First birthday for movies in Mangawhai

BY JULIA WADE

Mangawhai’s very own movie theatre, brought to the community by Pioneer Village Charitable Trust (PVCT), has just celebrated its first birthday, marking the event with cake, bubbles and a showing of the blockbuster ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

Launched just over a year ago on January 3 after Trust members finished restoring the Village’s old Anglican Church, Mangawhai residents have been able to take a quick, easy trip to view a range of flicks at the theatre complete with a freezer full of ice creams and recently upgraded padded seating for viewer comfort.

Run by six projectionists (who also select the movies), Sue Clayton and one of five PVCT trustees, John Phillis, the theatre has been a resounding success showing a wide genre of movies and films, from recent releases, family movies and wonderful old classics as well as hosting theme nights inspiring punters to dress to code for classics such as ‘Casablanca’, for westerns like ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, and the more evocative ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’.

Showing movies at the theatre has also been part of fundraising events by different groups and organisations, with Mangawhai Beach School’s national problem-solving student champions ‘Team Diversity’ booked on February 7, to help raise money to get them to their international competition held in Boston this coming June.

Phillis says he is very proud of how the community has embraced the theatre.

“We’ve had twelve months of bringing this facility to the community, something the Trust had been thinking about for many years and were lucky to get the use of the old church,” he says. “I’m so glad we made the facility available for everyone.”

¢ For more information visit mangawhaitheatre.com

Fishnets, boas and a few naughty maid outfits were all part of the fun at the recent Rocky Horror Picture Show theme night.

Cutting the birthday cake on the first anniversary, Historic Village trustee John Phillis says he is very pleased with how the community has supported their local movie theatre.