- On April 4, ASB Recognition and ASB Social had their first collaboration to host the first ever Spring Movie Theater event.
- The event had 2 locations showing 2 different movies with over 75 students attending.
- The event was an expansion of Movie Nights, an annual tradition by ASB Social.
Building on the success of past movie nights, ASB Social and ASB Recognition introduced a new event this year: the Spring Movie Theater. Held on the evening of April 4, the event offered students a chance to unwind with two films playing simultaneously across two different locations, replicating a movie theater environment.
“Our goal for this event was to experiment with something more engaging than a typical movie night,” junior and ASB Recognition commissioner Chloe Chung said. “We wanted it to feel like an actual outing, not just another at-school event.”
Upon arrival in the quad, students were welcomed by volunteers handing out tickets, popcorn and ramen to kick off the evening. Inside the cafeteria, students watched the romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians” while the thriller “A Quiet Place” played in the choir room. Each location featured different snack options to offer variety for students attending either screening: in the cafeteria, students enjoyed Chex Mix, a candy salad bar and an ice cream bar complete with different flavors, syrups and toppings. The choir room offered nachos, pizza squares, pretzel bites and soda. Admission and all food were free for students. In total, more than 75 students attended the event.
The movie theater event marked the first collaboration between ASB Social and ASB Recognition. Initially, both commissions had planned to host spring events of their own, but upon realizing the overlap in timing, they decided to co-host a single event. ASB Social, which typically leads movie nights, took charge of logistics such as reserving rooms, planning layouts and handling decorations. ASB Recognition focused on selecting the movies, organizing food options and managing purchases.
“It felt a lot smoother than some of the new events we’ve planned this year since ASB Social already had experience with movie nights,” Chung said. “We knew what worked well and what to expect, which made the process a lot more manageable.”
Planning for the event began at the start of the school year, when both commissions agreed to collaborate but had not yet finalized the event itself. Through joint brainstorming sessions, commissioners initially produced ideas like a spring-themed picnic or festival, which were ruled out over time due to limitations in budget and time. As the second semester began and the timeline became clearer, discussions picked up between early February and late March.
One key change from previous movie nights was limiting when food was available, with all snacks at this event being offered only at the start of the event and during a designated intermission to minimize disruptions.
“Working together made the event’s workload much more manageable,” junior and ASB Social lead commissioner Amy Tang said. “We were also able to reach a wider audience and create something bigger than we could have just on our own.”
Despite the event’s overall success, securing classrooms and spaces on campus to host the movie theater proved to be one of the biggest challenges. With much of the planning process occurring on a shortened timeline, many of the larger rooms, like the auditorium and gym, had already been booked. Previous movie nights had only ever featured a single film in the cafeteria, so identifying a second location required additional efforts.
“Because we didn’t get our first-choice spaces, we had to make a lot of last-minute adjustments to our setup,” Chung said. “However, in the end, the rooms worked and looked better than we expected.”
Despite challenges, the Spring Movie Theater drew a strong turnout and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees. Students enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and variety of movie and snack options, contributing to the event’s success.
“Overall, it was really fun to be able to watch movies with my friends and be able to switch between the two movies like a real theater,” junior Shelby Kim said. “It was also a great way for me to relax and enjoy some good food after a long week at school.”
In the future, the commissions hope to estimate a more accurate amount of food to match attendance, as much of the food was gone by the beginning of the intermission.
“The return of the event would be up to next year’s ASB Social and Recognition team, but I’m very proud of how it turned out and wouldn’t be surprised if they wanted to try again,” Tang said.
