Fans of St. Joseph’s popular Movies in the Park summer series below the bluff will be happy to learn that the City of St. Joseph is hopeful of keeping that slice of summer alive this year, however they are currently planning to convert at least the early part of the season into a drive-in movie setting at a large parking lot until the state’s executive orders allow for the plan to potentially transition to a normal “park” format later in the season.
Greg Grothous, Deputy Director Parks and Grounds for the City of St. Joseph, is presenting the drive-in format change to the City Commission tonight, aided in large part by the team at TPC Technologies who are encouraging the change to allow a drive-in movie setting. Grothous warns, “We are limited on large parking lots to set up in, so some of the movies may not be in a city park,” however, “Staff is still working on those details at this time.”
TPC recently purchased a large LED screen which would adapt very well to a drive-in format. The bottom of the screen would be 10-feet off the ground and the top of the screen would be 20-feet in the air, thereby allowing for clear sight lines for all types of vehicles. In addition TPC would provide an FM signal so that moviegoers would be able to listen while inside their vehicle.
Grothous says “Another benefit to this format is with an LED screen we do not have to wait until dusk to start the movies. The screen is visible during the day so we can schedule the movies to begin earlier and reduce noise impacts to residents later at night.” He adds, “Staff will also assist with parking so that one parking space is left between each vehicle and families can get out and ‘tailgate’ while watching the movie.”
The City Commission’s Consent Agenda tonight includes the request for approval of a contract with TPC Technologies of Niles to provide services including rental and set up of the screen, projector, amplification and FM signal each Saturday in July and August with the format and locations to be announced later as part of the 2020 Movies in the Park series at a cost of $1,500 per movie. That’s the same rate as in previous years and is already in the city’s budget. That fee also covers the cost of licensing fees and rental of eight motion pictures.
Grothous says that the first movie of the season, “Pets 2” will be shown on the big screen on Saturday, July 11th beginning at 8:30pm. The movies are free to the public. The rest of the lineup includes:
July 18th – Abominable
July 25th – The Sandlot
August 1st – Frozen 2
August 8th – Lion King (2019)
August 15th –Toy Story 4
August 22nd – The Greatest Showman
August 29th – Hook (1991)
Marketing efforts for the series will include both the City and St. Joseph Today websites, the downtown corner sign and social media.
Just like last year, in the event of inclement weather, the movies will be shown inside the John and Dede Howard Ice Arena rather than being canceled. Stay tuned for the location of the drive-in sites selected until the series can return to Whirlpool Centennial Park.
The photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market was provided by TPC Technologies and shows the large LED screen to be used. The photo shows the screen in its down position, but it would be elevated substantially for ease of viewing in a drive-in format.
