Farmington Valley, Connecticut: Outdoor Movies and a Twist to the Typical Movie Night

A balmy night, a friendly crowd, a night sky freckled with stars and a classic movie. The Shoppes at Farmington Valley offered free outdoor movies on Saturday nights through August 30, 2008 -- The Wizard of Oz, Shrek the Third, and Ratatouille among the titles.

Long a tradition in Europe, outdoor movies had by 2008 become a summertime staple across American cities -- Bryant Park in New York, the National Mall in Washington, and dozens of public parks from Detroit to Chicago. Smaller Connecticut towns had started catching on too: West Hartford showed The Incredibles on a library lawn in 2005.

The twist at Farmington Valley: the screenings were at a lifestyle shopping center, not a park. Drive-in theaters have mostly disappeared from the American landscape, and for most kids, a free outdoor movie night is the closest they will get to that experience. Bring a lawn chair, a blanket, and a bucket of popcorn.