Martin Casas

I figured out how to give people free movies.

<ol> <li>Frontyard Features started in the fall of 2006 after a nice walk around the park.</li> </ol> <p>My wife and I had just moved to the area and wanted to do something to meet our new neighbors. After some thought we decided that inviting our neighbors over to the house for dinner and a movie was too boring. Since I always think bigger then I should, I said &ldquo;How about we do a movie in the park and invite the entire neighborhood?&rdquo;, &ldquo;No let&rsquo;s just have them over for dinner&rdquo; , my levelheaded wife said.</p> <p align="left">We never did the dinner, but by the end of the week I was underway to organizing a movie in Tower Grove Park.</p> <p align="center"><br /><img src="http://fyfoutdoormovies.com/images/flyer.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="317" /></p> <p>I met with neighborhood associations and went to their meetings to pitch the idea and ask for help. At each meeting I found more and more people excited about the idea and eager to help. At one meeting I found a volunteer who donated the projector and sound system, at another I found someone to do the design work for the advertising, another I met the manager of Hanneke Hardware who gave me the materials for the screen, and finally I met the owner of Orpheum Cleaners who stitched two bed sheets together to make the screen.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://fyfoutdoormovies.com/images/screen4.jpg" alt="" width="434" height="279" /></p> <p>We were off and running! We held nine movie events from May to September at the Whittaker Pool Pavilion in Tower Grove Park. Some movies were rained on, the wind storms of that summer blew out a movie ( and the electricity) and the temperatures rose, but movie goers turned out to watch their favorite flicks weekend after weekend.</p> <p>The event was a success. The summer ended and the series was over. With the winter looming I got calls from neighborhoods around the city asking if we could host and event in their neighborhood. Knowing the screen we made wouldn&rsquo;t make work out for a bigger event, I formally organized Frontyard Features, LLC and set out to make a bigger, better event.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://fyfoutdoormovies.com/images/Screen3.jpg" alt="" width="338" height="287" /></p> <p>We scheduled 40 movies in the City of St. Louis and raised over $20,000 in advertising for our first year. With the success of 2007 behind us we set out to make a bigger imprint: 200 Movies in 200 Cities throughout the state of Missouri. 200 opportunities to give neighbors a chance to meet each other and grow a little fonder for the place they call home.</p> <p>Since our first event, we've developed better methods for businesses to meet customers and host groups to raise money. Our company is all about your community, and we'll work with you to make sure you get the most out of your event.</p> <p>I look forward to seeing you at the movies in a neighborhood near you this summer.</p>

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