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Dec 02, 2023

Kalamazoo Parks announces Summer Cinema Event Series lineup

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo Parks has announced its Summer Cinema Event Series

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo Parks has announced its Summer Cinema Event Series lineup. The event will be held every other Friday, starting on June 16.

At the free event, guests will be able to watch a movie under the stars at a city park. The movies will begin at 7 p.m. Snacks will be provided while supplies last.

The first film shown will be Jurassic World at Spring Valley Park (2600 Mt Olivet Road) on June 16. The movie was chosen by popular vote. It will be shown on the soccer field at the southeast end of the park. Guests can park on the field to watch the movie drive-in style. They can also bring chairs and blankets to watch from the lawn.

Jurassic World was directed by Colin Trevorrow and released in 2015. The film stars Chris Pratt as Owen Grady, Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing, and Vincent D’Onofrio as Vic Hoskins. The movie is the fourth installment in the Jurassic Park film series. It was followed by the sequels Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022).

DreamWorks Animation's The Bad Guys will be shown at the Kalamazoo Farmers Market (1204 Bank Street) on June 30. The event will also feature free face painting.

The Bad Guys follows a group of animal criminals, who are caught committing a crime. They then pretend that they have reformed and become model citizens. The film stars Sam Rockwell as Wolf, Marc Maron as Snake, and Awkwafina as Tarantula. It was directed by Pierre Perifel and is based on The Bad Guys graphic novel series by Aaron Blabey.

The next movie shown will be the 1997 Disney film Air Bud. The film will be shown at Fairmount Dog Park (1108 Prairie Avenue). At the event, the SPCA will have adoptable animals. There will also be an obstacle course demonstration and a photo booth.

Air Bud follows a basketball playing Golden Retriever named Buddy. The film was directed by Charles Martin Smith, and stars Kevin Zegers, Michael Jeter, and Wendy Makkena. A sequel, Air Bud: Golden Receiver, was released in 1998. Three direct-to-video sequels were released from 2000-2003. A direct-to-video spin-off film focusing on Buddy's puppies, Air Buddies, was released in 2006.

The fourth film shown will be the 2021 animated film Vivo. It will be shown at Frays Park (4400 Canterbury Avenue) on July 28. The event will feature free face painting.

Vivo follows a kinkajou named Vivo (Lin-Manuel Miranda) who must deliver a love song to the retiring singer Marta Sandoval (Gloria Estefan). The movie also stars Zoe Saldaña, Juan de Marcos González, and Brian Tyree Henry. It was directed by Kirk DeMicco.

The next movie will be shown at Spring Valley Park on August 11. Just like the Jurassic World screening, the movie will be shown on the soccer field at the southeast end of the park. The movie shown on August 11 will be decided by popular vote. The options are Mean Girls (2004), Freaky Friday (2003), Legally Blonde (2001), or She's the Man (2006). Voting is open through July 27, and can be done here.

The final film shown in the series will be Pixar's 2015 animated film Inside Out. The film will be shown at Frays Park on August 25. The event will also feature free face painting.

Inside Out follows characters who are each a different emotion of a young girl named Riley. In the film, Riley and her family have recently moved from Minnesota to San Francisco for her father's new job. The movie was directed by Pete Docter, and stars Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, and Richard Kind as Riley's imaginary friend Bing Bong. A sequel is scheduled to be released on June 14, 2024.

Kalamazoo Parks’ Summer Cinema Event Series is scheduled to begin on June 16.

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