U Street Movie Series Begins May 24th with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

After a successful inaugural season in 2010, Friends of Harrison Recreation Center, the U Street Neighborhood Association, and the Meridian Hill Neighborhood Association will kick off a second season of films on Tuesday, May 24 with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, a 1939 classic political film set in Washington, DC, preceded by a short film, This Chair is Not Me, a film about how technology transforms the life of a man inhibited by cerebral palsy.

Admission is free and films will be shown at the field at Harrison Recreation Center on V Street between 13th and 14th Streets, NW.  Gates will open at 7 pm. Attendees are encouraged to come early starting at 7 pm to picnic in the park and listen to music spun by local DJs.  Free popcorn will be provided to the first 100 attendees beginning at 7 pm.  Showtime will be at sundown, exact time will vary.  Several local food truck vendors will be on site serving food, including Fojol Bros.

This year’s movie series lineup includes films that feature and celebrate Washington DC, including both classic and family friendly Hollywood films set in Washington, DC, documentaries addressing environmental and education issues that resonate in Washington, DC, and films about local U Street entertainment institutions such as the Howard Theater and the 9:30 Club. In collaboration with the Silverdocs Festival, prior to each feature film will be a screening of a short documentary featured at a previous Silverdocs Festival (http://silverdocs.com).

The schedule is as follows:

• May 24, 2011 –  Silverdocs Short: This Chair is Not Me (rain date May 26)
  Feature: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 

• June 28, 2011 –  Silverdocs Short: The Poodle Trainer (rain date June 30)
  Feature: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian 

• July 26, 2011 –  Silverdocs Short: Howard Theater: A Century in Song (rain date July 28)
  Feature: 930 F Street 

• August 23, 2011 –  Silverdocs Short: City of Cranes (rain date Aug 25)
  Feature: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets 

• September 20, 2011 –  Silversdocs Short: Big Birding Day (rain date Sept 22)
  Feature: Bag It 

• October (TBD) –  Feature: Waiting for Superman, followed by community forum on education policy.

Donations and sponsorships towards the event, accepted at http://movies.ustreet-dc.org, will benefit Friends of Harrison Recreation Center, a nonprofit formed in 2009 that works directly with the Department of Parks and Recreation to improve the recreation center through capital improvements design changes and enhance management and programming of the park, with the goal of making Harrison Recreation Center a better designed, cleaner, safer, and better park in the neighborhood for all to use and enjoy.

Website: http://movies.ustreet-dc.org

­Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ustreetmovieseries