This summer, the Balboa Theater is going ol’ school…
We remember going to the movies on Summer Saturday mornings when we were young. We saw all the classic kids’ movies, goofed around with our buddies, and ate popcorn and candy til we nearly burst. They were wonderful times, and we’ve always treasured them. We have been daydreaming of passing this experience on to a new generation, and now our daydreams are becoming a reality…
Beginning Saturday May 18 and continuing every Saturday morning at 10am through the summer, the Balboa Theater will host “Popcorn Palace”, showing an assortment of kids movies. For just $10 admission, each kid can enjoy a film, along with popcorn and a bottle of water or juice box.
The first two weeks, May 18 and May 25, will feature Kids Fest, a series of animated and live action shorts made by independent film makers and compiled by the North West Film Festival.
Then beginning on June 1, Saturday mornings will be filled with some classics like E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (June 1), Popeye (June 8), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (June 15), and My Little Pony (June 22). The remaining schedule includes:
June 29: The Dark Crystal
July 6: The Lorax
July 13: The Goonies
July 20: The Neverending Story
July 27: Annie
Aug 3: Coraline
Aug 10: Charlotte’s Web
Aug 17: Raiders of the Lost Ark
Aug 24: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Aug 31: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
And for those tiny cinema lovers, there are great rewards for attending often! The Balboa has created the Popcorn Palace Kids Klub Card, which gets stamped every time they come. Three stamps gets them a FREE Pez dispenser.
The Popcorn Palace series runs every Saturday morning at 10am from May 18 through June 22 (we’re hoping the run is past June 22, but could not get confirmation from the Balboa).
Sarah B.
Awesome! This didn’t happen when I was a kid, but my mom told me she’d go to the 4 Star on Saturdays and do this same thing, although I think it was 25 or 50 cents for cartoons all morning. She’d hit up the Baskin Robbins on the way home too. I think that was 25 cents for a cone.
I am not too young to remember the double features at the Balboa! IIRC, you could smoke in there too…
This is really awesome. I love it. We’ll be there.
$10 Bucks each kid??
Considering that these movies are old, most have them on DVD at home, and this is close to
the price of a matinee of a new movie, i can almost guarantee they will want to see a new movie. I can rightfully admit, Willy Wonka on the big screen is tempting.
I would advise, if the Balboa is tracking this, that the concessions be a bit more enticing. Popcorn, juice box/fountain drink and a bag of M&Ms or small candy item would be better. Just a suggestion.
Methinks the reason for including concession goodies with the admission is to ease anyone’s guilt about consuming it. It would be wasteful not to eat it wouldn’t it?
Drive by the Balboa and it looked boarded up. Is it still open? will this still be happening?
It’s at the Balboa Theater out on Balboa, not The Bridge (on Geary which shut down)
This is awesome!! I am very willing to spend $10 for a ticket to support a local theater! The Bridge theater and Red Vic are history. Support your local theaters. E.T. phone home!
great lineup
We went to see E.T. yesterday and it was FANTASTIC! I love this theatre, and it was wonderful to see it packed out with very happy families kicking off their summer vacation. Everyone getting a good-sized popcorn and fountain drink is a very smart move on their part, too — takes away the slight sting of the $10 ticket. Their summer line-up is GREAT and we can’t wait to go back again and again.
@Rebekah – Awesome! Glad you had so much fun.
Sarah B.