Maybe all is forgiven. They bulldozed my favorite Las Olas tavern, but now comes news that we’re all invited to throw a blanket down on the new blanket of grass that is O’Hara’s final resting place to watch a movie next Friday. And not just any movie, but one of the great family films of all time, Steven Spielberg’s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.
After the July 3 screening, the Movies Under the Stars series will be shown every Wednesday through August. It’s free, but this being downtown Fort Lauderdale, and Las Olas, there are a few catches: Bring a blanket, but no chairs — they’ll rent you one of those. No coolers — but you can buy snacks and cold drinks supplied by your host next door, the Riverside Hotel. Happily, there will be popcorn and ice cream for sale from Kilwin’s.
The movies, all G-rated and shown on an 18-by-10-foot screen provided by nearby entertainment electronics outfit Magnum Opus, begin at 8 p.m. Other titles upcoming include Hoot (special guest director Wil Shriner) on July 8; Hotel for Dogs on July 15; Willy Wonka, July 22; and The Wizard of Oz, July 29.
“We’re trying to encourage people, families, to continue going out on the boulevard,” says Magnum Opus’ Andrew Byer of his fellow members of the Las Olas Boulevard Association. “In these difficult times, we’re trying to keep interest going in people in the community getting out together.”
OK, I’m there. Info: lasolasboulevard.com/movienight
Photo credit: 1982 & 2002 — Universal Studios
