Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By Zachary Marano
MERCER, Wis. — Mercer Library hosted its first outdoor movie event of the summer on Tuesday. Attendees gathered on the library grounds to see a showing of the 1996 film “Matilda” on the library's new outdoor movie equipment.
Library director Teresa Schmidt said the library wants to host events where people can leave their homes and connect with the community, which is particularly difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schmidt said that outdoor movie events will provide opportunities for the entire family, including children who aren't fully vaccinated, to have fun while staying as safe as possible.
There will be two outdoor movie events each month through August. The next events will be a showing of “Groundhog Day” on Monday, June 21, and “Babe” on Tuesday, July 13. Schmidt said the events will take place alternately on Monday and Tuesday evenings to provide more opportunities for people who might have scheduling conflicts to attend.
All the events are currently scheduled for 8:15 p.m. but may be moved back to 9:15 p.m. when it will be darker, Schmidt said.
According to a release from Mercer Library, the outdoor movie events will be free and water and popcorn will be provided. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets as well as copious amounts of bug spray.
Schmidt said that the movie events were made possible by the Friends of Mercer Library's donation of an inflatable screen, projector and speaker system.
The Friends accrued the funds to purchase the outdoor movie equipment through membership fees and donations, she said.
Schmidt said that bad weather, including moderate-to-high wind speeds, could force the organizers to cancel events. She said that updates will be posted to the library's Facebook page and website.
