This past weekend I went to a fabulous event – an open-air cinema screening of Mamma Mia! As part of the Ip-Art Festival a massive screen had been erected in the park and the evening kicked off with an exciting session of music videos on the screen followed by the main feature once everyone had arrived. The festival was charging ‘normal’ cinema prices for tickets and it was a very well-organized event, with ice-cream and doughnut vendors and even a caterer selling dinner. However, I’d gone with my mum & my friend so we’d come prepared with pick’n’mix sweeties, nuts, popcorn and drinks laid out on our picnic blanket. (Incidentally it was particularly noteworthy popcorn – it was salted and sweet popcorn from Tesco – the best snack I’ve ever tasted!)
We were very lucky with the weather. It was forecast that rain would begin pretty much when the film began but it stayed sunny for the entire evening and was even still warm after dark, so it was the perfect setting for a film set in the Mediterranean and the (mainly female!) crowd had a great time, getting up to dance to the songs and singing along at every opportunity. By the time the last three songs were on screen everyone was up and dancing in the park, from Take a Chance, through to Waterloo on the credits, and it was a fantastic party atmosphere!
Mum really enjoyed herself and I’d never experienced an outdoor cinema before but it’s definitely something I will repeat in the future. I know there are many outdoor screenings in parks around the country and as long as the weather is good, I’d definitely recommend it for a fun, relaxed night out. Please let me know your experiences of outdoor cinema, what did you see and where? And how was it?
