NoMa Summer Screen

Perfect outdoor movie events! Food trucks are along the edges of the seating area. There’s always good variety. The movies are themed and this summer was ‘dance movies’. Bring a chair, some blankets and some wine and have a great time!

Awesome! If you love summertime and movies this is the place to be! This is my favorite outdoor movie experience by far.
They have food trucks selling food & snacks. We usually stop and buy our own, but now we know that’s not necessary. There were a couple of trucks to choose from, and there was an announcement made about free popcorn!
It rained right before we went and I was worried about we grass… not a problem. The park is paved so it dried quite fast. However, there were lots of people with chairs. We were lucky to find a spot we could see around them. Admittedly, chairs would have been much more comfortable. We would advise you bring low sitting chairs to be fair to those who sit on blankets.
Pups were welcome… and they were all well behaved. Leave the mischievous pups at home!

Great evening of fun! I saw Batman: The Dark Knight and the Sandlot here. They do a great job setting up loud speakers, blocking off night lights, and generally making it a pleasant experience. Pro-​tip for the mosquito prone: remember your bug spray!
Plenty of food trucks show up, but the line gets long quickly. You may be better off hitting up the Harris Teeter at 1^st and M street and bringing your own snacks.
Wine/​beer/​open containers are fine. I haven’t seen anyone get too drunk, although the environment may not be suitable for young children. I wish the NoMa bid would put a ban on smoking at these events, however. Once people are really packed in, it becomes a real nuisance when your neighbors start lighting up during the movie.
The website says the park opens at 7, but in reality people start settling in, setting up blanket spots, and picnicking way before then. The crowd gets very cozy and tightly packed, blanket to blanket, by the time the movie starts around 8:30 or so… no need to be shy about setting up close to other people.
There’s no prohibition against bringing chairs, although there’s really no need. Many people bring those REI-​type flat chair that give you a back support without elevating you off the ground, which is considerate for a movie-​watching event.

I love the outdoor movie and the food truck atmosphere! There are so many pros: outdoor, food truck, friendly space, and everything. Con: it depends on the weather! If Mother Nature decides to rain on a wednesday, there’s no outdoor movie for the night. I wish they would continue this throughout the month of September before fall comes, though.

NoMa Summer Screen is a great way to spend Wednesday evening with friends! I’ve come here with friends to watch When Sally Met Harry and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Definitely come early so you can snag a good spot on the grass. The movie doesn’t start until sunset (usually past 8:30) but you’ll want to come early to stake out somewhere that doesn’t have mud. Bring a blanket or towel to make it easy for you to sit on the grass and some bug spray to avoid the bugs. You won’t be bored by coming early because there’s about 4 or 5 food trucks that will satisfy your sweet or savory craving (Popped! Republic, TaKorean, The Orange Cow, Pleasant Pops, ect;). It’s also a great place to picnic with your own snacks and beverages. Plenty of adults bring their own wine and beer for the show.
Such a great event (also free!) so you’ll want to check ahead for the movie schedule. There’s plenty of other parks around DC that do the same thing on different day with different movies if you’re looking for variety. I’ll probably check out a different spot since the field isn’t as nice as some of the other locations.

NoMa Summer Screen is a «movie festival» put on by NoMa Bid. It’s really pretty amazing… free movies… everything organized for us… and a great movie line-​up.
Pro tip: Come way before it gets dark, which is when the movie starts, because the field fills up fast! The movies tend to start between 8:30pm and 9pm depending on how dark it is.
They have couple food trucks join the party too, if you don’t want to bring your own picnic.