Nice
Press!
Bangor
Metro editor Tori Britton's piece about River City Cinema
from
October 2005
Three happy people passed by me last night as I waited at a Bangor stop
sign. They were midlifers, like me, carrying old-fashioned folding
chairs, heading for the free outdoor movie at Pickering Square.
It was a poetic scene. The trio was lit dramatically by my headlights,
in a rush, smiling. Why not? They were going downtown to watch a free
classic movie, outdoors—how cool—thanks to a group of people
called the River City Cinema Society.
River City Cinema started through the vision of two remarkable people,
Kathy and Jorge (pronounced HOR-hay) Gonzalez. Several years ago, the
pair moved from New York City to a house on Elm Street in Bangor because
they wanted to raise their brand new daughter “away from the craziness
of New York City.”
Kathy and Jorge, in their spare time (they are gifted graphic designers),
decided that this area deserved to see some of the world’s best
films on the big screen. So they teamed up with founding members Barbara
and David Clark, Sandra Johnson, and Michael Grillo, and together did
the legwork it took to garner interest, get funding, and turn an ambitious
idea into a big success. I remember talking to Kathy at a Chamber function
a few years ago, as she excitedly related their plans. I smiled politely
and thought, “No way is that going to fly around here.” I
was—as I often am in life—absolutely, wonder-fully wrong.
River City Cinema is alive, growing, and making people happy.
Seeing those movie fans pass by last night, another picture flashed into
my brain: I was back in 1967 in downtown Millinocket, at the hot dog
cart next to the town band-stand. My parents used to take me and my brother
and sisters down there when we were little, in our jammies, for a late-night
treat. I can still taste those dogs, piled with cooked onions and all
the trimmings on a soft steamed roll, made magical by being downtown,
under the stars. It was a piece of heaven on earth my three siblings
and I still remember.
River City Cinema didn’t just bring us old movies on the big
screen, you see. Last night, they brought dozens of people a simple,
powerful
piece of summer joy. Those people will go forth in their lives and be
nicer and smarter and better because they took the time to accept the
gift River City Cinema brought them: a night of watching Cary Granton
the big screen, under a canopy of stars, at Pickering Square.
Next summer, who knows, someone may even wheel in a hot dog cart!
© 2005
Bangor Metro. Used with permission
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