Typically, the use of outdoor movies is accompanied by warm weather. But, a festival in upstate New York proves that this doesn’t always have to be the case by having outdoor movies this year for the town’s annual winter carnival.
The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival is held in February each year for ten days, featuring events like ski races, ice skating and sports games. This year, the festival was held from the 1 to 10 and included an outdoor movie night on the agenda, showing family films at a park in town. According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, the movies screened were short films, not feature length, to allow viewers to come and go. Free hot chocolate and marshmallows for s’mores were also served.
“It’s a crazy idea but we thought that if there is one place where a winter outdoor movie would actually work and people would actually brave the cold, it’s Saranac Lake,” Barbara Rice, a village trustee told the news source. According to Rice, the idea of using an outdoor movie screen was first discussed last summer.
Of course, for a festival that is held in upstate New York in February, there is no telling how chilly it would be. Hats with the Downtown Saranac Lake logo were sold, and festival officials were urging moviegoers to dress warmly. But this scenario points out that if the Saranac Lake can show a successful outdoor movie, anyone can. By using the opportunity to provide warm snacks – such as apple cider and coffee in addition to hot chocolate – an outdoor movie screen can be used as entertainment year round, no matter the location.