“Little has changed since picture shows made their debuts. Technology in the film room has evolved but the ambiance of a dark theater, buttered popcorn and a movie with friends is the same as it was when Marlon and Marilyn and the Duke filled the screen,” says Deanne Cunningham, group travel marketing manager with North Dakota Tourism Division.
The Kenmare Theatre and the Harvey Central Cinema—located in their namesake cities—both show first-run movies. The Fargo Theatre is the site of the Fargo Film Festival each March. The annual event features more than 100 films and a range of social functions and panel discussions.
“Fargo opens its arms to filmmakers from all genres, including international, animated, documentary and narrative features and shorts,” Cunningham says. “In addition to [the theater’s] iconic marquee, visitors will enjoy the art deco interior and Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ in their full glory.”
She also says there are summer theater performances in some of the state’s most beautiful areas.
“The ‘Medora Musical’ opens in June in the outdoor Burning Hills Amphitheatre, surrounded by nature and the Badlands,” she says.
Performances run June through August at the LaMoure County Summer Musical Theatre, featuring a World War I-era auditorium on the Chan SanSan Scenic Backway.
Other venues with performances in June and July include Frost Fire Summer Theatre in Walhalla, Fort Totten Little Theatre in St. Michael, Prairie Regional Center for the Arts in New Rockford and Sleepy Hollow Theatre and Arts Park in Bismarck.
For more information, email Cunningham or visit ndtourism.com.
Top photo: Frost Fire Summer Theatre
Photo by ndtourism.com
