Want to go to the movies? Head to a Denver park

Heading to the theater to watch a movie is great? A reprieve from the heat with great buttery popcorn and thick cheesy nachos sure sounds nice. But what about that price tag?

Watching a movie for free in the park under a beautiful Colorado sky has a better ring to it.

Denver Parks and Recreation, through the MY Denver Card program, is hosting Movies in the Park, a movie night series featuring family-friendly films.

"'Movies in the Park' was a conversation that we were having with various rec centers across Denver, and they expressed interest in wanting to show a movie in their park to their neighborhood communities. From those conversations, we ran with the idea," said Tiffany Tungate, the Program Administrator with MY Denver.

This is the first year MY Denver is assisting in hosting these events. MY Denver Card was a mayoral initiative started in 2012 that provided youth ages 5 through 18 with free access to libraries, rec centers and cultural facilities like museums.

Tungate said rec centers also host similar one-off events. However creating a series leads to more promotions and more guaranteed fun for families.

Nikkol Grimes, left, and Sonja Taylor relax while watching Grease during the 21st annual Film on the Rocks, drive-in edition at Red Rocks Park on Aug. 13, 2020. Grimes is a Grease fanatic who says she’s probably seen the classic movie 50 times.

All of the events are free, and you do not need a My Denver Card. Though if you're interested, folks can apply here.

So far, DPR has hosted three movie nights at Swansea Park, Aztlan Park and Harvard Gulch West Park with films such as Encanto and Monster's University.

The next Movie in the Park night will Tom & Jerry at La Alma-Lincoln Park on July 26th starting at 6:30 p.m.

Another at St. Charles Place Park will feature The Sandlot on August 4 at 4:30 p.m.

"One thing we're trying to do is incorporate more family events, just to tie in another incentive for the youth that are coming into our center, like an appreciation thing," Tungate said. "It's been pretty successful. We've had over 200 attendees so far. The idea was to have these families just walk right over to the rec center from the local neighborhood and give them something unique."

DPR isn't the only entity hosting outdoor movie events this summer. Film on the Rocks at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre has two more movie nights planned. Glendale has Movie Nights at Infinity Park, with three more nights planned.

Check the lists below for all upcoming events. Happy watching!