Screen on the Green – Balboa Park

BOO for you SD Museum of Art. Moving movies to weeknights-​BOO
What a stinker move. What a Bonehead move.

Stumbled upon this event while reading the newspaper and was not disappointed.
Luckily we made it to the last showing of the summer.
«Love Aaj Kal» was a cute bollywood movie.
Knowing the type movie ahead of time, I made a surprise date out of this and picked up Indian food to complement the film.
Free and in balboa park? Win.
Although, I will say get there early to snag some prime spots.
We watched a couple of arguments over seating, which made things a little uncomfortable.
However, the overall crowd was chill and well prepared (picnic and blankets are a necessity)
I can’t wait till next summer.

Amazing experience! This type of thing has been on my San Diego bucket list for a while, and I’m happy to say that I finally got to go tonight! Great experience, make sure to bring comfy chairs, a blanket and a picnic basket full of goodies!

… San Diego… Outdoor movies w/​friends or family = Happiness! :) Do this ppl its alot of fun!

there are several great things about the month of july [in san diego]…
— we kick the month off with a H-​O-​L-​I-​D-​A-​Y where we blow some sh*t up!
— the sun finally comes out (2010 was the sad exception)
— the water finally gets warm enough to swim in — i hear it was 70 degrees today!
— the fair wraps up… the del mar races begin!
— our beloved comic-​con takes place
…aaaand balboa park holds its first SCREEN ON THE GREEN!
i was introduced to this last year and it held up to its awesomeness. even more so, in fact, because they have switched it to fridays!
why it rocks:
— free event for the public
— picnic’ing to the MAX — people are serious about this. we saw mini (slightly above ground) fold out tables, portable grills, bread and cheese spreads, and countless others morgasbords going down.
— adult beverage friendly! SD has pretty much beaten most of us down to assume you will get attacked by a mod of police with an open container in public. at the screen on the green event? HELL NO. people are pouring wine openly, strolling around with wine glasses in hand, cracking open cans of beer. eat, drink, be merry!
— old timey and artsy film classics shown on a giant blowup projection screen. the location (just past the long pond /​botanical garden on the large grass area) is great, and its hard to get a bad seat since its visible all the way to sitting next to the pond.
this is a great FREE laid back, wholesome activity to take advantage while its going on (very limited! only 2 more this season). take the family, take a date, go with a group of friends. we went with a group of about 10 and everyone had a great time.
*TIP! movie begins around sunset (~8pm) but most people arrive quite a bit early to hang out and picnic. we got there around 6:30 to find plenty of great spots for our blankets and chairs closhish to the screen. also, bring a hoodie for later on and youll be glad you did :)

Oh boy!!! I took my GF to this just now we watch movie call «Fountainhead» with Gary Cooper it old and in black and white but this make it more interest (–_​-​)
I have a lot of fun and look at other girl when my GF getting all romantic about the movie. I recommend to bring sweater and blanket because it can get chilly but the best thing that my GF impressed that I bring her to «cultural/​artistic event» (–_​-​)
Really I am happy because it free and also not going to get bedbug like from indoor theater :/

This was my first summer of attending Screen on the Green… and I cannot wait until next summer! This is better than any movie theater I’ve ever been to… sure you watch a film of their (Art Museum’s) choice, but it is a classic or artsy foreign film which is really fun. First of all, dusk in Balboa Park, next to the coi pond is just amazingly beautiful. Next, bring friends, picnic, drinks of choice… and dogs! So fun to go to a park that is alcohol and dog friendly. This is not the best place for kids, as the movies are not kid friendly… making it even better for that romantic sunset date with the bottle of wine and picnic basket. The first time I went, we saw King of Masks and the next time, we saw Moulin Rouge. It’s good to come early (at least an hour to stake out some green) and chat with friends over your picnic before the movie begins. Once the movie starts, there’s no more chatting, just some dessert, snuggling on the blanket with your honey, and another glass of wine.

AWESOME!!! It’s free too.
I’ve been wanting to do this for years and finally had the chance to last night. Luckily we made it to their last movie of the summer; however, I’m bummed that it’s the last one this year. Funding is low so they only showed 3 or 4 movies this summer.
I took the advice of the other reviewers and arrived as early as I could. We got here at 6:30 and we were already at the very edge of the lawn, but it was directly in front of the screen so it was a decent spot. As it become closer to 8pm, many more people started showing up and they had a hard time finding a good seat.
They showed the 1952 Moulin Rouge movie to show the life of Henri de Toulouse-​Lautrec, because his work is currently at the Museum of Art. The movie was ok, but the experience was so much fun and we all LOVED it. I went with my husband and family, but it was still such a romantic event.
Every group I saw also brought a really nice picnic along with blankets and camping chairs. Ohhh and everyone had a bottle of wine. Enjoying dinner and wine just before the movie started in Balboa Park was really nice. People brought their dogs. Once the movie was about to start, the person from the museum made an announcement that glass bottles had to be hidden because park rangers will make you get rid of it. Glass bottles are not allowed on park grounds.
The ONLY gripe I have are those rude and inconsiderate people who TALK through the entire movie. They try to whisper, which only makes it worse and more annoying. All you hear are the murmurs and you’re trying to listen to the movie at the same time. Quite a few people started shushing others, so I wasn’t the only one annoyed. The groups of people that talked the most were the people in their early 20s. This is a MOVIE not a bar! If you want to talk go there and stop being rude! I had the pleasure of having 2 underage girls sit next to me talking and getting drunk the whole time. Had to ask them to be quiet and that lasted 5 seconds. They were disrespectful and continued to talk, but eventually left.

