CdA theater offers weeks of free films for children

Long summer days bring freedom for schoolchildren, but also frustration for parents who struggle to find ways to amuse them.

Regal Entertainment says the answer is simple: free morning movies.

Coeur d’Alene’s Regal Riverstone Stadium 14 will show free movies, rated G and PG, starting Tuesday and ending in mid-August. The shows will start at 10 a.m. each Tuesday and Wednesday.

“It is valuable at this time of day when parents or keepers of kids are desperately thinking of things to do to beat the heat,” said Russ Nunley, Regal Entertainment Group’s Vice President for Marketing and Communications.

“We do this in the spirit of being a responsible community member and providing wholesome entertainment for the family.”

There’s a bit more involved than the appeasement of feisty children, however. Regal hopes midmorning movie freebies encourage ticket purchases later on.

“It is valuable to us to instill a sense of enjoyment and longing to go to the movies,” Nunley said.

Regal provides the Free Family Film Festival to about half its 600 theaters. The program began in 1991.

Children or their parents or day care providers can choose between a G and a PG film each day.

All the films have been released previously.

“It’s a safe location where people can gather, a community center,” Nunley said.

Coeur d’Alene’s Regal cinema is just off Northwest Boulevard at 2416 Old Mill Loop.