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| - I finally had the experience of seeing a movie in the park here last Sun. evening with a friend, and it was awesome! In the summer, the city shows outdoor movies here twice a week--once on Wed. with a concert from a local band beforehand, and once on Sun. Despite having known about this for almost as long as I've lived in PGH, it took me this long to finally experience it--I actually was planning to go the weekend before last, but was rained out.
The movies start at "dusk," which ended up being around 9pm last Sun. The city publishes a schedule that states what movies they're playing on what days, so you can plan accordingly based on your tastes. The movie I saw was Big Hero 6, which was a great movie, and was family-friendly, so there were a number of children in the audience. Although others had told me that the sound quality wasn't the best, I had no trouble hearing the sound track from where I was seated--but then again, I was in the middle and fairly close to the front of the crowd. I'd recommend arriving at least a half an hour in advance to secure a decent spot, and bringing either a picnic blanket or lawn chairs to sit in, as well as bug spray to ward off the mosquitos.
The great thing about outdoor movies is that there's leeway to do things not otherwise acceptable at movie theaters, such as quiet talking/whispering, running around (some kids were playing flashlight tag off to the side when I was there), and bringing snacks (I do this anyway, but it's great to not have to sneak them in!). The park and the neighborhood of Oakland make a great backdrop for an outdoor movie, and the hill is large and gently sloping, so Flagstaff Hill is probably the best place in PGH to see one. Having said that, they are shown at some other parks around the city on different days, such as Arsenal Park in Lawrenceville, so check the listings to see where the one closest to you is located.
Needless to say, I had a great time seeing a movie on Flagstaff Hill, and would highly recommend the experience if you haven't tried it before. It's a great way to take advantage of the warm weather, so long as the rain holds off--which is an ever-present issue in the summer in PGH.
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