORT MOVIE NIGHT
@ Green Rose Heritage Park – 155 Harvard St, Cambridge
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 7:00 PM – ISBA MOVIE NIGHT
@ East Cambridge Savings Bank – Inmen Branch Lot: 1310 Cambridge St, Cambridge
TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 7:00 PM – CSBA MOVIE NIGHT
Featuring: Koolkidz Beatbox@ TBA
THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 7:00 PM – HSBA MOVIE NIGHT
Featuring: Four Shadow Band@ Palmer St, Harvard Square
Summary and Rating ★★★★★
Five Stars. We loved being able to get out and see a movie and it was nice to see them at different parks around Cambridge. It made it easy for us to find one that was within walking distance. We also loved having something going on before the movie started, though it was a little difficult to have a little one out so late. In any case it was a fun family night out and I would highly recommend getting out and seeing one of these movies with your family/friends this summer.
