Santa Monica’s Summer Concert series doesn’t return for several weeks but summer entertainment options abound for locals who want to enjoy the city’s outdoor lifestyle.
Eat See Hear is a summer-long outdoor movie series where people enjoy classic movies, live music, and food trucks. The local event takes place at the Santa Monica High School Greek Amphitheater every other Saturday beginning on June 16, starting off the summer series with The Big Lebowski.
Beginning at Samohi and spreading to other venues around Los Angeles, Jeff Sperber and his wife, Sharon Sperber, created this event in 2012.
“LA the movie capital of the world, the start of the food truck scene, and the music capital of the world,” explains Jeff Sperber, co-creator of Eat See Hear alongside his wife, Sharon. “We wanted to create an event that was really reflective of the city itself.”
The movie screen stands at 52 ft wide and 26 ft tall, the only 3 and a half story outdoor inflatable air screen in the greater Los Angeles area, according to Jeff. Top of the line Christie projectors and JB line array sound are used, which makes the audiovisual quality of the movie screening stand out from other events.
Gail Pinsker, public relations officer of the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District said the high school is a great venue for outdoor entertainment.
“The Greek amphitheater at SAMOHi is beautiful and a perfect place for an event such as this, and we are happy to be able to share it with the community when it’s not in use by the school,” she said.
Jeff and Sharon choose the movies that play every year themselves.
“Typically we try to keep our fare on the lighter side of things, and we veer a lot towards comedies, classics, and cult classics as well. We like to keep people laughing, generally speaking,” said Jeff. “We do the Princess Bride every year, and we also always show a Tarantino movie.”
“The movies screened at Eat See Hear range from timeless classics to newer blockbusters so that there is something for everyone,” said Shannon Toobi, account executive of JS2 PR, one Eat See Hear’s clients.
The events are dog-friendly and cost $14 in advance and $16 at the door. Guests also have the option to purchase a premium ticket at $24, which allows them to reserve a good seat. A percentage of the proceeds is given every year to Eat See Hear’s non-profit partner The Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare organization in Los Angeles. Prior to the feature presentation movie screening, the event offers live music from up and coming bands as well as a wide variety of food trucks.
The number of food trucks at Eat See Hear depends on the crowd size and can go anywhere from four to 28.
“We have a certain ratio in our minds of patrons to food trucks to make sure that there are enough variety and options for our patrons, but also enough people for the food trucks to actually make it worth their while financially to be there,” Jeff said.
For more information on the events or to purchase tickets in advance visit www.eatseehear.com.
