If It’s Summer, It Must be the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival 2009

Summer is for movies. But it’s also for being outside. Big dilemma!
No, wait…go to New York City’s HBO Bryant Park Summer Film festival, and you can do both!
Now in its 17th year, the free (no tickets needed) Time Warner Cable-sponsored festival shows movies every Monday night approximately at sunset (usually between 8:00 and 9:00 pm) from mid-June through August 17.
The festival kicked off with “The Sting” and will end with “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” In between, viewers are treated to such classics as the cult favorite “Harold and Maude” (with Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon; July 20); “The Defiant Ones” (Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis; July 27); and “Kramer vs. Kramer” (Dustin Hoffman; Meryl Streep; August 3). For a complete schedule, call 212 512-5700, or go to http://blog.when/hbofilmfest. AOL keyword: Bryant Park Film festival.
The movies are shown on a huge (22” x 43.5”) screen in the park, located between 40th and 42nd Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The lawn opens to viewers at 5:00 pm; you can bring a blanket and picnic on the lawn, or try to grab one of the 4,000 park chairs on the sidelines.
Tom Colicchio’s ‘wichcraft sandwich spots have kiosks set up where you can purchase sandwiches and ice cream, or you can bring your own food.
Either way, it’s the perfect melding of indoor-outdoor fun.