The Battleship NORTH CAROLINA, Time Warner Cable, Sunny 104.5 and Pepsi present the 10th Annual Fabulous Fantail Film Festival. Come enjoy an evening with the family aboard the Battleship as a different film will play every Friday night in May. This years” line up includes favorites such as Raiders of the Lost Ark for the Indiana Jones at heart and The Wizard of Oz for those who feel like those no place like home.

“We have had such a wonderful series of classical films in previous years of the festival,”says Heather Loftin, Promotions Director at the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA. “However, the response that we had for the showing of Ghostbusters last fall let us know that families were also looking for current films. This Spring we have decided to have a mixture of both to appeal to all different generations.”

MAY MOVIES ARE:

May 7 – Raiders of the Lost Ark
May 14 – King Kong (1933)
May 21 – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Gene Wilder, 1971)
May 280 – The Wizard of Oz

It is only $2.00 per person and the shows begin at 8:30 each night with ticket sales starting at 7:30. Tickets will remain on sale to the start of the show or until sold out, whichever comes first. Fresh popcorn we pop ourselves and sodas will be available starting at $1.00.

Since June 2000, the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA has hosted a film festival series outdoors on the ship”s deck. The concept was to replicate a fun activity for the public that the wartime crew enjoyed and watching movies was a very popular past time on board:

Next to a letter from home, the best morale builder for sailors far from home is a good movie. For a couple of hours, they can forget about war, watches, general alarms and dive-bombers. In their mind”s eye they”re back again in the neighborhood theater… – Bureau of Naval Personnel Bulletin, 1944

Movies were VERY BIG and we all looked forward to them. I believe the screen was hung from the plane crane on the fantail and the crew assembled right after chow drifting around looking for a favorite spot. It was strange watching the sun go down surrounded by hundreds of ships in this Pacific lagoon. I sat in the same spot every night with my shipmate Sam Cardwell…It eventually got dark, but the movie did not start until the officers, who sat in chairs with us on the deck, had all arrived. There was all sorts of hooting and hollering, especially if we got to see Rita Hayworth or Betty Grable. Comedies were fun, but the ladies led the day… If you ended the day with a movie, no matter what kind, you hit the sack happy and thinking of home. Hooray for Hollywood! – Mark E. Sullivan, email, September 17, 2001

Located at the junction of Highways 17/74/76/421 on the Cape Fear River. Visit www.battleshipnc.com, call 910-251-5797 or follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more information.