Watching a movie under the stars on a summer night is one of life's great pleasures. Lucky for us, parks all over the Tri-State offer that treat for free throughout the lazy, hazy days between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Recent hits such as "Zootopia" are popular, but a few vintage titles pop up, too. Washington Park's Summer Cinema series will show "Casablanca" on Aug. 31, and on Aug. 19 Mount Adams' Cinema in the City will show the rarely screened skating epic "Airborne," which was shot in Cincinnati.
Here are free outdoor movies to mark on your calendar this summer. Admission is free unless otherwise noted.
Tips for Outdoor Movies
If you are new to the carless drive-in experience, here are some tips for enjoying the movie events listed above.
- Bring the kids. Most of the films are rated G or PG, with a few PG-13s.
- Bring blankets and/or lawn chairs (if they're allowed). Most venues have no permanent seating. Mount Adams' Seasongood Pavilion has benches, but cushions are a good idea.
- Arrive early. Many of the films are preceded by games and entertainment.
- Bring snacks. Some events have food vendors, but many do not.
- Bring insect repellent. Mosquitos love movies too.
- Always check with the presenters before you go for showtimes(which range from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.), rain-out locations, parking instructions and other details.
OHIO
Anderson Township
Movies in the Park: Beech Acres Park, 6910 Salem Road. 513-388-4513, andersonparks.com
Children under 16 must be accompanied by adult. Concessions available.
- June 3: “Inside Out”
- Aug. 26: “Zootopia”
Deerfield Township
Movies in the Park: 513-701-6977, deerfieldrec.com
- June 10: “Minions” (Cottell Park, 5847 Irwin Simpson Road)
- June 24: “Hotel Transylvania 2” (Cottell Park)
- July 8: “Mockingjay Hunger Games Part 2” (Fleckenstein Park, 3834 Mason Montgomery Road)
- July 22: “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” (Landen-Deerfield Park, 2258 U.S. 22)
- Aug. 12: “Goosebumps” (Cottell Park)
- Aug. 26: “Norm of the North” (Landen-Deerfield Park)
- Sept. 9: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (Cottell Park)
East Price Hill
Outdoor Movie Night: Olden View Park, 2610 W. Eighth St. eastpricehill.org/calendar/
Neighborhood games before the movie. Online ballot to determine films marked TBA.
- May 28: “Inside Out”
- July 2: TBA (family-friendly)
- Aug. 6: TBA (animated)
- Sept. 10: TBA (sports-themed)
Fairfield
Movies in the Park: Village Green Park, 301 Wessel Drive. 513-867-5348; fairfield-city.org
Pre-show fire department games and giveaways. Movies TBA.
Harrison
Friday Family Movie Night: Harrison Community Center, 300 George St. 513-367-2111; harrisonohio.org
Pre-show starts at 8 p.m. Free refreshments while supplies last. Bring canned good to donate. No coolers.
- June 17: “Hotel Transylvania 2”
- July 1: “Minions”
- July 15: “Aladdin”
- July 29: “Inside Out”
Liberty Township
Movies Under Moonlight: Liberty Center, 7100 Foundry Row. 513-644-0900, liberty-center.com
Entertainment and activities at 6 p.m.
- June 1: “Annie”
- June 8: “The Incredibles”
- June 15: “Pete's Dragon”
- June 22: “The Goonies”
- June 29: “Mary Poppins”
- July 6: “Jumanji”
- July 13: “Back to The Future”
- July 20: “Hocus Pocus”
- July 27: “Matilda”
- Aug. 3: “Honey I Shrunk The Kids”
- Aug. 10: “Wizard Of Oz”
- Aug. 17: “Pan”
- Aug. 24: “Willie Wonka and Chocolate Factory”
- Aug. 31: “Homeward Bound”
Milford
Movies in PlayScape: Cincinnati Nature Center, Rowe Woods, 4949 Tealtown Road. 513-831-1711, cincynature.org
No lawn chairs, Children's activity at 8 p.m. Free for members; non-members pay daily admission.
- June 7: “Over the Hedge”
- July 21: “Kung Fu Panda”
- Aug. 4: “Bee Movie”
Mount Adams
Cinema in the City: Seasongood Pavilion, 950 Eden Park Drive. 513-404-1474, mtadamstoday.com
Pre-show music at 7 p.m. Food vendors, raffle.
