To celebrate its 20th anniversary this year, Cucalorus is rolling out the red carpet to children and families.
 
Thanks to a sponsorship gift of $45,000 from PNC Bank, the Cucalorus Film Festival is launching “a family program designed to engage the Wilmington community,” according to a news release this week from the festival headquarters. The program will have two parts: Kidsalorus, a showing of films suitable for ages 7 and older during the festival itself, and Popup Cinema, a free outdoor film series that will screen films throughout the fall. The family-friendly film fare will be drawn from Kidsalorus, Surfalorus and Tar Heel Shorties, among other sources, the release stated.

This will be PNC Bank’s third year as Cucalorus' major sponsor.

“We are very excited to have PNC as the presenting sponsor of our 20th annual festival,” Dan Brawley, executive director of Cucalorus Film Festival, said in the release.  “Through PNC’s generous sponsorship, we are able to reach even larger audiences through our Kidsalorus family films program and the Popup Cinema outdoor screenings.”

Support of Cucalorus and the addition of a children’s component are a logical expression of PNC’s community involvement, said Chris George, the bank’s region manager in Wilmington.
 
“PNC's support of Cucalorus is multi-faceted, and truly a great way for us to bring together our three areas of philanthropic focus: economic development, early childhood education and arts and culture,” George said in an email. “The economic benefit this festival brings to our local business community is significant. And over the last 20 years, the success of this festival has really helped put Wilmington on the map as a premier arts and cultural destination. We want to play in a role in continuing to build on that success.”
 
The family outreach initiative is “all about providing children with access to the arts,” George said.

“Research shows that exposure to the arts at an early age helps children better develop creative and cognitive skills that are important to long-term learning,” he said. “PNC Grow Up Great is our signature philanthropy, focused on providing these experiences to children in our communities, so that they are better prepared for school. This new initiative of Cucalorus will do just that -- allow children and families to experience the art of film in fun and meaningful ways.”