Cinema, fresh air mingle at McChord Field's outdoor theater

  • Published
  • By Marisa Petrich
  • Northwest Guardian
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  If you've ever found yourself torn between getting outside on a beautiful summer day or catching a movie on the big screen, now you don't have to choose -- and better yet, the experience is free.

For the second year in a row, McChord Field will be hosting its weekly Outdoor Cinema. Family-friendly films will be screened outdoors on the McChord Club Lawn once a month all summer long. The first event is tonight's showing of "We Bought a Zoo."

"I think it's a good way of getting reacquainted," recreational coordinator Erika Scott Small said, referencing redeployments and busy schedules.

The movies, which will be screened on Friday nights throughout the summer, won't start until the sun has started to set, but the JBLM community is invited to bring blankets and lawn chairs beforehand and enjoy a free meal (as supplies allow) of chips, hot dogs and soft drinks sponsored by the USO and the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.

Audience members are welcome to bring picnic dinners of their own choosing, and anything else they see fit. Community activities specialist Colin Brooks remembers families showing up well before last year's screenings to throw Frisbees and enjoy their time outside. If nothing else, attendees should have fun with the nightly raffles, with prizes ranging from massage gift certificates to movie-themed treat baskets.

This year, the July 6 screening will come with a bonus. A live performance of William Shakespeare's "King Lear" will be presented by Freehold's Engaged Theatre, a touring company that specializes in performing in non-traditional locations and for underserved audiences. This will be the company's first show on JBLM, which Brooks sees as a good chance to expose families to new things.

"It's something different," he said. "Introduce your kids to Shakespeare and art culture for free."

Last year's events were a success, even without the opportunity for live theater. Each screening brought in 150 to 200 people, and this year organizers are setting the bar higher.

"I'm hoping that it's going to warm up and we'll hit maybe 300," Scott-Smith said.