Chorley families enjoy night at the movies - without leaving home

With Chorley Theatre unable currently to screen the latest films, volunteers from the theatre have been putting together ‘movie night’ packs to help entertain disadvantaged families. The packs have been distributed by Living Waters Storehouse.

The packs include a feature-length film on DVD with a big bag of popcorn, three bags of sweets and activity sheets containing wordsearches and things to colour in.

And the films are all family-friendly, from How To Train Your Dragon, Ferdinand, Scooby-Doo plus 50 discs donated by film company StudioCanal that feature Paddington and Shaun The Sheep.

Activity sheets have been provided by film companies as well as Into Film, a company that encourages the appreciation of movies. Cinema volunteer Estelle Bryers said: “For over 30 years we’ve been showing family films at the theatre and have arts and crafts activities. It’s not safe to do that this year but we still wanted to do something for families in Chorley.”

Funding has come from the Community Foundation for Lancashire, and the packs are being distributed by the food bank at LW Storehouse. Estelle added: “They know who will need these packs the most, and are set-up to give them out so it’s great to work alongside them.”

Over 200 packs are being sent out from the Storehouse’s base on Bolton Road and the families can keep their DVDs or swap them for another title. Funding from the Community Foundation will also help Chorley Theatre re-open for film screenings later in the year, when they are happy it can be done safely.