Whanganui will soon have a new outdoor cinema

A Whanganui family is about to launch its new business, and it's one that's sure to be a hit with locals over the coming summer months.

Twilight Cinema is a three-by-four metre inflatable screen Nathan and Leanne Harvey brought with them from their home in Reading, England.

The couple, along with 2-year-old son Jax, arrived in the River City in February.

Nathan Harvey, a Whanganui native, said just getting the family back, let alone a giant inflatable screen, proved difficult.

"After living together in England for two or three years, we decided to try life out back home in Whanganui," he said.

"We had a date booked late June, and then a month before we were flying we got an email saying our flights had been cancelled because of Covid-19."

They were forced to rebook flights four times, Leanne Harvey said.

"We eventually got out in February of this year."

Nathan Harvey said while booking flights wasn't hard, getting a spot in MIQ proved almost impossible.

He spent an entire day refreshing the same page to get a booking for the next available date.

"Luckily, after hours and hours, someone must have cancelled their slot. I clicked on it and managed to get it."

Now they are settled in his home town, and Twilight Cinema will be fully launched from November 1.

Nathan and Leanne Harvey with their 2-year-old son Jax Harvey. Photo / Bevan Conley

It is available to be hired for an evening, and comes with a projector and full sound system.

Ideally, weather conditions should be still, dry, and dark for the best experience.

Leanne Harvey said the opportunity to enter the world of portable cinemas came about after was made redundant from her job with Hylton Hotels in the wake of Covid-19.

"A lady approached me and said she'd started this idea of setting up cinemas in people's back gardens.

"She needed someone to come on board and help her with marketing and getting it out there, and as time went on, I just loved it more and more.

"There were so many different things I want to do with it, but because it wasn't my company I couldn't really do them. In the end, she gave us our own equipment and said 'Go and get your own bookings'.

The couple were "flat out" with the cinema through the English summer, Leanne Harvey said.

"Once we decided we were going to give it a go in New Zealand, I knew we needed to bring it with us.

"The weather is better here, and then there are the big backyards, of course."

People had used the cinema for a wide range of things in England, from live sports and gaming to movies and family videos, Nathan Harvey said.

"We were doing birthdays and anniversaries and things as well. For now though, while we're starting out in Whanganui, we'll just be offering a basic package.

"If the demand is there we can upgrade things, and bespoke it to every different person."

As it turns out, locals have already jumped at the chance to book the cinema for the evening.

"We launched it on Sunday night (September 19), and the response has been insane," Leanne Harvey said.

"This is something a little bit different.

"It took us a while to get here, but now we're ready to go."