From Nashville to Franklin, we have tons of opportunities to catch outdoor music during the summer and fall months — we’ve shared a bunch of them recently, including Live on the Green and the Americana Music Festival in Nashville, and the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival coming up later this month in Franklin.
We haven’t had quite as many options when it comes to outdoor movies, but that, very happily, is beginning to grow.
April through October for several years now, we’ve enjoyed cozy Grassy Knoll Movie Nights every third Sunday in East Nashville, in the small knoll next to Bongo Java East. But in August, another fantastic series joined the East Nashville outdoor movie scene. The Shelby Park Picture Show, held at The Old Timers Baseball Complex at Shelby Park, is bringing big-screen classics to a classic big screen over the next few months.
The new series kicked off on August 26 in a big way, literally — they showed forever-loved Tom Hanks movie Big on a 14-by-24-foot high-resolution LED screen once used at The Olympics, and welcomed a big crew of outdoor movie lovers.
Shelby Park Picture Show’s first season continues with three more universally loved films in the coming weeks:
Wednesday, September 9:
Toy Story
Wednesday, September 23:
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Wednesday, October 7:
Ghostbusters
UPDATE: RESCHEDULED DATE
Wednesday, October 21:
Toy Story
There’s more fun to be had off-screen, too — along with concessions and lots of food trucks on site, Shelby Park Picture Show has a beer garden set up with local beer, too.
Attendance is donation-based, so you can hit the field for whatever you choose to pay — though the suggested donation is $5 a person, and if you decided to pitch in more, you’d be adding a little extra to the local organizations named as Picture Show beneficiaries, including Friends of Shelby Park and Bottoms, a nonprofit that works to maintain and improve the East Nashville treasure that is Shelby Park.
Head to the Shelby Park Picture Show site for more information about the series, and some snapshots from the first movie night.
See you next Wednesday at the park, for some Pixar perfection!