This year, a long-standing holiday tradition is returning to the Pearl theater in downtown Bonners Ferry: The Children’s Free Holiday Movie.

Some longtime Boundary County residents might remember attending the free community movie screening at the Rex Theater when they were children. Like many traditions that span generations, nobody knows exactly when the screenings started, but it would have been around the time that the historic theater first opened its doors.

Every year around Christmastime, the Rex would invite all the children of the community to the theater for a special screening of a Christmas movie free of charge. Santa would visit with the children before the film, and they were given a candy cane or some other special treat to enjoy while they ogled the big screen.

As the years went by, the event became a sort of fixture in the community, and people came to expect it each and every holiday season just as we now expect wreaths to be hung along Main Street in Bonners Ferry.

When the Rex Theater shut down a few years back, locals were concerned that there might not be a free holiday movie for the children that year. So in 2014, the Rex’s owner Abra Chouinard sponsored the event and teamed up with the Pearl Theater in order to host The Children’s Free Holiday Movie at the Pearl’s location on Ash Street.

As in years past, the community embraced the event and a balcony full of children showed up to munch happily on popcorn and candy while watching “Arthur Christmas” on the big screen.

Last year, as Christmas day approached, members of the community didn’t seemed too concerned about whether or not there would be a free holiday movie for the children. After all, it went on year after year for as long as people could remember. Like snow in December, locals just saw the event as one of those things that “just happened” every winter.

But the reality of the situation is that the free holiday movie did not “just happen”. It only happened because an individual, Chouinard, dedicated her time, energy and money to keep the tradition alive and enlisted the help of volunteers from a non-profit, community theater to do so.

So when Chouinard, for one reason or another, couldn’t step up to sponsor the event last year, it didn’t happen, and for the first time in generations, there was no free holiday movie for the children of the community.

This year, an anonymous donor is filling Chouinard’s shoes by sponsoring the event. Like Chouinard, the individual is working with volunteers from the Pearl theater to resuscitate the long-standing tradition.

The sponsor, who wishes to remain unnamed, says, “It’s important that we keep this tradition. It’s important for the kids.”

Because of this generous individual’s support, the Pearl Theater is happy to announce that they will have two free showings of “Home Alone” on Dec. 28. Showtimes are at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Children of all ages are welcome to come out and watch the hilarious Christmas classic (rated PG) about a boy (Macauley Culkin) who gets left home alone during the holidays and has to deal with two incompetent burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern).

The Pearl Theater is located at 7160 Ash Street. For more information about The Children’s Free Holiday Movie, please call (208) 610-2846 or email: info@thepearltheater.org.