Movies in the Park

Not to be confused with Grassy Knoll Movie Nights, of course.

If there's anything that I've learned about Nashville in the week that I've been here, it's that it loves to support its people. Community is stronger in this big city than in any place I've every lived, and it's beginning to wear off on me. I'm loving the communal feel of sitting in a park with 100+ of your city-mates, eating food from one of the nearly dozen food trucks lined up on either side of the fairway, and watching people enjoy themselves in the cool of the summer evening. Movies in the Park (sponsored by Nashville Scene) brings all of those elements together with one delightful addition: it's free.

Every Wednesday in June, Nashville Scene is putting on Movies in the Park at Percy Warner Park. It's like every outdoor movie event that you could attend: a huge, inflatable screen on one end of a large, empty patch of grass; food vendors (i.e, trucks) lined up amongst radio station vans and other corporate sponsor tents, trying to draw you in with beanbag toss and raffled gift cards; and lots and lot of people.

All photos courtesy of my beautiful wife, Sarah Scott. Visit her blog at frothandaperture.blogspot.com

Beginning at 5 pm, my wife and I arrived at the event as they inflated the screen and food trucks were just getting going. There weren't many lines for food, and there were only a handful of participants sitting on the grassy courtyard. Since we had somehow forgotten to bring chairs or a blanket to an outdoor movie (wha wha...), we opted for a picnic table that sat right outside of the area, behind the screen and facing the main courtyard. We ate grilled cheese (more on that in a different post) and enjoyed the shade from the neighboring tree. Bugs were buzzing around a bit, but somehow even they seemed friendly -- except for the stray chigger that landed on fingers and legs. In the sun, it was hot; but on that table, the air was perfect, cool and breezy. We had ice cream, watched some neighborhood LARPers going at it with their foam swords and shields (also more on that later, hopefully), listened to the ping of tennis balls against rackets from a nearby tennis court, and watched kites sore and children dance just outside of their parents' reach. Even the cops seemed laid back, sauntering by on horseback and smiling at passersby.

Since we had forgotten the prerequisite seating, we decided to stay until sundown and leave before the movie started. The featured presentation was Despicable Me 2, a very fun movie, but one that we had already seen before; so, we didn't feel upset in missing it. In truth, we were more interested in watching the people, a game that gets increasingly difficult once the sun goes down, anyway. So, we had our fun, eating, talking, laughing, and taking pictures, and we left, offering our prime parking spot (due to our earliness) to a young couple in a red hatchback, who would hopefully somehow find a spot to sit in the ever-growing crowd we had just left behind.

I believe I said this in a previous post, but outdoor movie nights in Nashville seem to epitomize what the city has become, or what it seems to be at first impression: a community of its own, but a welcoming group, nonetheless. They've welcomed us with cool nights and fireflies, great beer and better food than we've had in a long time. Another thing I've said, that I'm happy to repeat over and over again: I think we're going to like it here.

For more information on Movies in the Park, visit www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/MoviesinthePark/Page

All photos courtesy of my beautiful wife, Sarah Scott. Visit her blog at frothandaperture.blogspot.com