By Mike Hazlip–
An outdoor “Hot August Movie Night” on Friday drew over 700 people to Rusch Park, under smokey skies and a red-orange sunset.
The event kicked off at 5:30 p.m. with food trucks at the park and a free public swim at Rusch pool. Despite smoke from the River Fire burning in Placer and Nevada counties, organizers from Sunrise Recreation and Parks District said they were determined to hold the event after pandemic restrictions halted events in the district for more than a year.
“Overall I think people are ready to get out and do some stuff outdoors in their community,” said park district spokeswoman Karey Hansen. “We know people have been very excited about this so we were hoping it would be clear.”
Close to sundown, when the movie “Raya and the Last Dragon” was set to begin, blankets and camp chairs could be seen spread out on a field in front of an inflatable movie screen.
Organizers estimated there were more than 200 people at Rusch pool with several hundred more on the grass near food trucks and the outdoor movie screen. Food trucks included Kiki’s On The Road, The Fry Boys, and Kado’s Asian Grill.
The Aug. 6 movie night was an updated version of the park district’s “Hot August Bites” event, which had been held for more than five years. Last year’s event was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
