Thursday, May 15: 10:30 am 

FILM: AIN’T NO BACK TO A MERRY-GO-ROUND is the untold story of the first organized interracial civil rights protest in U.S. history. When 5 Howard University students sat on a Maryland carousel in 1960, the arrests made headlines. When the white community near Glen Echo Amusement Park joined the Black students in picketing, an extraordinary history-making partnership was born. The pickets attracted Nazis, Congressman, and a press avalanche. Picketing together over the sweltering summer led to partying together, and union organizers mentored student activists.

Ten 1961 Freedom Riders, including Stokely Carmichael, were incubated on the Glen Echo picket line, and the carousel arrests were challenged in the Supreme Court case. With never-before seen footage, and immersive storytelling by Emmy-award winning director Ilana Trachtman (PRAYING WITH LIOR), four living protesters rescue this forgotten history, revealing the price, and the power, of heeding the impulse to activism.  

$6.00 tickets for seniors and free for caregivers accompanying a senior.

Senior Cinema Thursday is a monthly event where we screen one of our current features at a special discounted price for seniors, held every third Thursday at 10:30am. This month, we are featuring Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round! This fascinating documentary is about a little known but important moment in the civil rights movement that took place just miles from the Avalon!

We invite senior communities and organizations to take advantage of the special $6 ticket price to bring groups to this program. Tickets for groups can be purchased at the box office on the day of the show. Caregiver tickets are free at the box office. 

Reserve your spot:  Tickets may be purchased online or at the theater, 5612 Connecticut Ave. NW. Caregiver tickets are free at the box office. 

A special partnership: This event is part of the new "DC Villages at The Avalon's Senior Cinema" collaboration with local DC Villages. The DC Village Collaborative (DCVC) and Cleveland & Woodley Park Village are sponsoring this month's Senior Cinema. 

Accessibility: The theater is wheelchair accessible, provides assisted listening devices. 

Senior Cinema at The Avalon Theatre is every 3rd Thursday at 10:30am. The theater is wheelchair accessible and provides assisted listening devices to guests with hearing and visual impairments. Unfortunately, we were just told that this showing of the film will NOT have open captions.

If open captioning is essential, the Avalon is offering it's other feature film, The Friend which will be shown with open captions in the Avalon 2 theater, accessible by elevator. 

DC Villages is partnering with The Avalon Theatre to sponsor Senior Cinema from Feb through August 2025. This month's film is sponsored by Cleveland & Woodley Park Village and the DC Village Collaborative (DCVC). 

ERCV members may request rides by calling (202) 656-7322 or emailing [email protected] in advance. If you register on this page we will be looking out for you on Thursday -- look for Susan wearing the ERCV teeshirt and we can help non-members get rides as well.