- June 23: “Little Shop of Horrors,” music by Sound Body Jazz Orchestra
- July 28: “Back to the Future,” music by the Comet Bluegrass All-Stars
- Aug. 19: “Airborne,” music by Dyan.
Over-the-Rhine
Summer Cinema: Washington Park, 1230 Elm St. 513-352-4080; http://washingtonpark.org/event/summer-cinema-2/all/
Movies are rated PG or PG-13.
- June 1: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”
- June 8: “Sandlot”
- June 22: “Clueless”
- June 29: “Top Gun”
- July 6: “Sharknado”
- July 13: “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”
- July 20: “Home Alone”
- July 27: “Zoolander”
- Aug. 3: “Cool Runnings”
- Aug. 10: “Grease”
- Aug. 17: “The Wiz”
- Aug. 24: “Pitch Perfect”
- Aug. 31: “Casablanca”
Spring Grove Village
Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum Rose Garden: 4521 Spring Grove Ave. www.springgrove.org
- July 10: “Night at the Museum”
Springdale
Oak Hill Cemetery: 1120 Princeton Pike.
- July 17: “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Symmes Township
Movie Night: Home of the Brave Park, 11605 Lebanon Road. 513-683-6844; symmestownship.org
- July 30: “Zootopia”
KENTUCKY
Bellevue
Community picnic and movie: Thomas J. Wiethorn Beach Park, 100 Ward Ave. 859-431-8888, bellevueky.org
Picnic and games at 6 p.m.
- June 24: “Jumanji”
- Aug. 26: “The Good Dinosaur”
Boone County
Movie Nights: 859-334-2117, boonecountyky.org
Pre-show Bounce+Slide and special guests.
- June 3: “Hook” (Stringtown Park, 7340 Burlington Pike, Florence)
- June 10: “Kung Fu Panda 3” (Union Park, 10165 Old Union Road)
- June 17: “Ant Man” (Union Park)
- June 24: “Jurassic World” (Boone Woods Park, 6000 Veterans Way, Burlington)
- July 8: “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Trip” (Boone Woods)
- July 15: “Good Dinosaur,” (Boone Woods)
- July 16: “Minions” (Walton Park, 35 Old Stephenson-Mill Road)
- July 22: “Inside Out” (Boone Woods)
- July 29: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (Boone Woods)
- Aug. 5: “Norm of the North” (Boone Woods)
Edgewood
Friday Night Flick: 550 Freedom Park Drive. 859-331-5910
Games and food vendors at 8 p.m.
- June 3: “Inside Out”
Independence
Movie Nights: Faith Community United Methodist Church, 4310 Richardson Road. 859-282-8889, faithcommunityumc.com
- June 10: TBA
- July 15: TBA
- Aug. 12: TBA
Don't Forget About Drive-ins
The old-fashioned,commercial drive-in theater lives on: Ohio still has 26 dotted around the state, Indiana has 19 and Kentucky as 10.
Three are still open in this area. (A fourth, in Wilmington, is listed on its company website, but currently has no movies scheduled. The company has not responded to requests for information.)
If you appreciate watching movies from inside your car -- or lounging in lawn chairs beside it -- check out these local treasures. Admission is good for a double feature and sometimes a triple feature.
Tip: Bring a radio, as door-hanger speakers are long gone. Sound is delivered via a dedicated FM signal.
All of these drive-ins offer burgers, hot dogs and pizza along with popcorn, candy and sodas. The Bel-Air in Versailles also sells the signature Indiana sandwich -- pork tenderloin on a bun -- for $4.
Starlite Drive-In: 2255 State Route 125, Amelia. starlitedriveinohio.com. Tickets $5.25-$8.75. Age 3 and under free. $5 food license for outside snacks includes $1 discount on popcorn.
Holiday Auto Theatre: 1816 Old Oxford Road/State Route 130, Hamilton. www.holidayautotheatre.com. Tickets $5.50-$8.75. Age 3 and under free. $5 food permit, with $2 discount on snack bar purchase of $5 or more.
Bel-Air Drive-In Movie Theatre: 337 N. U.S. 421, Versailles. Tickets $5-$10. Free age 4 and under. No food permit required.
