By Khalida Sarwari
Fans of outdoor movies in Saratoga can rejoice: The city’s movie night series will return this summer despite dismal attendance last year.
Members of the Saratoga Parks and Recreation Commission went before the city council at a meeting on Feb. 20 to present its proposal for the “Saratoga at the Movies” summer outdoor film series. After nearly an hour of deliberation, the city council accepted the commission’s report and allocated up to $3,600 for the events.
“It’s a really neat community-building event, and it’s unlike anything else we do in the city,” said Councilman Manny Cappello.
The commission’s presentation focused on the feasibility of renting or purchasing equipment for the series, or taking a hybrid approach by purchasing one or two items and renting the others. The commission suggested that the best option would be to continue renting the equipment until the series is sufficiently well attended to expand it to at least five nights, at which point purchasing the equipment would be cost effective.
Equipment costs range from $4,500 to $10,200, compared to the cost of renting the full set of equipment at $845 per event or as low as $737 per event if the city rents the full equipment three times a year.
Each movie night costs at least $660, regardless of whether the city purchases all or some of the equipment. That cost goes toward securing a movie license and paying technicians to transport, set up and dismantle the equipment. The price tag for three movie nights with rented equipment is about $3,561.
The commission recommended screening three family-friendly movies over the summer, with one movie on the third Friday of every month at Wildwood Park. The movies are tentatively slated for 7:30 p.m. on June 21, July 19 and Aug. 16. Previously, movie night events were held on Saturdays in September. The commission said its goal is to draw about 200 people by holding it on days when kids are out of school and can attend with their families.
Parks and recreation commissioners Renee Pacquier and Thomas Soukup told the council the commission plans to invest in marketing efforts to increase attendance at the movie series. Last year, fewer than 100 people showed up, down from the couple hundred who attended in the first few years after the series launched.
The commission will work with the Saratoga Village Development Council to create an outreach plan that gives attendees incentives to visit Village restaurants and stores prior to the movie, and also to enlist the help of the youth commission in selecting the movies to screen and to pass out popcorn to movie attendees.
During the council’s deliberation, Vice Mayor Emily Lo recommended that the series be scaled back to one movie night instead of three so that the commission could dedicate resources to only one event. Councilman Howard Miller suggested that the commission adopt a theme for each event to attract more attendees and to hold the series every Friday in just one of the summer months as opposed to the third Friday of every month.
Mayor Jill Hunter asked about the possibility of hosting the series at other parks in the city. Wildwood, she noted, can be “cold and scary” at times. Councilman Chuck Page also found the venue problematic, saying parking can sometimes be an issue at the park.
Despite minor disagreements, the council decided to keep the series alive for at least one more year.
“I think we’re taking a risk and we’ll see how it goes,” said Hunter.
