Here Is Why Meridian Is Canceling A Popular Summer Event
Movie Night in Meridian is supposed to be one of the bright spots for so many families this summer. Unfortunately, the actions of a few have ruined a good thing for the rest of us. In a post to their Facebook page yesterday, the organizers behind the event which is sponsored by Sparklight, shared in a post on social media last night that they will be canceling tomorrow night’s Sparklight Movie Night due to issues movie-goers experienced at the first event.
The main reason for the cancelation as they posted was due to “General concerns centered around juveniles being loud with disruptive behavior and causing altercations.”
Attendees from previous movie nights shared their frustrations on the Facebook page for Movie Night in Meridian.
“Two fights with over 100 teens videoing the whole thing stampeding towards moviegoers,” commented one Facebook user before adding, “Last year was awful to see teens bullying special needs kids, this year fights make it unsafe for families."
It’s unfortunate because the folks behind Movie Night in Meridian are going out of their way to organize an event that parents such as myself, would LOVE to take our children to. According to the official site for the event, the event is FREE thanks to the amazing local sponsors such as Sparklight. The event takes place at 3245 N. Meridian Road and is supposed to occur every Friday night until August 19th. The juveniles responsible for the poor behavior don’t represent what our community is about and certainly do not represent what Movie Night in Meridian is supposed to be.
I say kudos to the organizers for suspending the event for one night while they regroup and organize a plan to prevent this from happening. Had they continued with the event as if there was nothing wrong, the problems brought on by the troubled youth would continue and likely get worse.
I have the utmost confidence that organizers for the event will formulate a plan to prevent incidents from happening at what is supposed to be an amazing family summer event… that is FREE. As a parent myself, I highly encourage fellow parents to do the best they can to keep tabs on their children and instill discipline. I understand it’s difficult to keep an eye on our kids 24/7 but if we don’t do better, things like this will continue to happen.
We extend our gratitude to the organizers of Movie Night in Meridian for giving the community a free event like this and for going the extra mile to ensure everyone in attendance is safe and having fun. Here is a timelapse video from Movie Night in Meridian from some years ago that shows how the event should be going.
Organizers shared on their Facebook page that they will be sharing any changes made before the next movie night that is set for June 24th.
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