Local charity organization provides family fun
On Oct. 29 at 12:47 p.m., the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge is holding a Children’s Sunday Movie Matinee at Odd Fellows Hall, located on the corner of Second and D streets. The Lodge will be playing the movie “Monsters, Inc.” for anyone to come and enjoy.
“They’re kind of like a frat organization within the community,” said Kelli Ann O’Day, a UC Davis alumna. “Their goal is to organize a lot of charity events to raise money for different foundations and donate to different things […] This is going to be our second [movie night]. We had our first one in September, and our second one is going to be close to Halloween […] It’s free! It’s just for the children.”
The Davis Odd Fellows Lodge has organized many charity and community events since its formation in 1870. With nearly 300 members ranging from ages 20 to 90, the Lodge is the oldest organization in Davis, predating the university and even the city itself. Among other charitable events, it’s provided support to foster children and young adults who have aged out of the system, held free local concerts at the lodge and organized highway cleanups.
“One of the things we started about five years ago is a classic movie festival,” said Dave Rosenberg, the former grand master over all of the Odd Fellows in California. “Twice a year, we put on classic movies on three successive Sundays. It’s very popular. People love it, […] and it’s free. And so we thought, why don’t we bring back the old time Children’s Sunday Movie Matinees? There’s quite a few adults that come to this as well; [“Monsters, Inc.”] is funny and heartwarming for both kids and adults.”
Rosenberg stressed that the movie matinees are for people of all ages and that parents and other adults are welcome to join their children in watching the movie. The lodge will provide free popcorn and snacks for everyone to enjoy along with their movie and provide kids with coloring pages that depict the characters from the movie. There will also be a short cartoon segment before the movie with some classic animations. The cartoons and the movie will be displayed in the upper lounge of the Odd Fellows Lodge on its sophisticated display.
“My husband and I have lived here since ‘94. […] We’d walk by there and we didn’t know what was going on,” said Beth Dovi, a Davis resident and member of the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge. “We went down there and stumbled upon this wonderful group of people. Everybody was very nice. If you’ve never had an opportunity to visit the lodge or attend any of our events, I would highly encourage anybody to come on down.”
The Odd Fellows’ Lodge is located at 415 Second Street in downtown Davis. The movie will be shown Oct. 29, but the Lodge holds many other events and is always welcoming new members. More information about the fraternal organization can be found on its website.
Written by: Ahash Francis — city@theaggie.org
