Have you heard that National Night Out is coming up on Tuesday, August 7 (Tuesday Oct 2 in Texas)? An outdoor movie is a fantastic way to lure your neighbors outside to enjoy a beautiful summer evening together and celebrate your community, and you can rent the perfect movie screen from Ultimate Outdoor Movies!
What is National Night Out?
Neighborhoods across the United States host National Night Out block parties, parades, and get-togethers every year on the first Tuesday in August. (In Texas, it’s celebrated on Tuesday October 2nd.) The event was started in 1984 to bring communities together, create partnerships with law enforcement, and focus on crime prevention. Last year, more than 38 million Americans from all 50 states participated.
Pick a Location
Think about the best place to hold your National Night Out outdoor movie party. Popular options are local parks, spacious yards, parking lots, or even on a quiet residential street. Make sure to check with your city or county to see if you need to obtain any permits.
Who Should You Invite?
- First, you’ll want to spread the word in your neighborhood. Pass out flyers, promote the party on social media, post on online calendars and community forums, send emails, and make phone calls. Talk to your next-door neighbors and ask them to invite their immediate neighbors – and so on and so on. Make sure to register your event on the National Night Out website.
- Invite your local police, fire, emergency, and military officials. National Night Out is a great opportunity for residents to mingle with officers in a relaxed setting. See if police or firefighters can offer safety tips, perform a demonstration, or show a public safety video before the movie. The fire department may even be able to bring a fire truck – a major kid magnet!
- Reach out to elected officials and community leaders to see if they can stop by. Start with your mayor and city council members, state representatives, school board members and neighborhood leaders. They’ll often jump at the chance to schmooze with their constituents.
What’s for Dinner?
How are you going to feed the hungry masses? Recruit volunteers to grill up burgers and brats, or throw a potluck dinner and assign neighbors to bring an appetizer, main dish, or dessert based on their street or last name. For refreshments, serve lemonade, ask local businesses to donate water or soda, or have attendees bring coolers stocked with their favorite beverages. Ultimate Outdoor Movies can even pop up fresh popcorn to munch on during the movie.
It’s Showtime!
Ultimate Outdoor Movies offers inflatable movie screen rentals for any crowd, so you’ll be sure to have the right size for your party. They can also help you find the best family-friendly flick to show at National Night Out. Their friendly professionals will take care of all the logistics, so you’ll have time to chat it up with the neighbors before and after the movie.
Before the event, remind moviegoers to bring lawn chairs or blankets to relax on while watching the film. Start the movie about 15 minutes after sundown to make sure it’s dark enough. Then grab a bag of popcorn, find a comfy spot, and enjoy!
For everything you need to know about planning your National Night Out movie party, or for more outdoor movie rental ideas, contact Ultimate Outdoor Movies.
