Popular movies take Flagstaff Hill for Cinema in the Park

As dusk descended over the southernmost tip of Schenley Park, a large movie screen came to life…. As dusk descended over the southernmost tip of Schenley Park, a large movie screen came to life. Luckily, the images flickering on the screen were not alone.

Nearly every square inch of Flagstaff Hill was packed with hundreds of people sprawled out on the grass enjoying one of the highlights of summer in Pittsburgh: Cinema in the Park.

Located at park venues throughout the city, Cinema in the Park is a multi-weekly event run by the Pittsburgh Parks and Recreation Department. Beginning in June and ending with its final showing on Aug. 31, the free event provides an outdoor, recreational option for summer entertainment.

Cinema in the Park has been a Pittsburgh tradition for more than 20 years.

“They used to use reel-to-reel projectors,” said Chris Bashur, crew leader of Pittsburgh Parks and Recreation’s Audio-Visual Department. Although today’s film selections enlist the help of HD projectors and Blu-Ray discs, the experience is still much the same.

As William and Christina Szustak survey Oakland’s skyline in the distance, silhouetted by the setting sun, their two boys — Will, 6, and Peter, 4 — eagerly await the start of “Puss in Boots,” one of this summer’s feature films.

“This is our first time,” Will said in reference to the event.

It may have been the family’s’ first Cinema in the Park experience, but the Szustaks came prepared, bringing popcorn in an attempt to create a movie-theater-like atmoshpere on Flagstaff Hill.

But they didn’t have to try hard. The hundreds of fellow moviegoers around them in awe of the production on the screen had already created a cinematic atmosphere.

When dusk arrived, the speakers crackled to life alongside the flickering screen, and the boys, along with dozens of other viewers, watched the plot unfold on the large screen.

The movie magic put on by the Pittsburgh Parks and Recreation Department isn’t limited to Flagstaff Hill. Every day of the week, larger-than-life screens across the Pittsburgh area are used to show a wide range of stories, from “Captain America” to the last installment of “Harry Potter,” as Cinema in the Park takes place in various locations around the city.

Mondays see a trade-off between the Arlington Recreation Center and Highland Park; Tuesdays grace the West End via the Elliott Overlook; Wednesdays and Sundays are reserved for Oakland’s Flagstaff Hill; Thursdays bring a visit to Brookline Memorial Park; Friday screenings are held at Arsenal Park in Lawrenceville; and Saturdays overlook the city at Grandview Park in Mt. Washington.

“Originally, we just drove by and saw a screen up, so we decided to check it out,” said Brena Painter, who frequently visits Cinema in the Park at Flagstaff Hill with her husband Ethan and 6-year-old daughter Lucy.

Just like the location of Cinema in the Park, the movies shown to the large audiences vary. Flagstaff Hill has a set schedule — PG-13-rated films are shown Wednesdays and family films are shown Sundays — but the other makeshift theaters do not, instead showing a mix of films with a list that can be found on the City of Pittsburgh’s website.

Even though no R-rated films are shown, Cinema in the Park has no problem attracting movie-lovers of all ages. After all, part of this tradition is the experience itself — the ability to reconnect with an inner child for a few hours. The combination of the outdoor venue and the variety of films has an anti-aging effect on people’s minds, and both adults and children seem to get lost in the atmosphere and entertainment.

Although Cinema in the Park largely revolves around the 88 showings across the city, there are local music acts that also perform at Flagstaff Hill every other Wednesday as an accompaniment to the movie screenings.

A number of bands, including the Ray Ryan Riverside Band, Daniels and McClain and The Schrader Steel Band, have already appeared at this season’s Cinema in the Park events, and more performances will take the stage at Flagstaff Hill before the season’s end on Aug. 31.