Allentown

Free ‘Movies in the Park’

The City of Allentown’s “Movies in the Park” series returns with six community-minded events at various locations.

The family-friendly monthly movie nights are run by the bureau of recreation May through October as part of the Allentown’s free entertainment lineup.

The lineup of events includes:

•May 19: “Minions: The Rise of Gru” at East Side Memorial Park. Pre-movie activities start 6 p.m. and the screening begins 8:30 p.m. The rain date is May 20. Food sale proceeds at the concession stand benefit the East Side Memorial Little League.

•June 24: “Black Panther Wakanda Forever” at Stevens Park. Pre-movie activities start 6 p.m. and the screening begins 8:30 p.m. The rain date is June 25. The movie is hosted in partnership with the Old Fairgrounds Neighborhood Association and the Ortiz Ark Foundation, who are sponsoring free food and resources for attendees at this showing.

•July 22: “Top Gun Maverick” at the Union Terrace Amphitheatre. The rain date is July 23. This unique concert and movie collaboration is run in partnership with the City’s Summer Concert Series. The movie, with a start time of 8:30 p.m., follows a free concert by The Large Flowerheads band 6 p.m.

•Aug. 19: “Wall-E” at Percy Ruhe Park. Pre-movie activities start 5:30 p.m. and the screening begins 8 p.m. The rain date is Aug. 20. Food sale proceeds at the concession stand benefit the Allentown Central Catholic High School Mini Vikes.

•Sept. 16: “Turning Red” at the Arts Park. The screening starts 7:30 p.m. The rain date is Sept. 17. The movie is hosted in partnership with the International Cultural Festival, an all-day event at the Arts Park. The festival starts 11 a.m. Pre-movie night activities (specific to Movies in the Park series) start 5 p.m. as a supplement to those offered by the International Cultural Festival.

•Oct. 28: “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” at Midway Manor. Pre-movie activities start 4 p.m. and the screening starts 6:30 p.m. The rain date is Oct. 29. The movie is part of the City’s Hallo-weekend of events. Food sale proceeds at the concession stand benefit the Midway Manor Community Association.

The pre-movie activities at each movie night include yard games, arts and crafts stations, acoustic performances and information and resources from several municipal departments. The recycling and solid waste bureau will host educational games around trash and recycling and the Allentown Health Bureau will offer education around health services like period poverty, child immunizations and child injury prevention.

The Allentown School District will be at each event as part of its Countdown to Kindergarten registration campaign to encourage families to enroll eligible children this summer. ASD staff will be present to answer questions and share readiness resources. Lehigh Valley Reads will also provide free books.

All movies will include Spanish subtitles and attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and/or snacks.