Uni students promote Smokefree Waikato with cinema under the stars
Waikato University students are putting on a cinema under the stars event in Garden Place to help promote smoke free areas around Hamilton and raise awareness of the Smokefree 2025 national vision.
A plan to screen an open-air Disney movie in Garden Place has proved so popular organisers have had to drastically curtail numbers.
The Waikato University students staging the event for Smokefree Waikato and the Cancer Society have been overwhelmed by a show of interest from more than 2000 movie goers.
The communication management students, Danielle Bullock, Kara Burley, Monica Helbano, Logan Joblin, Niki Jong and Savahna Watson will transform Garden Place into a cinema under the stars on May 29 in association with the Hamilton City Council.
The aim is to promote smoke free areas around Hamilton.
Families are invited to see the screening of Disney’s computer-animated family film Big Hero 6.
To promote awareness of smoke free areas there will be a pre-screening presentation on the Smokefree 2025 national vision.
Savahna Watson said they planned to deliver a short talk on achieving a smoke free nation within 10 years before the movie.
“We will be going around the pre-show with a cut out photo frame that is captioned something like ‘I am for smoke free’ or ‘I am for fresh air.’ We are doing this in hopes people will share their photos post-event on their social media to help raise awareness,” Watson said.
Due to the unanticipated response the students have limited the event to 600 attendees.
Anyone interested should visit the ‘Cinema Under the Stars – Garden Place’ event page on Facebook and register.
“We want to make this a positive event that is informative without scaring people by showing them what happens when they smoke, for example. It is more about the awareness and creating a better environment for the future,” Watson said.
