MANCHESTER, NH – Wednesday’s movie night in the park was a big moment for the city. About 100 people gathered in the bowl of Bronstein Park, blankets and lawn chairs, picnic baskets and beverages, to watch the quirky Wes Anderson film, “Moonrise Kingdom.”
It was more than a movie night in the park.
It was exactly four years ago that Bronstein Park was ground zero for the city’s “spice epidemic,” rendering the place more like a scene from a zombie apocalypse series than the centerpiece of the city’s East Side, as it had been for so many years.
Wednesday’s family movie night was a return to something as nostalgic as it is significant.
You could see it in the way Eddie Flores contained his bright-eyed toddling granddaughter, Rosie, to a small blanket with snacks and a gentle hand. “It’s a beautiful night,” Flores said.
Ditto that, from Adele Boufford Baker, who made her way across the close-cropped grass from the far end of the park just after the movie started, a lawn chair slung over her shoulder. “Such a beautiful night,” she said.
Ward 2 Alderman Will Stewart was there, greeting friends and enjoying a night out with his son Zeke. Seated nearby was Bill Stelling and husband Bill Siroty, who opted for camp chairs, while their companions, Karina Kelley and husband, Ben, spread out a blanket.
“It’s a perfect night,” said Stelling, who together with Karina Kelley operates Kelley Stelling Contemporary art gallery on Hanover Street. They partnered with Red River Theatres, an independent movie house in Concord, for the sunset cinema series, along with support from New Hampshire Institute of Art, Currier Museum of Art, The Palace Theatre, Mint Bistro, Restoration Cafe, The Palace Theatre, Elm Grove Companies, and Bookery Manchester.
Angie Lane, Red River’s Executive Director, welcomed the crowd as they munched on the five-spice popcorn, delivered to the park by Tom Puskarich of Restoration Cafe.
Also present, Red River’s Membership Coordinator, Jemi Broussard, and husband Rick Broussard, editor of New Hampshire Magazine. The beauty of the moment in its entirety – the vivid sunset, the warm night air, the crowd, the occasional ambulance and Manchester’s residual rough edges juxtaposed with something that feels like rejuvenation – was not lost to him.
“This is really something,” Broussard said, recognizing the importance of relationships, and how events like this one help close the geographical gaps between Manchester and Concord; how such events are the stuff of life for people who appreciate the synnergy between distinctively unique communities. Yes, it’s great that there’s an independent movie theater 20 minutes north of Manchester. It’s even greater when relationships exist that mean that an indie theater in Concord can deliver a cool movie like “Moonrise Kingdom” to a beautiful park in Manchester for a night under the stars.
Last month his magazine featured a group of “Manchester transformers,” people who are elevating the city’s “cool factor,” among them Kelley and Stelling, part of a cover-story spread that describes a Manchester on the rise, lifted up by those who see the potential for a truly livable city.
All it takes is more of the same: a return to living – really living – in the city, and hopefully, more magic movie moments