I did this completely wrong but still came out on top. Showed up late to the movie but was able to secure a spot at the front near the tree. Had no idea everyone goes early and eats before the movie and not during! whoops… thankfully no one seemed to mind our little party snacking on pickles during the show. PA system was actually better than I expected for a free event, they actually had some good sound equipment there and spaced speakers out for different parts of the lawn.
PRO TIP: Totally saw people with beer there unharassed! You can’t drink on the beach but you can drink on the green!

As some of the other reviewers mentioned, you should GET THERE EARLY. I arrived at about 6:45, an hour and 15 minutes before showtime and it was packed. One of the others in the crowd around me was talking about how last year people were showing up around 4pm. That seems a little extreme, but in a metropolitan area of 3million plus, the small grassy area by the Koi pond can fill up fast with those who know.
The sound was good, no echo off the buildings at all, and they also knew enough to put the subtitles on for better understanding of some of the low-​volume scenes.
One gripe: Only three shows this year? Prior to the movie being played, a representative from the SDMA gave a short intro to the program and mentioned that the limited number of shows this year was due to lack of funding. I was more than happy to give a donation, but couldn’t help but wonder about the cost of such a performance.
There is a large screen, a PA system, projector and the DVD, all of which I would think the SD Modern Art museum would already be in possession of. Adding only the cost of labor by museum employees for setup and manning the event, I can’t imagine that the price tag for this event being very costly. With city employees playing a movie in a city park on city owned equipment, where do the costs lie?
It’s just another example of why San Diego is lacking in cultural events compared to other major cities. The weather is nice enough here to do things like this year-​round, what’s the problem?
One star for each showing. If they add more to the schedule, I’ll be sure to update my rating.

Ingredients: summer night, outside, under the stars, movie, people having a good time, blankets on grass, food, wine, free and in one of the most beautiful spots in the city: Balboa Park. Can’t give this anything less than 5 stars… I absolutely love this event, and couldn’t wait for it to start. I was there the first run this year and will go again next week. Only a couple of nights each year, on Thursday summer nights, the San Diego Museum of Arts hosts free movie nights where they show oldies, like Hitchcock movies on a screen in Balboa Park.
It attracts a big crowd, and everybody comes there about one or two hours before the start of the whole thing, and brings chairs, tables, blankets, Snuggies (saw one!), board games, food and wine. The movie starts at 8PM, but if you want to be sure to see anything, be there no later than 6-​something. Most people come right after work or are 65+ so don’t work to begin with. That’s the beauty of the event: you see a great variety of people: young, old, fat, rich, poor, families with kids, groups of friends, dates, students… all share the love of living in San Diego and spending time outdoors. So unless an obese person sits in front of you or you have screaming kids around, you will love everyone and everyone loves you.
The movies are cultural and usually oldies so if you’re not into that, you might not like it. But even if I couldn’t see a thing or if they showed reruns of Sesame Street (I love Elmo in fact), I would still go. It’s worth going solely for hanging out on a blanket on a summer night with friends, watching the stars or other people having a good time.
One of my favorite things to do is crab food on the go and a bottle of wine at a deli downtown or in Little Italy, then head over to the park with friends. You often meet cool new people too since everybody is in a good mood and shares blanket spots. The very first time I got here, I was unprepared and fashionably late… I arrived one minute before the movie started, so it was packed… then cool people offered us perfect spots close to the screen… all in exchange for my Mona Lisa meatball sandwich. Well worth to starve for.
I’m bummed that next week is the last one of this year… then another whole year of waiting until it starts again. So one more chance to go this year… I even like this a bit better than Cinema under the Stars, although that’s a good (paid) substitute and runs more often and until October. If you go, bring a pillow or a chair (or something to lay your head on, believe me you want to alternate sitting/​laying down and it’s awkward not being able to rest your head on something), a blanket, food, drinks, friends or anyone you don’t want to talk to for two hours and you’re ready to picnic!

