Cinema under the stars

The ghosts came out Tuesday night for the first in a series of free movies under the North Idaho skies. Next up are greasers, munchkins, clownfish and fighter pilots.

The Outdoor Cinema Festival began with a showing of “Ghostbusters” in the Montrose development in Post Falls. It will continue each Tuesday this month near Bluegrass Park in Coeur d’Alene Place.

The movies are sponsored by Greenstone Homes of Liberty Lake and Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty of Coeur d’Alene. Greenstone is the developer of Montrose and Coeur d’Alene Place, and the films help market the homes there.

“It’s to showcase some of the assets of living with us, because we love to build that sort of community,” said Jennifer Hall, director of marketing and community investment for Greenstone.

The film series brings to the suburbs an activity one might find in a town center, Hall said.

The developer helps stage an outdoor film series at Liberty Lake’s Pavillion Park, with 14 movies being shown this summer. They range from “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” to “West Side Story” and “The Blues Brothers.” This Saturday night, Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” will be shown at Pavillion Park.

At Coeur d’Alene Place, the remaining schedule is “Grease” on Tuesday, “The Wizard of Oz” Aug. 14, “Finding Nemo” Aug. 21 and “Top Gun” Aug. 28.

The sponsors, who buy prints of the films, look for a diverse mix of family films not currently in theaters. Eventually, the neighborhood residents could take over the outdoor film series, Hall said.

Lisa Frazier, a Coeur d’Alene Place resident and a Realtor with Coldwell Banker, said she expects a good turnout for the four films there. And neighbors seem to be excited for it to begin, Frazier said.

“People have been asking about this for quite a few years,” she said.

Showtimes are at dusk in the green strip west of Bluegrass Park. Anyone may attend. Blankets and low-to-the-ground chairs or seat pads are recommended. A food concession will be available.