More Cheap Chicago Screentime Fun at The Davis & City North 14

Summer 2011 $1 kids movies in the city

Get in out of the thunderstorms or the hot, summer sun, and soak up some air conditioning and some cinematic fun.   Two more theatres in the city are running $1 kids movies for the summer.   The rub--they're ALL Tuesday & Wednesday at 10am!   The Logan is the newbie, as this summer marks their first foray into the $1 kid flicks, City North 14 stopped and started again and The Davis continues.


Here's The Logan's line up:

The Logan Theatre

‎2011 Kids Film Series Lineup (all shows start at 10am):

6/21 & 6/22 The Spongebob Squarepants Movie
6/28 & 6/29 Hotel For Dogs
7/5 & 7/6 Alpha and Omega
7/12 & 7/13 How To Train Your Dragon
7/19 & 7/20 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
7/26 & 7/27 Despicable Me
8/2 & 8/3 Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa
8/9 & 8/10 Shrek: The Final Chapter

8/16 & 8/17 Yogi Bear    

We've been regulars at The Davis Theater's  Camp Hollywood in past years.    Click HERE for their line up.   You can also friend, follow and stalk them in socially appropriate ways on FB for the latest in show updates and specials.


City North 14 underwent several ownership changes and had a summer kids program, then didn't, and now they're back again.    Check out their line up below.    The cool thing with them is there are 2 choices a week-all G or PG.   So make your buck go farther this summer and see some shows.

CITY NORTH STADIUM 14

2600 N. Western Avenue

Chicago IL

773-342-1768

DATES AND MOVIES

6/21-6/22 (10am)

CLOUDY W/ MEATBALLS

PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS

6/28-6/29 (10am)

MARMADUKE

PLANET 51

7/5-7/6 (10am)

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA

OPEN SEASON 2

7/12-7/13 (10am)

GULLIVERS TRAVEL

RAMONA & BEEZUS

7/19-7/20 (10am)

CHARLOTTE'S WEB

KARATE KID

7/26-7/27 (10am)

MEGAMIND

SURF'S UP

8/2-8/3 (10am)

CATS AND DOGS: REVENGE

THE LAST AIRBENDER

8/9-8/10 (10am)

SHREK FOREVER AFTER

YOGI BEAR

8/16-8/17 (10am)

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS

Rainy Day Summer Fun $1 Movies at The Logan Theater All Summer

Is the wet weather raining on your parade today?    The Logan Theater at 2646 N. Milwaukee Ave. has $1 kids' movies at 10am every Tuesday and Wednesday all summer long.    The Logan Theatre was built in 1915 and is one of the last neighborhood theaters still standing.   They're getting a much needed facelift this year and getting all this century with social media sites.   You can follow them on FB and Twitter now.    Yet their retro architecture, charm and low prices still remain.   Most shows, all ages all times, are $4.   (Thor, currently playing, is a whopping $5).

Weekend Recap: Ghost Busters, Backyard Mini Golf, Triple Birthday Bonanza, Blackhawks Training Camp and Chic-A-Go-Go

Who ya gonna call?   Friday we had a chiil time at Haas Park.   Ghost Busters was showing as one of the final films of Movies in the Parks, a fabulous Parkways Foundation funded program.  They've shown over 160 Free movies, from June 18-Spetember 10th, on giant, inflatable screens at parks all over Chicago.


Saturday was a crazy, triple birthday bonanza!   Sagezilla went truckin' out to Niles with a school friend for a birthday party at Jump Zone.   Rumor is, it was bigger, better, cleaner and more fun than our local Pump It Up.   And parents can duck out to near by Fresh Farms for international and organic deals at a reasonable price!

The second birthday party was a fun, in the home party.   The kids ate home baked pizza and played Wii and Monopoly as well as old school outdoor games like horse shoes and bean bag toss.   I was impressed the family got strips of indoor/outdoor carpet and made a 5 hole putt putt golf course in the back yard. They used swim noodles and other objects to create obstacles and different shaped holes.   It was super creative and fun.

Our final birthday of the night was an adult friend who wanted to find a great sushi place.   We wanted to humor the birthday girl, but my kids won't eat sushi.   We found the perfect solution in Manee Thai, an old favorite of ours, newly revamped and serving both awesome Thai food and rockin' Japanese Sushi under the label "pan Asian".   They have 2 locations now, with the same menu, but their newly rebuilt Pulaski location is our favorite, by far.   It's risen again, like a mythical Phoenix, from the ashes of a kitchen fire, that gutted the place several years ago. 

The birthday girl was impressed with the sushi, that came with colorful names like Godzilla, Tarantula and Rainbow, and equally fun presentation.   I'd share the photos here, but they're missing at the moment.   I snapped lots of Blackberry photos of the plates, but managed to lose my phone on the way out of the restaurant!   


Sagezilla fell asleep, so I was carrying her to the car, several blocks away, and her sleepy legs wrapped around me and knocked my purse open and my cell off somewhere.   We got all the way home before I realized it was missing, then had to drive back and retrace our steps.   It was gone, but I'm still hopeful someone honest and nice found it.   Someone checked the voice mails and called the first friend in my address book.   Are you out there?   Anyone? 


We'll have a full feature on the Blackhawks Training Camp later this week. 



Sunday is official catch up with homework, and bath with hair washing day.   If we finish in time, we still hope to go rock out with puppet, Rattso, and Miss Mia for the taping of Chic-A-Go-Go's Halloween Show.

ChiILin' At Free And Cheap Movies All Summer Long

The long, lazy days of summer are here. Without those early morning classes to get to, these are the perfect weeks to stay up past bedtime and enjoy a free movie in the park. Here are links to our favorite free movie programs.

Chicago Park District Movies in the Park

Chicago Park District announces Movies in the Parks where more than 170 current and classic movies will be shown in neighborhood parks throughout the city, from June through September. All movies are free and begin at dusk. Folding chairs, picnic blankets and food are welcome.

Another favorite freebie is The Chicago Outdoor Film Festival in Grant Park every Tuesday night. Double check the line up. Some, like Psycho on Aug. 11, are not kid appropriate for the younger spawn. Most are family friendly.

If your kids can't stay up that long past dark, or get squirrely early, try AMC Summer Movie Camp at 10am every Wed. all summer long. All shows are $1.00 to benefit local charities.

Kerasotes also runs free movies every Wed. and Thurs. morning at 10am. Check their web site for instructions on how to join the $5 movie club for free. Once a movie has been out a few weeks, you can show your card and purchase $5 tickets. They'll send you a weekly e-mail listing the shows that qualify.

In Lincoln Square, The Davis Theatre Camp Hollywood plays family movies for $1.00 every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10:00 AM.

And finally, at a whopping $4 a show for all shows, any time of day, see recent releases that have been out a few weeks at The Logan Theatre. Looks like the start of a "reel" great summer.