'Red Tails' To Screen At North Adams Airport
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This is the second time Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts has hosted an outdoor showing of an aviation-themed movie at the airport. Last year, the museum screened Robert Redford's "The Great Waldo Pepper" on the 90-by-22-foot airplane hangar door.
"Red Tails" follows a group of African-American pilots in the famous Tuskegee training program in 1944.
Seating will be on the tarmac; patrons should bring their own chairs and blankets to make themselves comfortable for the show.
"It's not quite a drive-in since you can't watch the film from your car, but it's close," said Joseph Thompson, director of Mass MoCA. "At the base of Mount Greylock Reservation — the state's highest peak with an excellent array of hiking and biking trails — Harriman-West Airport is surely one of the most beautifully situated airports in the Northeast. Pack your car with family, friends, chairs, and blankets, see a spectacular film under the stars, and check out a lively airport scene."
Gates for the event will open at 7 p.m. with a display of planes, plus local vendors selling popcorn, hot dogs, hamburgers, snacks, soft drinks, and beer and wine. Patrons can also meet a veteran Tuskegee airman before the film, who will be on hand to answer questions.
The first 100 kids will receive Balsa wood gliders and will be able to compete for prizes for the longest flight, best acrobatics, and worst crash. A selection of flying cartoons will start around 8:15 p.m., with the main feature film starting just after 8:30. In case of rain, the film and all activities will be moved to Friday, July 6.
In 1944, after enduring racist attitudes throughout their recruitment and training for the experimental Tuskegee program, the 33rd Fighter Group comprised of African-America fighter pilots is finally allowed into combat in Italy. Besides enemy forces, the Tuskegee airmen face a white military bureaucracy still resistant to accepting black pilots as equals. With George Lucas as executive producer and starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard, the film features an abundance of vivid World War II flying sequences. (Read our review here.)
Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for kids under age 12; or the "per car" package price of $14 per car. Tickets are only available at the door.
Rather than drive-in, pilots and their passengers can fly-in to the movie for free and will be permitted to have free "under the wing" and tent camping on the airport grounds. The runway will close to aircraft operations at 6:30 sharp. Fuel is available at self-service pumps.
Tags: airport, outdoor movies,
