Free outdoor movie nights return

Editor's note: Joseph Jones is a Register correspondent representing vermiliondaily.com. VERMILION — Returning for the first time since 2019, free outdoor movie nights will return to Vermilion parks this summer through a partnership between Main Street Vermilion and the Showse Park revitalization and transformation committee. The Movies in the Parks series will include four Friday night showings between June and September at Showse and East Exchange parks. Movies will begin at dusk with residents encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. The Showse Park, 3389 Edgewater Drive, lineup: • June 26: "The Peanuts Movie" • July 31: "The Sandlot;" The July 31 showing will also include a family fun fair beginning two hours before the movie. The East Exchange Park, 641 Main Street, lineup: • Aug. 28: "Spies in Disguise" • Sept. 25: "The Pagemaster" Organizers thanked the many local sponsors helping make the series possible. Free popcorn, meanwhile, wiill be provided by Poppin' Around. Rain dates have not been scheduled. If a showing is canceled, organizers will determine next steps on a case-by-case basis. People can visit facebook.com/mainstreetvermilionohio for updates. How the series came together Vermilion's parks and recreation board approved the park use request in November. Main Street Vermilion executive director Kate Repola told the board the idea came from volunteers who remembered the former movie nights at East Exchange Park and wanted to help bring the tradition back. The Showse Park committee had also been looking at outdoor movie nights, leading the groups to work together on a shared series. Organizers partnered with FunFlicks, a professional outdoor movie company, to handle setup and teardown for each event. Volunteers from Main Street Vermilion and the Showse Park committee will also help with the series. Repola said the effort to revive the event was rooted in community interest, including residents who remembered attending in years past. "They would take their children there, and now they would like to take their grandchildren to Movies in the Park," Repola said.