You bring the chairs, they’ll provide the fresh air and films

Obviously, the drive-in is the ultimate outdoor movie-watching experience, and Wichita has a gem in the Starlite Drive-In.

But in the summertime, lots of other organizations like to screen movies in the out of doors, and three of them have showings planned this weekend.

One is for families. One is for fans of 1980s flicks. And one will offer a classic Jimmy Stewart film that should appeal to everyone.

Here are three places (besides the drive-in) where you can watch movies under the stars this weekend.

Tunes + Tallgrass

This is the fifth year for this party/fundraiser, which is a collaboration between the Wichita Art Museum and the Tallgrass Film Association. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in the art museum amphitheater at 1400 Museum Blvd., and there will be live jazz by William Flynn Quintet at 7 p.m. At 9 p.m. comes the main attraction: a screening of the 1954 film “Rear Window,” an Alfred Hitchcock classic. The movie is an especially apt choice because it’s set during a summer heatwave in a Greenwich Village apartment complex and stars Stewart as a man laid up in his apartment who sees some fishy things happening in the apartment across the way.

The event also will have Flying Stove and Funky Monkey Munchies food trucks on site selling food, as well as a cash bar. People are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs and blankets. Admission is free.

Movie in the Alley

Javan Andrew and Olivia Grant have put together this new series, which they are staging in the new Gallery Alley, an an outdoor pop-up art gallery at 616 E. Douglas. The first movie was on the last Saturday in May, and nearly 200 people set up their chairs in the alley in between Old Mill Tasty Shop and Third Place Brewing to watch a screening of “The Breakfast Club.”

Organizers plan to continue the movie series on the last Saturday of the month through October. This Saturday, they’ll screen “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” (July’s selection is “Clueless.”) The event is free, but people need to get tickets online. Andrew said the alley can fit about 200 people, though it’s a BYOC (bring your own chair) event.

Attendees are encouraged to get food from nearby restaurants to enjoy during the movie, which is projected onto a screen at the south end of the alley. Tickets are available at www.eventbrite.com, and although they’re free, organizers are accepting donations. People can start claiming spots for their chairs at 7:30 p.m., and the movie starts at 8 p.m.

NewMarket Square’s Family Movie Night

New Market Square, the shopping center at 21st and Maize, will once again have its summer outdoor movie series, which has been hosted for several years by a local church. The family-friendly movies are always shown on a screen in the plaza outside Old Navy.

On Saturday, the animated version of “The Jungle Book” will be shown. Admission is free. On July 29, the center will show “Moana,” and on Aug. 26, it will show “Storks.”

The movies start at 7 p.m., and people are encouraged to bring their own seating.

This story was originally published June 21, 2017 at 8:57 AM with the headline "You bring the chairs, they’ll provide the fresh air and films."