City introduces Friday Night Creature Feature series

Building on the success of Tomball's monthly Second Saturday at the Depot event, the city plans to introduce a spinoff event this summer called Friday Night Creature Feature. Three separate events, funded with Hotel Occupancy Tax revenues, have been set for the third Friday in June, July and August, said Mike Baxter, Tomball's marketing director.

The events involve creating a drive-in movie atmosphere at the Historic Tomball Depot Plaza, but instead of viewing from cars, attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.

"We've been doing the Second Saturday events for around four years now and more and more people are coming," Baxter said. "Someone asked us why we don't do events in the summer. The reason is, it's so hot. So we decided to do an evening event to avoid the daytime heat."

The movies that will be screened include "Creature from the Black Lagoon" in June, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" in July and "THEM!" in August.

"They all fall under the campy 1950s science fiction, horror genre," Baxter said. "It's just supposed to be lighthearted and fun. If you want to yell at the screen, you can get away with it."

Movies will be screened on a large inflatable screen, roughly 18–20 feet wide and 15–17 feet tall. The Creature Features are meant to target a different audience from the Second Saturday events, Baxter said.

"We'll take down all the kids' activities," he said. "The Depot restaurants will all be open. People can sit back on the patio of the [Empty Glass] wine bar and watch the movie from across the street with a glass of wine."

Baxter said the goal is to recreate the old-time drive-in atmosphere as accurately as possible, which will likely include playing 1950s music over the PA system and showing a cartoon before the movie. The events will all be free.