The Athena Cinema is hoping to spread some Christmas cheer with its next film series.
The Athena, 20 S. Court St., will kick off its 5th Holiday Film Series on Nov. 26. with 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. screenings of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Instead of a regular admission price, patrons can donate a nonperishable food item or a few dollars. The food and money will be given to the Athens County Food Pantry, located at 528 Richland Ave.
“(The Holiday Film Series) brings out a lot of community members and a lot of students,” Alexandra Kamody, the director of the Athena, said. “The goal with it was always to support people in need in the community, which is the whole basis of the canned food donation, but it was also to offer a low-cost entertainment options for area families and for students.”
Karin Bright, the communication and outreach chair and the secretary for the Athens County Food Pantry, said she is excited for the donations to come in.
“We’re very excited to have the opportunity to have the extra food coming in,” Bright said. “Any extra help we can get is appreciated.”
During the holiday season, Bright said there is an increase in donations to the food pantry, and she attributes this to people thinking about the meals they are going to have with their families.
The Athens County Food Pantry serves a lot of families that have children who would be eligible for free or reduced breakfast and lunches at school, Bright said.
“So when kids have a holiday break … those are days that those kids would have had lunches and breakfast provided at schools, so families need to be able to provide those meals,” she said.
Last year, the food pantry served 5,100 households, 14,000 people and received 150,000 pounds of food donations, Bright said. The food pantry will accept any donations, but are in need of canned meats, peanut butter, cereals, boxed meals and chunky soups “that make more of a meal for people,” she added.
Kamody expects the film Elf will have the biggest turn out because Athens residents and students go to the theater to watch the film.
“Elf is always our biggest, and that’s why we play Elf every year,” she said.
Most of the films will be shown at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays, with the exception of the screening of Scrooged at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Dec. 10 — the day of Ohio University’s commencement.
“There are so many great holiday movies that are PG-13, so we did it last year with National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and we got a good turn out,” Kamody said. “We decided to do it again this year and (show) Scrooged because we love Bill Murray.”
Kamody is hoping to increase attendance the first week, which traditionally is the lowest attended film, by showing The Nightmare Before Christmas, Kamody said.
“We’ve had a lot of people request that movie in the past,” she said.
Sydney Conover, an undecided freshman, said her favorite Christmas movie that will be shown at the Athena is The Nightmare Before Christmas because she likes the songs featured in the movie. Because the Athena donates food to the Athens County Food Pantry, she said it “would make me want to go more,” she added, and she likes to watch Christmas movies.
“I like Christmas,” she said. “(Christmas movies) are just happy and put you in the Christmas spirit.”
