Bring the family, order pizza - even set up a couch - at West Seattle's outdoor cinema, now in its fourth year.

"It's a neat little event," said Lora Vickrey, who chairs the cinema committee for the West Seattle Junction Association. "It's very West Seattle - eclectic and small town."

Vickrey, owner of Hotwire Online Coffeehouse, has kept the free summer event going after one of its originators moved out of state a couple years ago. Jim Pierce started the outdoor movies here along with former West Seattle resident Philip Borgnes.

Pierce operated a dentistry next to where the movies are shown in the parking lot behind Hotwire. He and Borgnes, a video production editor and producer, saw what was, to them, an obvious cinematic opportunity on the big blank wall behind Hotwire.

"It was just an excuse to get the equipment and have fun with it," said Borgnes.

But more importantly, he said, it's a way to develop community and raise awareness for local nonprofits. Movie concessions sold by the West Seattle Christian Church benefit local charities like Helpline and WestSide Baby.

The event is made possible through Junction merchant sponsorship. Vickrey last year struggled to raise enough for five movies, which can cost up to $350 for studio licensing fees per public showing.

Some studios allow their movies to be shown outdoors, but some like Disney only allow it during certain times of the year, said Borgnes.

"We're not trying to compete with the Admiral Theater or legitimate theaters," he said. "It's just a way to help build community and have some fun for a few weekends in the summer."

This year, thanks to a revamped sponsorship process, there are six family-friendly films on the schedule, including "Chicken Run" and "The Wizard of Oz."

A steadily growing following, especially among families, has made it one of the most popular summer events in the Junction, said Vickrey. Planned to coincide with Summer Fest, the Junction's annual festival, it's summer's kickoff in the Junction, she said.

Last year, 120 to 280 people attended each film. It's been so popular, an additional movie night was added this year.

People set up lounge chairs, spread out blankets for picnics and chat with neighbors. One group last year even brought a couch.

"It's a completely low-key, community builder," Vickrey said. "I know we'll continue this next year. I hope to continue it for years and years."

Some other Seattle neighborhoods like Fremont host outdoor movies, but finding events that are consistently family-friendly can be difficult, Borgnes said.

No R-rated movies are shown and each West Seattle film is prescreened, a lesson Borgnes learned the first night four years ago when he showed parts of a 1932 W.C. Fields short "The Dentist," a slapstick comedy. He had to shut it off midway through because of inappropriate language.

"I learned me lesson quick that first night," he said.

Borgnes has since taken his Sidewalk Cinema, dubbed "Seattle's only portable movie theater," to Edmonds with great success and now to Duvall for the first time this year. There, movies are projected onto inflatable screens.

The traveling theater also comes to the Central Cinema in Capitol Hill and West Seattle's Kenyon Hall. Over at Kenyon Hall, Borgnes will show a collection of home movies he's acquired from the 1930s to the 1950s to celebrate national Home Movie Day on Aug. 11.

"You get to see a glimpse of what people's lives were like at that time," he said.

Saturday evenings at dusk in the parking lot behind Hotwire:

July 21

"Chicken Run" (2000), 85 minutes rated G,

July 28

"Best in Show" (2000), rated PG-13, 90 minutes

August 4

"The Wizard of Oz" (1939), rated G, 101 minutes

August 11

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981), rated PG, 115 minutes

August 18

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975), rated PG, 91 minutes

August 25

'Edward Scissorhands" (1990), rated PG-13 105 minutes

For more information about Sidewalk Cinema visit http://www.sidewalkcinema.com or call Hotwire Online Coffeehouse at 935-1510.