NASHUA – Chris Malloy knows a good idea when he stumbles upon one.

In 2003, at the age of 22, Malloy was serving Hudson and Pelham as a state representative. He helped the Pelham Police and Chunky’s Cinema set up a community movie night. Using old political signs, a huge outdoor movie screen was built and around 400 people showed up to enjoy cinema under the stars.

“You’re kind of watching it in a way that you haven’t seen before,” Malloy said. “It’s very family friendly.”

Malloy saw a couple of things: a good, free community event and a business opportunity. When his term ended in 2004, he struck out on his own and formed Community Events, building his own portable screen with PVC pipes and trucking them around southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts putting on outdoor movie nights.

“I just thought ‘this is a great event,’?” he said. “I’ve always really liked free community events. It just seemed to make sense to me. As a businessperson, I saw the opportunity to go out and sell this product.”

After a couple of summers, Malloy looked into buying an inflatable movie screen but the $10,000 and up price tag was a little much. Instead, he enlisted the help of an engineer buddy and a Seacoast company to commission his own screens.

The business has grown each year, Malloy said. He now employs three part-time workers during the summer to set up shows on two 22-foot screens and a 40-foot screen for larger events.

“Every summer gets busier,” Malloy said. “This summer is by far the busiest one.”

Malloy worked with the Nashua Public Library to put on the movie series in Greeley Park during the last couple of summers. This year, he’s teamed with Simon Malls to put on a Saturday night movie series at the mall in Salem.

The rest of the week has been busy too, with regular shows in Amesbury and Newburyport, Mass. The screens are traveling farther too, with shows in Champlain and Plattsburgh, N.Y., coming up later this summer.

“Slowly but surely we’re growing,” Malloy said. “Every year, we get a call from a little bit farther away.”

The outdoor movie nights work because they’re easy, family friendly and cost-effective. Customers, like town recreation departments or chambers of commerce, generally pay Malloy directly and then sell sponsorships to make up the cost. Companies have been eager to attach their name to the events, Malloy said.

“From a marketing perspective, we’re creating a destination event and a couple of hours to interact with the community,” he said. “It’s a free event, too, which is good in this economy. To be able to bring a family of four or five to the movies for free is a pretty good community service.”

Joseph G. Cote can be reached at 594-6415, jcote@nashuatelegraph.com. Also check out Cote (@Telegraph_JCote) on Twitter.

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