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Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 1997

Museum 1950s Film Series starring “Picnic” set for Tuesday, February 9, 2021

(Salina, KS 01-21) The Smoky Hill Museum announces a new date for the 1950s Film Series, now scheduled for Tuesday, February 9 at the Salina Art Center Cinema.

The Film Series, sponsored by Heritage Real Estate Advisors and the Ellsworth Independent-Reporter newspaper, features the 1956 Oscar-winning film "Picnic," filmed largely in Salina and other Kansas communities. It stars Kim Novak, William Holden and Rosalind Russell in the story of Hal, a handsome drifter who stirs up conflict and romance when he comes to town over Labor Day weekend.

"Picnic" will play on the big screen on Tuesday, February 9 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. downtown at the Salina Art Center Cinema, 150 S. Santa Fe Ave. Different vintage Looney Tunes cartoons will air before the feature at each screening.           Admission is $6 for ages eight and up. Movie concessions will be for sale. All at-the-door donations and half of ticket proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Smoky Hill Museum and its educational programming. For those not attending either screening, DVD copies of “Picnic” and related books and movies are available to check out from the Salina Public Library.

Three “Picnic” scenes were filmed in Salina, including one in front of a home on Country Club Road, currently owned by Greg and Marianne Lenkiewicz. The couple owns “Picnic” memorabilia that will be on display at the welcome table in the Cinema lobby that day.

Cinema lovers, those looking for a fun, pre-Valentine’s outing, and admirers of Hollywood's Golden Age will enjoy "Picnic" for its themes of romance, yearning and life-changing decisions. Kansas playwright William Inge wrote "Picnic" in 1953. It won a Tony, plus a Pulitzer Prize for Inge. Adapted as a film three years later, "Picnic" won two Oscars.

“Picnic" was Inge's third play and one of nine or 10 works he wrote that were adapted into major motion-picture or TV productions. Later, Inge won an Oscar for his original screenplay of "Splendor in the Grass,” starring Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood.

Tickets for “Picnic” are $6 at the door or can be ordered in advance at salinaartcenter.org/nowplaying. For more information, visit smokyhillmuseum.org, call 785-309-5776 or visit the Smoky Hill Museum Facebook page.

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