Outdoor movie schedule gears up for summer

Long gone are the days of drive-in movie theaters with their double features and audio boxes hooked up to the side of the car.

But the pleasure of watching a movie on a big screen outside the confines of a movie theater hasn't completely disappeared. Outdoor movies have become increasingly popular over the past few summers on Long Island. Town and county parks in Nassau and Suffolk have put together summer movie schedules, because there are few summer things more enjoyable (and cheaper!) than relaxing on a big lawn to watch a movie.

The schedules will start to trickle into the ExploreLI offices in the coming weeks as parks start to finalize their plans. In most cases, the events are free. Some places charge a small fee. In past years, Eisenhower Park, Burns Park, Marjorie Post Park, Theodore Roosevelt Park and Brookhaven Amphitheater were among those participating. We'll see what this summer brings us.

Below is the outdoor movie schedule for Eisenhower Park's Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre. Click the movie listing for more event info, trailers, photos and reviews. 

July 8: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
July 15: Monsters vs. Aliens
July 22: Astro Boy
July 29: Wizard of Oz
Aug. 5: Michael Jackson's This Is It
Aug. 12: Star Trek
Aug. 19: The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Aug. 26: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Sept. 2: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

And here's a direct link to the entire outdoor movie schedule across Long Island this summer, which updates as we get new info (so bookmark it!).