With blankets, pizzas, and strollers, they came to AU’s Woods-Brown Amphitheatre in droves, excited for a movie under the night stars.

About 200 community members, including children of all ages, flocked to campus on Friday night for a screening of Disney and Pixar’s Elemental as part of a partnership with AU’s Office of Community and Government Relations and Horace Mann Elementary School—one of four DC public school near campus.  

Many youngsters made the short walk over from the Spring Valley and Wesley Heights neighborhoods with their parents. Upon arrival, a big grin spread across their faces when they saw friends and classmates who were also at the event.

“Have you ever watched Elemental?” one excited child asked another in the snack line before the movie began.

“No,” the second child replied.

“It’s so good!”

AU community and government relations regularly offers programming aimed at neighbors. Earlier that night, the office sponsored a moonlight tour of the AU Arboretum and Gardens, which this year marks its 20th anniversary. Offered several times a year, the event is a perennial favorite among the neighbors, who view AU’s lush landscape as an extension of their own backyard.

“I am proud to be a part of the landscape transformation that has happened on campus and love sharing the story with our neighbors, who are always interested and a bit surprised at all of the changes that have taken place,” AU Arboretum and Gardens manager Mike Mastrota said. “Turning the entire campus into an accredited arboretum not only helped recruitment, but also boosted educational offerings, fundraising, and community relations.”

The movie screening, which began after sundown, helped engage a different, younger audience. As part of the Changemakers for a Changing World strategic plan, AU is committed to working with Washington, including partnering with DCPS to engage with local students. 

"Strengthening and expanding the connections between AU and our neighbors is one of the university’s top strategic priorities," said Seth Grossman, vice president of administration and chief administrative officer. "We are excited by the partnership we have developed with our neighbors and the ability to come together around events on campus like the moonlight tour and family movie night.” 

Chosen by Mann Elementary, the 2023 animated film is set in Element City, where fire, water, land, and air residents live together. It follows an unlikely pair, Ember, a fire element, and Wade, a water element, who discover that they have much more in common than they thought.

“People were excited. It’s been the talk around school for the last couple of weeks,” said PTA president Alex Sarama, whose children, Robert and Jamie, attend Horace Mann and attended the screening.

Among the other moonlight moviegoers were Estegenet Ayele and Genet Keblede, mothers of 12-year-olds at Hardy Middle School, who sat at the top of the amphitheatre drinking hot tea. They bring their families to campus to walk nearly every day after school, and their kids hope to one day attend AU. When they learned of the event, they immediately marked their calendars.  

“This is our home,” Keblede said.

Cory Peterson, assistant vice president of community and government relations, said that’s exactly what the event aimed to do: underscore that AU’s campus is a resource for neighbors, just as much as faculty, staff, and students.

“It’s about connecting with the families,” Peterson said. “I’m certain for some of these families, this was their first time ever on AU’s campus. That’s an important thing for us. We want them to realize they can walk across the street and come to the university.”