As the sun set over the Nicola Valley last Wednesday evening, over 250 people gathered at Rotary Park for some evening popcorn and outdoor cinema.

Moonlight Movie Night is an event sponsored by the Interior Savings Credit Union which partners with a local club to bring the pleasure of a drive-in movie theatre to different cities throughout B.C. There’s one difference though—no cars.

“Merritt was fortunate enough to be one of the 14 communities chosen to host the Moonlight Movie Night and the Merritt Otters Swim Club was fortunate enough to be their community partner,” said Kylie Cavaliere, president of the Merritt Otters Swim Club.

The giant, portable screen and speakers were provided by Fresh Air Cinemas, courtesy of the kind folks at the Interior Savings Credit Union.

The Otters took care of the refreshments, popping popcorn and passing out bottles of water at the concession, while the patrons sat back on lawn chairs or on blankets on the grass and enjoyed Brendan Fraser’s latest family flick, Furry Vengeance.

All the proceeds generated by concession sales and admission, which was by donation, went directly to the local swim club.

“We are a Merritt swim team and we are always looking for more members of any age,” reminded Cavaliere.

For the Otters, the regional and provincial swim meets that will take place in Kamloops this summer are fast approaching, so the opportunity to fund raise is always welcome.

And with over 250 people showing up for the movie, Cavaliere easily declared the evening a "swmming success."

“We’ve just had an overwhelmingly positive response to it,” said Cavaliere.

“It was really well attended—we were really impressed with our community.”

Though the movie was geared toward the younger members of the audience—whenever talking animals enter the plot this becomes clear—there were also many young and senior adults in the crowd.

“It was such a family event—it had a real family feel to it,” said Cavaliere.

“There were folks of all ages there, some with children and some without. It was just a lovely evening in the park.”