Key Points

• A family movie night under the stars brought together hundreds of residents of Dickinson, North Dakota, at the city’s Legacy Square outdoor event space.
• The free event included glow-in-the-dark trinkets for children along with ice cream, popcorn and beverages.
• The city coordinated the effort with Marathon Petroleum’s Dickinson renewable diesel facility, which funded the event and provided employee volunteers.

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Even in the digital age, the city of Dickinson, North Dakota, is managing to bring individuals and families together for shared experiences in person. Legacy Square, a city-managed outdoor event space in the downtown area, attracted roughly 300 people for a free, family movie night near the end of summer.

“Most of our residents have access to movies through streaming services. But to build a true community, it takes activities like this,” Dickinson Marketing and Events Director Carter Fong said. “Representatives of Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s (MPC) Dickinson renewable diesel facility expressed great enthusiasm in proposing the idea of sponsoring an outdoor movie night, and we worked together to identify a date and time.”

“Most of our residents have access to movies through streaming services. But to build a true community, it takes activities like this.”

Funding this event was, in part, an outgrowth of MPC’s assistance to the city several years ago when it was planning Legacy Square. The renewable diesel facility provided a $200,000 grant to help redevelop a former banking center into the space that exists now.

“The facility made a lead gift to Legacy Square before it opened in 2023 and continues to support programming here,” said Fong. “I’m thankful for this collaboration.”

About a dozen renewable diesel facility employees and family members volunteered at the movie night. Among other tasks, they handed out glow-in-the-dark headbands and similar trinkets to children to go along with the free ice cream, popcorn and beverages that were available.

“Our employee engagement committee understands the importance of giving back to the communities where we live and work,” said MPC Lead Human Resources Business Partner DeEll Jordre. “The aspiration to do this came from our experiences with hosting other community activities, including a pool day as well as ice skating at a local rink. With very positive responses to these efforts, the committee wanted to grow our outreach.”

The favorable reaction to the movie night suggests that it may not be the last one.

“We fielded entirely positive feedback on this event, both in person and online,” Fong said. “The city of Dickinson has expressed interest in this being an annual gathering, and I look forward to our future conversations.”