The Moonlight Film Festival is set to kick off its sixth season at 9:30 tonight.
Featuring family entertainment and a 22-pound chocolate Santa Claus, those involved hope for a good time for everyone who makes their way to Valley Court Park. The park is located behind Beaner’s Gourmet Coffee, 270 W. Grand River Ave.
“It’s a great program for people to enjoy,” said Kelcy Anderson, a community events specialist for East Lansing. “People like movies and being outside, so this is the best of both worlds.”
The kickoff will feature the theme “Christmas in July,” including the film “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and a raffle to give away the giant St. Nick donated by Kilwin’s Chocolates and Ice Cream, 403 E. Grand River Ave. This is the first year Kilwin’s has been involved in the festival.
“We’re really interested in bringing people for old-fashioned fun,” said Lisa Rometti, manager of Kilwin’s. “It’s a family-oriented event.”
A long-standing tradition at Kilwin’s of giving away the chocolate Santa every year during the holidays, the film festival’s theme inspired the business to pull out the mold and chocolate early this year.
Popcorn will also be available, courtesy of Kilwin’s, for 25 cents a bag, with all proceeds going to Edgewood Cooperative Nursery School, 469 N. Hagadorn Road.
The festival is a free movie series and presents family movies on an outdoor screen.
The park also features a playground and visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets.
The festival hopes to attract people of all ages to the park and downtown East Lansing. Other films scheduled to be shown include the Sandra Bullock movie “Miss Congeniality” and the Disney film “The Emperor’s New Groove.” The festival will continue every Thursday until early August, when an as-yet-to-be-determined movie is shown Aug. 2.
The films are provided by Video To Go, 300 N. Clippert St. in Lansing. Promoters hope to provide audiences with new releases or even films that haven’t made their way to the rental shelves yet.
Also donating time and equipment is City Animation Co., 2807 Jolly Road in Okemos, an audiovisual company that sets up the screen, projectors and sound equipment for the movies. The company has been involved with the festival for a number of years.
“It’s just like a done deal,” said Jeff Whitmore, rental manager at City Animation Co. “We like to help community events in any way we can.”
Whitmore also lives a few blocks away from the park, and promises that anyone worried about sound and picture quality has nothing to worry about.
“It’s plenty of power,” he said.
