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The outdoor movie that was shown Friday night on the courthouse lawn was certainly epic. Well, it actually was the movie Epic but the crowd that turned out was also very epic! As part of Cherokee Strip Days the Jayla Alexsis Tuck Cancer Foundation put together a Movie and Meal on the Square.
All proceeds were to benefit the foundation. The meal began at 6pm and was made up of burgers, hot dogs and chips. Many families paid the $5 cost to eat on the courthouse lawn. Live music was provided by The Cory Keller Band under the courthouse Lawn Gazebo. The weather couldn't have been better.
It is believed that a combination of great weather, a new family movie and the cost by donation brought hundreds of families out for the occasion. Estimates are that around 300 people in total participated in the event. The total amount raised had not been published as of this posting.
I was completely shocked when I walked up to the courthouse lawn and saw the northeast region completely covered in blankets, chairs and families. The turnout was tremendous! It felt much like being at a drive in. Although photos showed a bit of bright light around the area, it was easy to ignore once you began watching the movie.
The crew from Retro Theater Events brought their portable movie screen and set it up on the grass facing to the west. Retro Theater Events puts on special events like this with their large screen and theater equipment. They are currently showing classic movies out at the NOC Gantz Center on special weekends all in an effort to raise money to revive the downtown Esquire movie theater.
The Retro Crew is looking for other fun events to help raise money for their renovation. As part of the Cherokee Strip celebration the movie crew decided to do a secret movie. Doing a secret movie involves letting your audience know there is a movie coming up but not giving the full details of the movie until the people show up.
Retro Theaters decided to show a scary movie at 10:30pm to coincide with Friday the 13th. The movie that was unveiled to those late night movie goers was the 1959 classic House on Haunted Hill starring Vincent Price.
Admission was only $2 or free if you made a concession purchase. Although the crowd was not near as large as the earlier family movie, there was an enthusiastic bunch and fun was had by all. Look for more classic movies and outdoor movies coming to Enid very soon!
