Let's All Go to the Lobby: Touching Tributes at How About Dinner & a Movie?

When Nashville’s wintry winds rattle bare branches and familiar clouds constantly suggest rain, most people head indoors, asking, “What should we do tonight?” Barbara Daane is no stranger to this refrain, and she has delighted film aficionados and philanthropists for over 25 years with the rejoinder: “How about dinner and a movie?”

Universally adored, Barbara is a lifetime board member of Park Center and honorary chair of the annual fundraising affair that bears the name of her response: How About Dinner & a Movie? The Belcourt Theatre-based event has become one of Nashville’s most popular occasions as well as the signature fundraiser for Park Center, a cherished nonprofit that has served the community for more than 35 years.

This year’s event was in honor of and dedicated to the memory of the late Clare Armistead, a dear friend of Barbara’s. Clare’s son Hunter attended in her stead this year, but Clare herself attended almost every one of Park Center’s How About Dinner & a Movie? in the past 25 years. A consummate philanthropist, her contributions to numerous causes across Middle Tennessee cannot be understated.

Guests enjoyed a cocktail hour and chatted throughout the lobby and the theater’s classic red upholstered seats while browsing the fabulous silent auction options. After guests found the perfect vantage point and snuggled into their preferred movie-watching seat, the scrumptious dinner from The Corner Market was served.

Patrons share a devoted fondness for this evening of heavily buttered popcorn, film and fun; something about the event is at once familial and familiar, and it was a lovely evening. The dinner was delicious and the movie — Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris — was heartfelt and gorgeous. Most importantly, the night provided Park Center with significant funds to continue their mission: empowering people with mental illness and substance use disorders to live and work in their communities.