The 16th Annual Comcast Outdoor Film Festival for NIH Charities is returning to North Bethesda on Thursday after two years at The Universities of Shady Grove in Rockville, and there are even bigger plans for the event in the future.
Mid-Pike Plaza (11810 Rockville Pike), where construction is underway on the mixed-use Pike & Rose development, will host this year’s three films: “All the President’s Men,” on Thursday, “Midnight in Paris,” on Friday and “We Bought a Zoo,” on Saturday.
The movies begin at 8:30 p.m. each night, following live bands and food trucks.
Organizer Bob Deutsch said he is looking forward to bringing the event, which for years was held on the grounds outside the Strathmore Mansion near Tuckerman Lane, back to North Bethesda. Attendance slipped from about 3,000 a night to about 1,500 a night at Shady Grove.
“I don’t think it translated as well there. It really belongs where it’s home,” Deutsch said. “People have been coming to this thing for years and years and years.”
The event had to move to Shady Grove in 2010 after the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, which actually owned the grassy open area near Strathmore, sold its property to be redeveloped into luxury townhomes.
The changes could end up being a blessing in disguise for Deutsch, who said he’s thinking about transforming the event’s format in future years. Federal Realty, the owner and developer of Pike & Rose, has been receptive to the idea of keeping and expanding the film festival once its 3.4 million square-foot office, retail and residential development is complete.
“The likelihood is we’re going to try to find a permanent home there,” Deutsch said. “The ultimate vision as the property begins to develop is maybe to do some more smaller screens on different streets and move the festival in a more artsy direction. I don’t know that everyone shares it, but it would it would be more varied with performing arts and visual arts and multimedia.”
For now, the event will proceed as it usually has, with three films on three nights on one big screen. The movies are free and attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs. Most of the space is asphalt. Proceeds from food and beverage sales go to the NIH charities. For more information, visit the festival website.
