Free films at Wang

In conjunction with its 20th anniversary celebration, the Wang Center for the Performing Arts in Boston announced that their 2002-2003 Classic Film Series will be free of charge.

"We wanted to celebrate the fact the we've been in the community for 20 years," said Wang Center spokeswoman Teresa Febo. "It's a thank you for the community."

While many think of the Wang Center as a venue that hosts theater, ballet, opera and music, the Center has also focused on classic films for the past 13 years. This season, the series will feature six films that will run from Oct. 28 through May 12, 2003.

The film series is a great way to get people who might not normally come to the Wang Center to come in and see what the theater has to offer, such as a 46-foot by 60-foot screen, Febo said.

The Wang Center surveyed last season's audience to help aid in choosing this seasons' films, Febo said.

The goal behind the season's selections was "to go back to the classics," she said. The season will include "Gone with the Wind," "White Christmas," "Rear Window," "West Side Story" and "The Bridge on the River Kwai."

When the center screens "White Christmas," the Wang Center will attempt to channel the holiday spirit with a collection for hats, gloves, mittens and socks to be donated to the Pine Street Inn, a Boston homeless shelter. The struggling economy has seriously hurt organizations such as the Pine Street Inn, Febo said.

Originally designed and developed by Max Shoolman and Clarence Blackall in 1925, the Wang Center was renamed in 1983, after a donation from Dr. An Wang.