free event | Amusing the Zillion

Posts Tagged ‘free event’

Coney Island 2012: Free Movie Screenings on the Beach

Posted in Events, film, tagged Brooklyn, Bruce Handy, Coney Island, Coney Island Development Corporation, Coney ISland Flicks on the Beach, free event, outdoor movies, Rooftop Films on July 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Ghostbusters at Coney Island Flicks on the Beach. July 2, 2012. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Outdoor movie shows in Coney Island date back to the early days of the cinema. Hot dog inventor Charles Feltman’s grand restaurant and amusement park boasted the Seaside Garden Theatre where films were shown with live musical accompaniment. “At every performance 2,000 persons are seated in the outdoor theatre,” according to a 1917 article in the New York Sun. “The garden has won favor with the ‘movie’ public because of its location, which is by the sea.”

The 2012 season debut of Coney Island’s free outdoor movie series on the beach was last Monday. A nice crowd came out for Ghostbusters as you can see in Bruce Handy’s photo above. The movies are projected onto a giant screen set up on the beach between W 10th and W 12th Streets. In the past, pre-show entertainment has featured the Coney Island Sideshow, celebrity impersonators, trivia contests and dancing. The pre-show is at 7pm with the feature film starting at around 8:30pm. Here’s the rest of the 2012 schedule:

July 9 – Edge of the City: Underground NY Shorts By the Sea
Edge of the City: Underground NY Shorts By the Sea is a collection of independent short films, including The Best Thing I Ever Done—an endearing account of Domenico DeMarco, owner of the legendary pizza shop Di Fara—and A Man Named Magick, about a charismatic Midtown magic shop owner. The showcase begins at 8:30pm.

July 14 – Bound for Glory (1976)
David Carradine plays Woody Guthrie in this Oscar-winning biopic, set in the Dust Bowl, about the folk artist’s experience with the working class after leaving Texas to join the Okies headed to California in search of work.

July 16 – Manhattan (1979)
See Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway and Meryl Streep in Woody Allen’s Oscar-winning love story.

July 23 – The Muppets (2011) (Postponed due to rain)
Jim Henson’s much-loved characters return to the big screen, as Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) aim to reunite the gang in an attempt to salvage The Muppet Theater.

July 30 – Girl Walk // All Day (2011)
This feature-length film is actually a long-form dance music video, featuring three dancers who use the cityscape as their stage. The movie is set to Girl Talk’s sample-heavy 2010 album, All Day.

August 6 – Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)
Tom Cruise stars as Ethan Hunt in the fourth installment of the Mission Impossible series. Hunt and his team, who are implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, must go rogue to clear the Impossible Missions Force’s name.

August 13 – The Muppets – Rescheduled from July 23
Jim Henson’s much-loved characters return to the big screen, as Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) aim to reunite the gang in an attempt to salvage The Muppet Theater.

The free movie series in Coney Island is sponsored by the Coney Island Development Corporation (CIDC) and NYC & Company in conjunction with Rooftop Films.

Coney Island Fireworks 2012: Fridays, 4 Saturdays & July 4th

Posted in Events, tagged Coney Island, fireworks, Fourth of July, free event, Friday, local, Saturday on May 13, 2012| 8 Comments »

UPDATE May 10, 2014: Readers are already starting to ask about this year’s fireworks, so here you go: The first Friday night fireworks show of Coney Island’s 2014 season will be on June 20, the eve of both the first day of summer and the Mermaid Parade. Schedule for 2014 fireworks is here.

UPDATE June 4, 2013: For 2013 Fireworks Schedule see “Coney Island Fireworks 2013: Fridays, 6 Saturdays and More…” The first Friday night fireworks show of Coney Island’s 2013 season will be on June 21 and this free weekly event continues every Friday through August 30.

It’s that time of year when we start to get queries about whether Coney Island has fireworks on Memorial Day. The answer is Coney Island’s tradition of Friday night fireworks begins in mid-June. But if you come out on Memorial Day Weekend, the beach opens for the season and you’ll also be able to ride a record number of new rides as well as old favorites.

The first Coney Island fireworks show of the 2012 season is on June 15 and this free weekly event continues every Friday through August 31. The pyrotechnic extravaganza starts at 9:30 pm. Best viewing is on the Boardwalk from West 10th to West 12th Streets, on the Wonder Wheel or from Steeplechase Pier. Coney Island will also have fireworks on the Fourth of July this year for the first time in years since the date is a Brooklyn Cyclones home game!

Please patronize the sponsors of the fireworks: Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park; Luna Park, including Scream Zone and the Cyclone; and the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team.

In addition, the Brooklyn Cyclones have scheduled fireworks on the following four Saturdays after their home games as well as on one Monday–Opening Day–and one Wednesday, which falls on July 4th:

Monday June 18th – OPENING DAY – vs. Staten Island Yankess
Wednesday July 4th – vs. Williamsport Crosscutters
Saturday July 7th – vs. Jamestown Jammers
Saturday Aug 4th – vs. Auburn Doubledays
Saturday Aug 11th – vs. Vermont Lake Monsters
Saturday Aug 25 – vs. Staten Island Yankees

The fireworks after the home games are shot off from the stadium located between West 16th and West 19th Streets and are best viewed from the Boardwalk or nearby streets.

When the weather is iffy on a day that fireworks are scheduled, check the Coney Island tweeters on Coney Island Fun’s list for updates.

Photo Album: Art Seen By Zillions in Coney Island

Posted in art, Photography, tagged Boardwalk, Bruce Handy, free event, local, New York City Parks, Public Art, trash can art on May 4, 2012| 1 Comment »

Here’s your chance to create art that will be seen by zillions in Coney Island this summer! On Saturday, May 5th, the public is invited to paint the Parks Department’s trash barrels at the 6th annual Boardwalk of Barrels of Fun event. Registration for the free event begins at 10 am on the Boardwalk between West 10th and West 12th Streets in front of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and Luna Park. Paint and brushes are provided.

For inspiration, take a look at Coney Island photographer Bruce Handy’s slide show of last season’s Barrels of Fun. Amid a sea of colorful abstract compositions, you’ll find mermaids and other marine species as well as a gold-toothed Funny Face, Popeye the Sailor Man and the Wonder Wheel.