UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2025 free Summer Films: Dog Days of Summer line-up will swing out with “The Sandlot,” 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 18 at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden.
Attendees are invited to bring a picnic and arrive before the screening to win prizes; enjoy musical playlists curated by DJ Darla Bea and KCSB’s Ted Coe; and meet the team from Santa Ynez Valley Human Society and Dog Adoption and Welfare Group (DAWG).
Prizes include an Arts & Lectures ticket voucher, picnic supplies from Montecito Bank & Trust, and one free day of doggy daycare from Dioji.
In “The Sandlot,” a warmhearted comedy, one boy becomes a part of the crew, nine boys become a team and their leader becomes a legend by confronting the terrifying mystery beyond the left field fence.
It’s the early 1960s, and 5th-grader Scotty Smalls has just moved to town. He strikes out with the neighborhood kids – especially at baseball – but everything changes when their leader recruits him to play on the nearby sandlot field.
Other free film offerings include:
“Best in Show” on July 25
Featuring an all-star cast, this biting send-up from master mockumentarian Christopher Guest turns its cameras on the diverse dog owners showcasing their four-legged contenders in the Mayflower Dog Show.
“My Dog Skip” on Aug. 8
A funny, heartfelt coming-of-age story, “My Dog Skip” is a testimony to a unique friendship, based on award-winning author Willie Morris’ bestselling memoir of his boyhood.
“Isle of Dogs” on Aug. 15
When all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to vast Trash Island, 12-year-old Atari Kobayashi embarks on an epic journey in search of his bodyguard dog Spots.
“Marley & Me” on Aug. 22
In this film adapted from John Grogan’s bestselling memoir, two newly married journalists build a life and a family together while trying to contain the chaos caused by Marley, their trouble-loving yellow.
“Dog” on Aug. 29
Paired against their will, two hard-charging former Army Rangers – Jackson Briggs and a Belgian Malinois named Lulu – race down the Pacific Coast in hopes of making it to a fellow soldier’s funeral on time.