Let’s all bike to the movies
Ever wanted to catch a flick in Griffintown? Ever wanted the drive-in experience without having to pollute the environment to get to the theatre? Well, on Thursday, May 14th the Bike-In Theatre gives you a chance to do both. All you need is a bike to get there and an FM listening device.
“It’s a great opportunity for a bunch of people to congregate with bicycles and meet other cyclists” claims Roni Mizrahi who co-founded the event with Jason Hendrik, “it also goes along with a central theme in my life: the avoidance of and contempt for automobiles.”
The Bike-In Theatre is one of many projects that fall under the umbrella of free parties that use an FM transmitter. It started with the Bring-Your-Own-Boombox street party that happened last fall, though this event encourages people to listen at whatever volume is comfortable for them and any type of FM radio will do.
You don’t absolutely need a bike to attend the screening, but seeing as it’s taking place in Griffintown near the corner of de la Montagne and Wellington, it’s pretty much south of anywhere. This means that two wheels are definitely the most convenient way to get there.
“It’s a ‘hood that’s beautiful, has an awesome atmosphere, is rich in history and little nooks and crannies,” Mizrahi observes, noting that he’d like to hang out there “as often as possible before it gets gentrified as the consesnsus seems to predict.
Indeed, as recently as last year, developer Devimco was planning on turning the whole neighbourhood into one big mall. Despite opposition, plans were moving ahead until a stumbling economy put the plans on the backburner. If the developer ultimately gets its way, the only type of film you’ll be able to see in this historic neighbourhood will be at a multiplex and cost at least $10.
So while cinema in Griffintown is still free and car-free, what type of movies should one expect to see? Organizers are currently taking suggestions and debating between “classic sci-fi/horror, old talkies, avant garde, romantic comedies, or basically anything that will have your eyes and ears glued to the branch-hung sheet for a screen” and whatever listening device you bring with you.
* The Bike-In Theatre is Thursday, May 14th, at 7:30pm in the triangular greenspace across from Parc Gallery near de La Montagne and Wellington. If the screening gets rained out, it will most likely be moved to the following Thursday.
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Roni
