The Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Movie Night fundraiser to help clean up Continental Avenue.
In partnership with the Forest Hills Community Projects Association, the groups are inviting the community to a film screening at the Regal UA Midway Theatre on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
Since the event will coincide with the theater’s 82nd anniversary, they will screen the 1941 Academy Award-winning film The Maltese Falcon. It follows a detective in San Francisco who gets entangled in a web of crime.
Local Forest Hills historian Michael Perlman will also deliver a short talk on the history of the theater before the film begins.
Recently, community members got together for an Austin Street cleanup, and there have also been Metropolitan Avenue cleanups in the past.
But Leslie Brown, President of the Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce, says Continental Avenue has been neglected and is due for a proper deep clean.
The plan is to use the funds to power wash the sidewalks, which would be the clean-up initiative’s first phase. “The built-on filth that’s just there, it’s just got to be attacked,” she said.
The second phase would be to address the newspaper boxes that are in poor condition and often have trash left inside.
She noted that the organization hasn’t hosted a fundraiser movie night in over a decade, but ones for the Ronald McDonald House and for Alzheimer’s research were successful.
“I’ve gotten a lot of complaints about Continental Avenue from the public, so I think they’ll be interested in supporting this,” said Brown, who emphasized that the issue is deeper than picking up litter.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the door. All proceeds will go towards the Continental Ave Clean-Up initiative.
The doors to the theater will open at 6:30 for the first-come, first-served screening. The film will start at 7:30 p.m.
“Commerce makes the community thrive, and culture brings the community together,” said Brown. “Let’s work together to bring the shine back to Continental Avenue.”
