Street Food Cinema is offering a full line-up of summer fun, focusing – of course – on an eclectic batch of great outdoor movies. While film is the focus, these events are not only about what’s up on the giant outdoor screen.
The season includes well-curated food trucks, lively audience games, live music, and even talks from film stars and directors. The full 27 week season runs at eleven different locations with over 50 film events projected on a crisp, 50-foot screen.
The event was founded in 2012 by husband and wife team Steve Allison and Heather Hope-Allison, who’ve dedicated themselves to projecting classics, cult favorites, and cutting edge cinematic treats as well as offering a venue for emerging musical artists in a variety of musical genres.
Food favorites are also well-selected, and viewers will notice LA-area favorites like Cousins Maine Lobster and Churro Stix in the gustatory mix. The Allison’s offer not just a movie screening but a complete al fresco evening out, which makes watching a movie outdoors an event.
This season opened appropriately enough with La La Land – shown to the venue’s largest crowd to date – over 5,000 film fans. Street Food Cinema offers screening events in LA, San Diego, and Phoenix, but you’ll want the local run down, with screenings, games, live music, and food trucks held at a variety of iconic Los Angeles locations including Beverly Hills, Manhattan Beach, the Pacific Palisades, the Los Angeles State Historic Park near Chinatown, Griffith Park, and Glendale.
Coming up this weekend is The Big Lebowski in DTLA at the LA State Historic Park, an event we’ll be reviewing. Not into the Dude? Then how about Dirty Dancing, screening in Victory Park just up the 110 freeway in Pasadena.
The 25th Anniversary of Mrs. Doubtfire screens June 16th at Griffith Park, next to the Autry; The Greatest Showman, a Hugh Jackman-starrer rapidly becoming a cult classic will be at Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades on the same date.
Finish out June with Goonies taking over Glendale’s Central Park June 23rd, or Back to the Future zooming into King Gillette Ranch in Malibu on the same date, or the Oscar-winning I Tonya at Poinsettia Recreation Park in West Hollywood. Just in time for Independence Day, Top Gun offers a soaring good time in Culver City’s Veteran’s Memorial Park June 30th; the all-American comedy of The Sandlot, in its 25th anniversary presentation is at Victory Park in Pasadena on the 30th as well.
The season runs into the fall, with other highlights such as Grease on July 21st, Casablanca on August 25th, Twilight and the original cult classic Halloween on October 13th. And don’t miss Street Food Cinema’s first double-feature pajama party – a September 15th pairing of The Craft and Teen Witch.
Cinema fans, welcome to your summer feast.
- Genie Davis; photos provided by Street Food Cinema