The Sandlot Under the Stars: Movie Night at Storybook Hollow, July 25

Ridgefield's favorite new-ish park is throwing a summer celebration — free face painting, Eight Cow ice cream, and a movie on the lawn at dusk. Bring a blanket. Bring the kids. Bring me a spoiler-free seat.

If you've got kids in Ridgefield, odds are you've already logged some serious hours at Storybook Hollow — the Paradise Pointe park has been the mom-and-kid hangout of the summer since the ribbon cutting a couple months back. Now the City and HSR Capital are giving it the celebration it deserves: on Saturday, July 25, the park hosts a grand opening bash and movie night, with The Sandlot playing on a big screen as the sun goes down. The ribbon's been cut, sure. But who says no to a second party — especially one with ice cream and a movie under the stars?

Full disclosure before we go any further: I have never seen The Sandlot. I know. I am apparently one of about eleven people on Earth who missed it, and every single one of you is going to tell me about it in the comments. Which is exactly why I'll be there on the 25th with a blanket, fixing this personal failing in front of the entire town. Join me.

The Party: What's Happening

This is a classic Ridgefield community night — gather with family, friends, and neighbors, explore the park while it's still light out, and then settle in for the movie. City folks will be on hand if you want to learn more about the park and what's coming in future phases (more on that below, because there's an osprey pole in our future and I have questions).

Two things to know about the treats: the face painting is free from 6 to 8 PM, and Eight Cow Creamery will be selling ice cream — so bring a few bucks for a scoop. Yes, your kid can absolutely watch a baseball movie painted as a tiger. This is what community looks like.

The Movie: The Sandlot

The 1993 coming-of-age classic follows Scottie Smalls, the new kid in the neighborhood in the summer of 1962, who falls in with a crew of boys who play baseball at the local sandlot. Adventures ensue — funny ones, touching ones, and one very large problem involving a baseball borrowed from his stepdad that gets launched over a fence. It's rated PG, runs an hour and 42 minutes, and by all accounts it's the kind of movie a whole park full of people quotes along with in real time.

And honestly? A beloved neighborhood park, a summer evening, and a movie about kids finding their people in a neighborhood — the pairing writes itself.

The Park: What Makes Storybook Hollow Special

If you haven't made it out yet: Storybook Hollow sits within the Paradise Pointe subdivision on N 13th Street, and it's not your standard playground-in-a-field situation. The whole park was designed around the native ecosystems already on the site — HSR Capital, the developer behind Paradise Pointe, built it in coordination with the City to preserve and enhance what was already growing there. It opened earlier this year and promptly became one of the most popular kid-and-caregiver spots in town, which tells you everything.

The central play area features a nature-themed playset, insect climbing structures (yes, you read that right — your kids will be scaling giant bugs), natural play elements, and the long hill slide, which is the park's undisputed main attraction. Ask any local kid. A covered picnic area and plenty of seating throughout means the grown-ups have somewhere to land while the little ones run wild.

My favorite detail: the arch entrance to the main play area is planted with vines that will grow to cover it over time, forming a natural tunnel into the playground. Give it a few seasons and walking in is going to feel like stepping into an actual storybook. Somebody on the design team was having a good day.

Trails for passive recreation connect the park to the surrounding neighborhoods, and a gravel path lined with native plants leads from the play area up the hillside to a viewpoint overlooking the whole park. Future phases will add more trails, wildlife viewing features, public restrooms, and — I need you to sit with this — an osprey pole. Ridgefield's most on-brand park amenity.

Quick Questions

Is the event free?

Yes — the celebration, the face painting, and the movie are all free. Bring some cash or a card if you want Eight Cow Creamery ice cream, which, let's be honest, you do.

When does the movie actually start?

At dusk, once it's dark enough for the screen — in late July around here, plan for roughly 9 PM. Come early to explore the park, get faces painted, and claim your patch of grass.

Wait — didn't this park already open?

It did! Storybook Hollow has been open daily from 8 AM to dusk since its ribbon cutting earlier this year, and it's already a family favorite. Consider July 25 the victory lap — a proper community celebration now that summer's in full swing.

Is it stroller and grandparent friendly?

There's a covered picnic area and ample seating throughout, plus gravel paths — the viewpoint trail heads up the hillside, so factor that in for anyone who'd rather not do a climb.