Here’s how Moonlit Movies, an ‘Oconomowoc staple,’ is having its 15th anniversary season despite the pandemic – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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The show will go on for Moonlit Movies’ 15th anniversary in Oconomowoc this summer, despite the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Everything is getting canceled, so people are looking for things to do,” said Jalane Sauer, president of Moonlit Movies. 

But the nonprofit’s first free family movie night of the year won’t look the same as it has in the past. 

Instead of being held at Fowler Park or on the streets of downtown Oconomowoc, the movie will be shown drive-in style outside Oconomowoc High School. 

“When the CDC opened the drive-in movies as an option, we were like, ‘Hey can we make this work?’ ” Sauer said. 

With support from their sponsors, they did. 

Moonlit Movies is showing “Toy Story 4” in the high school’s parking lot June 11 on a 65-foot screen — 15 feet larger than the screen typically used — with a “very extensive” speaker system and an FM radio station for people to tune into to hear the film, Sauer said. 

Since space is limited, the group decided to make the event ticketed, but still free. 

Just 13 minutes after the 125 tickets were released on Eventbrite, they were gone, Sauer said. And now, there’s a wait list to attend. 

The parking lot will open at 8 p.m. June 11, and the movie will start as soon as it’s dark enough outside, at about 9 p.m.

The Oconomowoc Food Pantry will be on site, accepting canned goods and monetary donations. 

The other two Moonlit Movies are scheduled for July 9 and Aug. 13, but their formats will be determined later, Sauer said. Updates will be posted on facebook.com/MoonlitMovies. 

In previous years, the movie nights have included a Badgerland water ski show, live music, games and food. 

“It has, in the past, been a great event for communities, neighborhoods and friends to meet for a family night out, doing something together,” Sauer said. 

Where it began 

Fifteen years ago, three Oconomowoc community members came up with the idea to offer free family movies in the city, Sauer said. 

After two screenings that summer, they created a board of directors and became a nonprofit to keep the movies going. 

“It’s a great way to bring the community together,” Sauer said. 

Sauer said they used to take out full-page ads in newspapers and promote the event on a billboard, but now it’s all on social media and by word of mouth. 

Moonlit Movies has a following of more than 6,000 on Facebook alone. 

“It has just skyrocketed,” Sauer said. “And now, we’re kind of an Oconomowoc staple.”

Last August, Moonlit Movies played a big role in Oconomowoc’s 80th anniversary celebration of “The Wizard of Oz,” which lit up lit up the big screen at the Strand Theater in Oconomowoc on Aug. 12, 1939. 

The festivities — which included the unveiling of character statues and costume contests — ended with a Moonlit Movie’s showing of the classic film downtown. 

Contact Hannah Kirby at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @HannahHopeKirby.

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