I absolutely love this event and am already looking forward to the end of July to start going on Thursday nights again! It’s free, it’s outside, you can bring some wine and snacks and sprawl out on the grass as the sun goes down. Hey, you can even bring some good old fashioned board games to play beforehand as you kick back. It’s a great time for friends, lovers, and families alike. The movies are typically class favorites – The Parent Trap, House of Wax, Sabrina to name a few. It’s definitely best to arrive early if you want to score a good spot near the Botanical Gardens where this event takes place. Nothing but great things to say about this… definitely one of the highlights of summer in San Diego.

I can’t believe there aren’t more reviews! Granted, it only happens a couple times a year, I still think it’s totally awesome. I didn’t really know until now that this thing even had an official name.
Nothing feels more like a summer evening to me than watching a movie in an open space on a picnic blanket, and under the stars. I went for the first time last summer. I ended up catching Bye Bye Birdie (Um hello, Ann Margarett was totally hot back in the day and I had a bit line playing Penelope in the «Telephone Song» when I was 9 years old.) I also ended up seeing paper moon, which is le awesome.
It’s definitely a kind of thing where you need to get here super early in order to secure a good view. Both times, I got here a little later so we had to sit in the very front and crane our necks. Another tip would be to wear non butt-​crack showing pants (for lack of a better word or phrase?) as there’s no way to sit all lady like, at least for me! I don’t know how to be a lady.
My favorite thing about this place is eating gourmet picnic foods while casually watching a flick and enjoying the time with your friends. Aka great summer evening.

I loved this! I finally made it to a show, but it was the last one of the season. :(It was paper moon, which is a great film. I’ve seen it before on TCM and missed part so it was great to be able to see the whole thing. They also showed some looney tunes cartoons before the main feature, it was awesome, like being in a time machine.
It was really nice to spend time with my friends hanging out and reserving our spot on the lawn, then getting to watch the movie with them. Balboa park is so beautiful, I can’t believe I haven’t been there before. Overall, it was a fantastic evening and the movie was great too. It would definitely be a good place to bring your significant other for some cuddling and movie watching.

I tried again tonight and I’m adding a star.
We had a better experience this time, but partly due to a combination of my parking spot-​hunting skills, and my friend’s movie-​viewing-​spot tracking prowess. So they don’t get the extra star for that. They do, however, get the star for having subtitles on the movie this time. Although we were close enough to hear clearly, and they said they did it for some deaf patrons, the subtitles undoubtedly made the movie bearable for those watching from afar.
I’d have given 4 stars, but the movie had a digital fart in the middle and it took about 10 minutes to iron out, and we missed some crucial scenes. Perhaps next time they’ll have a back-​up DVD and can get their extra star :) Learning is growing, kids.

A seriously cheap and fantastic way to spend a thursday night. We have «movies in the park» back in Chicago and it’s one of the first things I was sure to check out as soon as I moved across from Balboa.
Here’s the deal: pack a picnic basket and chairs (or order some pizza… whatever suits your mood) and head to Balboa Park every Thursday night until the end of August to curl up and watch some classics.
The movies start at 8, but I HIGHLY recommend getting there much earlier to claim a good spot. Just set up a circle of chairs/​blankets, get a group of friends, some grub, and wine, and shoot the shit until the movie starts. Great for date night or just catching up with the girls! Oh, and I bring my dog too (but he’s well-​behaved… no loud yappers!).

Checked this out for the first time last night… what a great event. Movie starts at 8pm but many of the thousand or so viewers arrive several hours early to grab a good spot. I really should just give it a one star because I don’t want the secret of this to get out… guess it is too late now!
I went with a group this time, but may have to find a date for next week.

Screen on the Green 2008
Jul 31, 08 thru Aug 28, 08 Every Thursday
July 31 — The Shop Around the Corner (1940, NR)
August 7 – Sabrina (1954, NR)
August 14 – The Parent Trap (1961, G)
August 21 – Bye Bye Birdie (1963, G) It’s a Sing-​Along!
August 28 – Paper Moon (1973, PG)
Only 5 Thursdays out of the entire year can you experience this event at Balboa Park. I went to one screening last summer and had so much fun, I plan to go to every screening this year.
First of all, I am a major fan of these types of films (most are classics), but even if you don’t get into the film, the whole experience is worth it. after all, it is FREE!
The showing starts when the sun sets, but you need to arrive early to reserve a spot for your blanket/​chairs. I highly recommend packing a picnic and bringing some games. You’ll see people playing board games, cards, throwing balls/​frisbees around before the show starts.
It’s PERFECT to bring a date to (under the stars, with a bottle of wine and a classic film is as romantic as it gets), or go with a group of friends/​family. And it’s in beautiful Balboa Park, so you can explore the area while you’re there… Screen on the Green is one of my favorite things to do in San Diego!