The City of Prattville, along with corporate sponsors: Larry Puckett Chevrolet, Kyser Furniture and River Bank & Trust, will host a FREE movie night on March 29th. The movie, "Big Fish" directed by Tim Burton will be the featured film. The mega 40 ft. screened event will take place under the stars at Overlook Park, which is located behind Daniel Pratt Elementary School, in Prattville. The movie will begin at dark. The movie night is part of the City of Prattville’s 2nd annual Fountain City Arts Festival, which will be held on March 31st. Admission is free to the public. Food vendors will be set up at the park by 6:30 p.m. No alcoholic beverages are allowed.

Special Events Network, from Atlanta, Georgia, will arrive Thursday afternoon to set up for the event. According to Bruce Pieske, director of the outdoor movie company, this type of venue is extremely popular across the United States. “You can watch a movie at home on the sofa but until you’ve experienced it outdoors, under the stars, you really haven’t truly experienced a movie”, he said. “We are thrilled about coming to Prattville to provide this unique style of family-fun.” Special Events Network has produced over 500 events throughout the southeast.

Mayor Jim Byard, Jr. said, “Big Fish is a heartwarming tale of a relationship between a father and son and the father’s larger-than-life experiences. The movie is very entertaining and one that I’m sure our citizens will enjoy.” He added, “Good community partners like Larry Puckett Chevrolet and River Bank & Trust and our neighbors at Kyser Furniture and WSFA have made this fun-filled evening possible. The City is very appreciative of these sponsors and we thank them for supporting this exciting event.”

This year, the Fountain City Arts Festival honoree is prominent author, Daniel Wallace. Wallace is the author of the 1998 novel Big Fish, A Novel of Mythic Proportions.

“When we were selecting our honoree for this year’s festival, Mr. Wallace’s name quickly rose to the top of our list,” said Prattville Council for the Creative and Performing Arts President, Gray Price. “He is an acclaimed writer from Alabama, who helped put the River Region on Hollywood’s map, with the filming of the movie, Big Fish.” The movie was filmed in parts of Prattville, Wetumpka and Montgomery and according to Wallace, his fictitious town of Ashton, Alabama was actually a combination of the cities, Prattville and Wetumpka. While the tall tales of Big Fish were glorified on the silver screen, one thing that was not a tale of mythic proportions was that during the ten month filming of Big Fish, the River Region collected over $25 million in additional revenues from the making of the movie.

Born in Birmingham, Wallace lived there until he moved to Georgia to attend Emory University and then on to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, which he left shortly before graduating. After living in Nagoya, Japan for two years, he moved back to Chapel Hill, where he worked in a bookstore, and began to write. Thirteen years and five unpublished novels later, Algonquin Books bought Big Fish.

Wallace also wrote Ray in Reverse (2000) and The Watermelon King (2003). His stories have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including The Yale Review, The Massachusetts Review, Shenandoah and Glimmer Train, and his illustrated work has appeared in the L.A. Times and Italian Vanity Fair. Big Fish as been translated into 18 languages. He lives in Chapel Hill, with his wife, Laura, and his son, Henry and teaches Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina. His latest novel is due this summer.

Wallace will attend the Fountain City Arts Festival on March 31st for a book signing and to talk with festival-goers about his writings, how he got published and to answer any questions about his literature. Books will be available onsite, while they last, from Capitol Books and News. Wallace will also be honored at a dinner the evening prior to the festival on March 30th at the Marriott – Legends in Prattville. According to DiDi Henry, Special Events Director for the City of Prattville, the evening promises to be exciting and entertaining. “I’m sure that this will be one of the top events in the River Region this year. Seating for the dinner will be limited and tickets are on sale at the Prattville Cultural Arts Center. The price is $40 per person. For more information, call 358-0297.

The City of Prattville's 2nd annual Fountain City Arts Festival has been named a Top 10 Event for the month of March, by the Alabama Bureau of Tourism & Travel. According to the bureau, the year 2007 has been deemed The Year of Alabama Arts. The festival is set for Saturday, March 31st from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Pratt Park, in downtown Prattville. Admission is free. The Fountain City Arts Festival offers a fun-filled day of exposure to all art forms. Artists include sculptures, potters, woodcarvers and more. The festival will also highlight various types of music, dance, literature and theatre. Price promises that there will be something of interest for the entire family. “Last year, our festival honored famed artist, Charlie “Tin Man” Lucas. The festival was a great success and because of the attention it has received this year, more artists are calling to inquire about the venue. Everyone will enjoy experiencing the arts on so different levels,” Price said.

The Fountain City Arts Festival is made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. The event is sponsored by The City of Prattville, WSFA, Larry Puckett Chevrolet, Kyser Furniture, River Bank & Trust, The Prattville Council for the Creative & Performing Arts and The Prattauga Art Guild. For more information, please visit http://www.prattville.com/ or call (334) 358-0297. (Artwork for Big Fish, courtesy of Sony Pictures)