Make the popcorn and grab a blanket: some Erie-area venues are showing outdoor movies again this summer.
From Perry Square and UPMC Park downtown to two settings in Edinboro and a classic drive-in in Waterford, movies will be projected under a starry sky.
Here is what you can find playing outdoors this summer at the different locations, their admission prices, opening times and what the films entail with a synopsis according to IMDB.
Summer music series:Check out who is performing at Presque Isle's Sunset Music Series
Movie Nights at UPMC Park
UPMC Park is bringing back its Movie Nights at UPMC Park series. All movies at UPMC Park will begin at 8 p.m. Gates to the ball field will open at 7 p.m.
No outside food is permitted, and some concessions will be open at the park.
Attendees can sit in the stadium or on the field. If on the field, please bring your own blanket or lawn chair.
Admission is $5 per ticket with a fee of $1.50 if purchased online at Seawolves.com. Children under the age of 3 will receive free admission. Visit the Erie SeaWolves website to purchase tickets or head to the box office at 831 French St.
- June 22: "Migration": A family of ducks try to convince their overprotective father to go on the vacation of a lifetime. Rated PG. Film running time is approximately 1 hour, 23 minutes.
- July 20: "Kung Fu Panda 4": After Po is tapped to become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new dragon warrior. Meanwhile a wicked sorceress is planning to resummon all of the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm. Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour, 23 minutes.
- Aug. 3: "Wonka": With a dream of opening a shop in the city renowned for its chocolate, a young and poor Willy Wonka discovers that the industry is run by a cartel of greedy chocolatiers. Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour, 56 minutes.
Movies Under the Stars in Edinboro
The borough of Edinboro, PennWest Edinboro and Goodell Gardens & Homestead will once again sponsor Movies Under the Stars, a series of family-friendly films.
Edinboro will host the outdoor movie series around 9 p.m. on July 11, 18 and 25 on the lawns behind the Frank G. Pogue Student Center at 405 Scotland Rd.
Goodell Gardens and Homestead, at 221 Waterford St. in Edinboro, will host the films on Aug. 1, 8 and 15.
Admission is free. Learn more by visiting facebook.com/MoviesEdinboro.
Here is the schedule for the Movies Under the Stars series:
- July 11: "Cars": On the way to the biggest race of his life, a hotshot rookie race car gets stranded in a rundown town and learns that winning isn’t everything in life. Rated G. Running time: 1 hour, 56 minutes.
- July 18: "Moana": In ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by the demigod Maui reaches Moana’s island, she answers the ocean’s call to seek out Maui to set things right. Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour, 47 minutes.
- July 25: "Elf": Raised as an oversized elf, Buddy travels from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological Father Walter Hobbs, who doesn’t know he exists and is in desperate need of some Christmas spirit. Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes.
- Aug. 1: "Shrek": A mean lord exiles fairytale creatures to the swamp of a grumpy ogre who must go on a quest to rescue a princess for the lord in order to get his land back. Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.
- Aug. 8: "School of Rock": After being kicked out of his rock band, Dewey Finn becomes a substitute teacher of an uptight elementary private school, only to try and turn his class into a rock band. Rated PG-13. Running time: 1 hour, 49 minutes.
- Aug.15: "Grease": Good girl Sandy Olsson and greaser Danny Zuko fall in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover that they are now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance? Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.
Movie Mondays at Perry Square
The Erie Downtown Partnership will continue its Movie Mondays at Perry Square series this year in downtown Erie. Admission is free and this is a bring-your-own-seating series. All films begin at dusk.
Here is the schedule for Movie Mondays:
- June 17: "Barbie": Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans. Rated PG-13. Running time: 1 hour, 54 minutes.
- July 1: "Toy Story": A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman action figure supplants him as a top toy in a boy's bedroom. Rated G. Running time: 1 hour, 21 minutes.
- July 15: "Wonka"
- July 29: "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone": An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world. Rated PG. Running time: 2 hour, 32 minutes.
- Aug. 12: "The Princess and the Frog": A waitress, desperate to fulfill her dreams as a restaurant owner, is set on a journey to turn a frog prince back into a human being, but she has to face the same problem after she kisses him. Rated G. Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes.
- Aug. 26: "That Thing You Do": An Erie, Pennsylvania, band scores a one-hit wonder in 1964 and rides the star-making machinery as long as they can with lots of help from their manager. Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour, 48 minutes.
Sunset Drive In
The Sunset Drive In at 808 Route 97 in Waterford is Erie County’s only drive-in theater. The theater plays movies each weekend.
The drive-in opens its gates at 7 p.m. and will begin the films at dusk.
Admission is $10 for ages 12 and up and $5 for ages 7 through 11. Anyone under the age of 6 will be admitted for free. Visitors are advised to bring cash as the business is cash only.
Drive-in movies:What's playing at Waterford's Sunset Drive In?
Find out what movies are playing by visiting the drive-in's Facebook page or call 814-796-4883.
Contact Nicholas Sorensen at nsorensen@gannett.com.
