Get Ready for The Art Thing Collaborative’s ‘The Reel Thing,’ outdoor movie series

The Art Thing Collaborative (TAT) is bringing a brand new, totally free Thing to all 5 Canal towns this summer in the Valley! ‘The Reel Thing,’ an outdoor movie series that will travel to each town’s local parks and fields, has an underlying goal, to bring our towns and community members together.

TAT’s co-director Nick Stag exclaims “No matter what our differences, the joy of film is something many of us have shared in, and so we wanted to bring something relatable to the Valley that could appeal to everyone in a really lovable, spirited, and magical kind of way.”

TAT’s co-director Carly Proulx says “What better way to connect to each other than through sharing in these enchanting, epic quests where we get to fight pirates, reroute our way through an illusive maze, fly through the air on a luckdragon, journey to rescue innocent babies from evil villains, and dance and sing our way down a yellow brick road? Shared imagination through the big screen has always been close to my heart. Since the dawn of film I think that magic is universally something many of us have bonded over.”

TAT was awarded a grant from CNY Arts through the Statewide Community Regrants Program back in June for The Reel Thing, but their support didn’t stop there. Thanks to the core crew at Valley Cinemas in Little Falls, owner Chris Anderson and manager Devan Durkee, TAT was able to secure the movie rights lickety-split! Proulx emphasized “Not to mention movie mastermind Durkee converted all our VHS tapes of the films we’ll be showing to Mp4’s so we could project them onto the big outdoor screen. We’re so grateful to both Chris and Devan! They’ve been incredibly generous with their donations, their time, and their knowledge in helping us navigate and optimize this free and fun community event.”

And the community support continues with TAT’s friends Risa Kent and Frank Forzano who are not only lending TAT their big screen for the series, but are helping with the set-up. Mike Cecconi, now a longstanding TAT collaborator, will be doing the announcements before each showing.

“He’s the best man for that job without a doubt, and by far the loudest. We’re really proud of him and all the ways he shows up for the community. The Valley is lucky to have him in its corner.” Stag says.

The first Reel Thing kicks off this Friday, July 31 at 8:30PM at 106 W. Main St. at Tutty Field in Mohawk, NY where TAT will be showing the 1988 classic Willow.

On deck with all showtimes starting at 8:30PM,

• The Neverending Story at 99 N. Park Pl in Myers Park in Herkimer on Wednesday, August 5,
• The Labyrinth at 10 Waverly Pl in Eastern Park in Little Falls on Saturday, August 8,
• The Wiz at 123 South Frankfort St outside the Frankfort Free Library on Friday, August 21, and
• Hook at 39 Pleasant Ave in Fireman’s Field in Ilion on Friday, August 28.

Thanks to the collaboration with all our local libraries, our local Parks & Rec crew, local business owners, our Mayors and village boards, TAT was able to secure the perfect location, dates, and times for each movie in The Reel Thing series.

“It truly takes a village to bring something like this together! And the more community wide Art Things we do the more support we see from the community. It’s a really beautiful Thing, and we’re immensely thankful!” says Stag.

If you’ve never seen the aforementioned movies, there’s a commonality here, and the big reason why TAT chose to show these films over countless other options for The Reel Thing’s valley debut. Proulx says,

“These movies remind us that no matter who we are, no matter what size, shape, gender, color, race, background, political party, world view, or anything else that society has used to define, divide, and displace us, we all have the strength to come together under the stars to connect, to embrace diversity, and unite against shared hardships. They remind us that persistence, heart, and care for one’s community has the power to overcome any obstacle. They remind us that together we too are brave warriors with the power to fight for community, and all our shared rights to this life.”