People who say Los Altos is dead at night haven’t been to Movie Nights, said Nancy Dunaway, executive director of the Los Altos Village Association, which sponsors the event.
But the popular, retro-style summer showings that draw throngs of young and old to a large screen and projector on Main Street could be endangered, thanks to a combination of increased costs and a shaky economy.
“It’s an event we love doing for the community and it’s always flooded with kids,” Dunaway said. “Unfortunately, because it’s so popular and draws a teen crowd that congregates on the outer boundaries of Movie Nights, we have to pay for extra police services to make sure the kids are safe.”
Hiring police “just about doubles” the cost of running the event. Police services can add nearly $800 per Movie Night.
That, along with downtown businesses struggling in the down economy, makes it “difficult to get sponsorships,” Dunaway said. Sponsorships are down approximately 50 percent from last year, she said, which makes Movie Nights a financial leak hard to plug.
Sponsors pay between $250 and $500 to run PowerPoint slides promoting their businesses or services in front of eager moviegoers prior to the screening, similar to those in a big-screen movie theater.
Because those sponsorships are down, Dunaway said, the village association must look elsewhere to continue offering the downtown event.
For $50 to $100, individuals can arrange for a slide to announce a birthday, graduation or even a wedding proposal. Depending on the amount contributed, individuals can project up to 10 impressions.
“It’s kind of like at a baseball game when you see the ‘Happy B-day’ up on the big JumboTron,” Dunaway said. “We’ll do the same thing.”
“It’s so retro, it’s so small town. That’s what makes it so cool,” Dunaway said.
This year’s Movie Nights are scheduled to kick off Aug. 13 with “Little Giants,” followed by “Toy Story” the following Friday and “Up” the next week.
For more information, visit www.downtownlosaltos.org or call 949-5282.
Contact Elliott Burr at [email protected].
