An outdoor cinema event will be taking place on the shores of Windermere at Cockshott Point later this month from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th September. Attendees will be able to enjoy classic movies in one of the Lake District’s most iconic National Trust locations.
On site there will be soft drinks and hot fresh popcorn available, and an innovative app can be used to deliver food and drink from a range of local establishments. Cockshott Point footpath will remain open to the public during this time, though the event site to right of the footpath will be preserved for attendees.
The socially distanced ‘picnic style’ event will show seven films on a huge 17m screen right on the shores of Windermere the screen will be high enough so people can bring camping chairs and brollies if needed. The films kick off with Friday night’s cult classic Pulp Fiction.
Saturday opens with a morning showing of family favourite Shaun The Sheep, with the 80s much-loved The Goonies being shown late afternoon, the Saturday closes with Grease. Sunday will welcome The Lion King and The Greatest Showman before finishing with an appropriate woodland horror, The Blair Witch Project guaranteed to set viewers’ hairs on end as they walk back through the wooded path afterwards! Socially distant spaces for up to 6 people can be now booked at trybooking.co.uk/tvv with discounts made available for families, students, over 65s and residents of LA23 postcode.
Any profits raised will go back into local community groups and projects. The event has been organised and supported by a consortium of Windermere and Bowness groups and businesses; Bowness & Windermere Forward, The Bowness & Windermere Chamber of Trade, Windermere Rugby Club, Windermere Backpackers, National Trust and Cumbria Tourism. Businesses who have also volunteered their time and services include Flock Events & PR, Fidget Design – Ally Tordoff, and Keenandable. It is hoped that the event will provide socially distanced fun for locals and visitors alike and encourage people to the area outside of the busy summer holiday season.
Project Manager Helen Moriarty who is employed by Bowness & Windermere Forward explained the reasoning behind the event and how people can get involved; “We are delighted to bring this project to life especially as 2020 has already been a challenging year for so many. It has been wonderful working with so many local partners to create a safe way for locals and visitors to enjoy our area in a different way.
“We are currently looking for volunteers to support with marshalling the event, each volunteer gets a free ticket to a film of their choice so we’re hoping some of our brilliant young local people may club together with mates to volunteer for an afternoon showing before coming back to watch the evening one for free! The marshals are required to help keep the event site clean and tidy, show people to their designated areas and generally make the event safe and enjoyable.”
Chair of Bowness & Windermere Forward, Sophia Newton added: “A large portion of my ‘day job’ is as an events organiser and I’ve personally missed that aspect of my work since Covid hit so it’s been great to volunteer our skills on this project.
“Windermere and Bowness are wonderful places to live and work and as a local resident and business owner I’m really excited to see a responsibly organised event return, especially as it’s for the benefit of the towns themselves. All the organisers and I felt it was important to create something special for people that works with rather than against our local businesses and residents.
“That’s why LA23 postcode residents receive 10% off standard price tickets and it’s also why we haven’t brought in ‘out of town’ food and drink to the site because we want people to explore our towns and even order direct from them rather than direct business away from them. Tickets are already selling fast so I’d encourage people to book soon, it would be wonderful to create a great ‘pot’ for other local projects and community groups to benefit from too.”
Tickets start from £10, a special family ticket has also been created. All tickets can be purchased at trybooking.co.uk/tvv and those eligible for discounts should use discount code LA23CIN when booking. The organisers may ask for proof of eligibility, and add that the discount can be used on all tickets apart from the already heavily discounted ‘Family Space’. Those interested in volunteering to marshal should email [email protected]
