CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — The city of Circleville will wrap up its 2026 Summer Movie Series with a free screening of “The Sandlot” at Ted Lewis Park on Friday, closing out the season’s run of outdoor movie nights.
The event begins at 7 p.m., with the movie starting after dark, around 8 p.m., according to the city, which is asking attendees to bring their own chairs and blankets. Admission is free.
Friday’s screening caps a summer that saw at least one setback for the free program: a planned showing of the Disney film “Out of My Mind” was canceled in July because of hazardous air quality tied to wildfire smoke, and the city later moved forward with a screening of “Jumanji” in mid-August.
The series has been supported by community sponsors including OhioHealth, the Rotary Club of Circleville, Ohio Christian University, the Circleville Fraternal Order of Eagles Lodge No. 685 and Mega Bites, according to promotional materials the city shared for the event.
Ted Lewis Park, at 443 N. Court St., is named for vaudeville entertainer and Circleville native Ted Lewis, born Theodore Leopold Friedman in 1890. Known for his clarinet playing, trademark battered top hat and cane, and catchphrase “Is everybody happy?,” Lewis became one of the most popular bandleaders of the 1920s jazz era; musicians who played in his bands, including Benny Goodman and Jimmy Dorsey, went on to fame of their own. Lewis, who died in 1971, arranged for his career memorabilia to return to his hometown rather than go to larger institutions, and his widow, Adah, established the Ted Lewis Museum in Circleville in 1977. He is buried at Forest Cemetery in Circleville.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the city of Circleville.
