Solstice is upon Us, and the last full-time Cinerama screen in Roundtrip Ticket to Paradise 2

Next weekend is Summer Solstice here in the northern hemisphere. For the last three years or so I've heard of a Solstice Campout (actually, more of a retreat) here in the greater Fairbanks area. The campout runs from Thursday afternoon to after Sunday brunch, and I've wanted to attend ever since first hearing of it (the first of which I'd heard was actually the second one held). It includes all meals, bunkhouse beds and showers (hence the 'not really a camping excursion'), and a raft of activities and symposia taking place Thursday evening and all day Friday and Saturday. I had also suspected that, like the Nesting Flight, a number of participants used the Campout as a stop on their respective healing journeys.

In previous years I'd wanted to attend, received the announcement and noted it... then promptly forgot about it. The date would grow closer and closer, but I didn't have it flagged in a manner that would cause notices to post to my main email. Then I'd receive a final notice of the one or two remaining Munches where I could buy the ticket in, of course I couldn't make either of the Munches and I didn't have the cash for the entry, so it would go by the wayside.

This year things are different... somewhat. I had received the initial notice, put it aside, but had indeed flagged it to keep announcing the event. So it took me a month to stop in to several Munches to make installments, and I'm paid in. Of course, I'm short on rent (hopefully tonight's shift will take care of that as they were overstaffed at work last night and we'll be running short tonight) and don't yet have the cash for the optional side excursion Sunday afternoon to one of our local resorts. I do though have tonight, tomorrow night, and Wednesday night to pull those shortages together.

The venue for the Campout is located... mmmm... somewhere around 50 miles actually outside of Fairbanks, far beyond the reach of the local bus system. The only ride I've been able to score would put me at the venue a bit after Thursday dinner ends... dammit. Remember, I have no vehicle, and I currently have no personal liability insurance. The other option of taking a taxi that distance is hideously expensive, and leasing out a cab for that period of time would be even worse.

Fortunately, here in Alaska, outside of Anchorage there is a tradition of hitchhiking, even though technically it's illegal. I've picked up several hitchhikers myself (again, not in Anchorage), because I'm otherwise always alone and it's nice to have the conversation. Furthermore, I'll have a piece of roll-on luggage with me, and it's the guy without luggage who would present the greatest danger.

~

In other news, I've known that, of the three remaining Cinerama theaters left in the world, Pictureville Cinema at National Media Museum, Bradford UK was the only one still regularly showing Cinerama movies, including 3-strip prints, on a deeply-curved Cinerama screen... but only once per month. The Seattle WA USA Cinerama Theater, despite the name of the facility, uses its deeply-curved screen only for sporadically-scheduled film festivals.

However, there is fortunately one venue left which uses its Cinerama screen on a full-time basis. That would be the Arclight Cinerama Dome, located on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood CA USA. Note that there are multiple auditoriums there; the staff there advised me to select select only the show with the green DOME rectangle icon next to it, which will then sell you a ticket to the last full-time Cinerama screen in the world... open 7 days.

And that's the way it is.