"The merchants are sponsoring an outdoor movie on July 17th: Bring your own chair and see "Sorority Girls and Motorcycle Gangs," plus a short on personal hygiene." If it sounds rag-tag, it was. This first mention, in the July 1993 Chamber Board meeting minutes, reveals little of what was to come.

Now, the Fremont Outdoor Cinema stands as centerpiece of the Chamber calendar, and a testament to the funky flavor fomented here. Begun by two of Fremont's more notorious instigators, Jon Hegeman (Fremont Sunday Market) and Charlotte Buchanan (GlamOrama), the Chamber stood behind their efforts from the start, even as many of us scratched our heads in wonder. Movies? On a parking lot? Who will attend?

Turning Eyes Our Way

In the 1990's thousands of people crowded onto a parking lot converted from an old tow yard. At first they draped a white tarp over a wall of the "Houghton" building and declared it "Almost Free Cinema." The lot lay flat from the screen for several yards, and then slopped down dramatically to the alley behind. Only the first thousand attendees actually gained a quality view.

Still people came, in themed costumes, carting in couches or beds. Some brought picnics but more would lay out their "urban campsite" then fan out across the neighborhood to buy food, treats or other shopping finds at local restaurants and stores.

Chamber support swelled along with the numbers of attendees - even if our support turned into the back pat/"Atta boy" kind. Chamber Board members Pam Hinkley (Red Hook), Jeanne Muir (Muir Public Relations) and Suzie Burke (Fremont Dock Company) championed the project. However, Jon and Charlotte hadn't stopped (or started) there and Chamber financial support went to their many other creative projects - erecting the Rocket, Miracle on 34th Street, "Welcome to Fremont" street signs, Lenin, the Walking Guide and Hysterical Markers.

To Each His(Her) Own

Meanwhile, Jon figured out logistics - how to show a movie on a wall, block glare from street lights, and mentor similar "social experiments" in Boulder (Colorado), Berkeley (California) and the Black Rock desert. In 1992, the Fremont Outdoor Cinema existed as one of 2 or 3 across the country. Now many hundreds exist and Jon predicts that someday soon "there will be an Outdoor Cinema in every town in the U.S."

Charlotte made the Outdoor movies spectacular. She invented deranged matinee style games, slapstick name tags and a madcap mayhem that sometimes overshadowed the actual movie. Live bands played at some screenings, dances took place afterwards and people explored their often untapped exhibitionistic sides. She collected an outrageous ensemble cast of characters - many professional actors - that made the event Carnival.

However, in 1997, Charlotte and Jon split over creative differences. Charlotte took over that year's season, while Jon took responsibility for the following year. In 1999, Jon showed films on Friday nights while Charlotte performed her show on Saturdays.

Change of Direction

Recently Jon admitted, "I'm more in love with the concept than the operations." Both Charlotte and Jon relied on volunteers to set up barricades and post signs, as well as to collect donations. In 2000, Charlotte closed her store in Fremont and focused on doing big event screenings at Gasworks Park, then in West Seattle, before she left Seattle. Jon hooked up with Wing-It Productions to take over weekly operations of the Outdoor Cinema. "I want to keep the experience of outrageous outdoor movies alive, for forever!" Jon declares.

When their original parking lot became the site of the new Epi Center building, Jon moved the movies to 35th & Phinney. This smaller parking lot provides better seating with nice, even ground. Wing-It focuses on family fare with a Twisted Flick - an old, "cult" film dubbed with improvised dialogue by Jet City Improv - thrown in on occasional Saturdays.

Keep An Eye Out

In 2004, the Outdoor Cinema took over the weekend again. While Wing-It shows "date fare" on Phinney on Saturdays, Jon ran an experimental season Fridays on Stone Way (between Subway and Gasworks Kite Shop) with the help of R.A. (Parrain). Besides literally building a screen (three stacked shipping containers with 12 tons of eco-blocks in the base for which the City demanded a building permit), they also "played" with a return of the old games - zany urban campsite contests and costume competitions. They showed movies "not meant to be family oriented," Jon reported a line-up much "edgier, cult."

As the Outdoor Cinema evolved, so has the Chamber. The means to provide financial support have returned, in addition to our regular back pats. 2004 Fremont Outdoor Cinema posters say the Chamber 'presents' this famous and infamous production. It is a compliment. Jon and Charlotte started the Cinema, and may have, with such attendance, survived without us. However, Chamber backing has kept the Cinema connected to our community. Long may it roll!