Parks officials seek input on summer movie fare

HARLINGEN — The Parks and Recreation Department is handing you the remote control.

Officials with the department are bringing the public into the decision-making process when it comes to picking the outdoor movies the city will sponsor this summer.

The department’s Facebook page links to an online polling site called Survey Monkey, which allows people to cast a vote free of charge.

“Our staff selected like 15 movies and titles and what we did internally was vote on those 15, and the ones that had the most votes we posted those on Facebook to get the public’s input on what they would like to see,” Javier Mendez, parks and recreation director, said.

“The difficult part is to try to find a movie that would keep the older kids’ attention and won’t be too much for the younger kids,” he added. “We want to keep it PG-13, so what we’re going to do is try it out this year and see how it goes.”

The popular summer outdoor city film offerings, previously known as Movies in the Park, are returning after an absence of several years.

Lara Di Paolo, recreation supervisor for the city Parks and Recreation Department, said last month the city is looking to offer three films at various locations this summer.

Lozano Plaza downtown will be one location, Tony Butler Golf Course will be another and the third could be at the old White Wings Stadium, Mendez said.

Dates for the summer flicks have yet to be determined.

Previous city-sponsored movie nights also used Lozano Plaza as a venue, but the film series appears to have lapsed after 2013.

Called Family Movie Night, the films began at 7 p.m. and families were encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs to view the movie.