Sharing the magic of movies – from the back of a bike

MOAB is an offbeat mobile art venue that combines movies, marshmallows, bicycling and community.

The creation of Minneapolis resident Mason Meisch, MOAB stands for “movie on a bike” or “marshmallows on a bike” or the “mother of all bicycles.”

It’s basically a candy apple red bicycle that Meisch has customized to carry a portable movie screen and a battery-powered projector and speaker.

About seven times a year, he pedals the contraption to local parks at dusk and screens movies like “The Princess Bride,” “WALL-E” and “My Neighbor Totoro” to passersby and to the people who follow his Facebook page, 612bike.com.

Meisch even provides snacks. He lights up a miniature fire pit and grill on a platform attached to the front of the bike, pulls out marshmallows and lets people roast them while watching the movie.

According to his Facebook page, the purpose “is to bring art and make community in public spaces without asking for permission or forgiveness from anyone.”

Meisch, a 49-year-old facilities engineer, has been doing his bike-in movie events off and on for about 10 years.

His most recent screening was on Labor Day at Loring Park in Minneapolis. As the sun set, about 20 people, some who arrived on bikes themselves, sat on blankets or folding chairs. The gathered on the grass around a movie screen hanging off the back of Meisch’s Dutch “bakfiets”-style cargo bike and watched the 1988 film “Beetlejuice.”

Audience size at his outdoor movie screenings ranges “anywhere from nobody to maybe 30 people,” Meisch said.

Minneapolis resident Walter Turner was in the park having a barbecue with his family when they were surprised to see a movie being screened nearby. Turner and his daughters, Saraya, 10, and Mhyleia, 7, stopped by to watch the bike-in film and eat some marshmallows.

“This is amazing,” Turner said.

Jesse Barstad came with his dog, Cheese. He saw the announcement on the Facebook page, which has nearly 600 followers.

“It’s usually a movie I like and it’s close and it’s kind of nice to see them outside,” said Barstad, who also has seen bike screenings of “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and “Office Space.”

“It’s been an idea I’ve had in my head since I was a kid,” Meisch said of his passion project. “This is my way of connection.”

Admission is free. So are the marshmallows.

“It’s like promoting something of giving back to community,” Meisch said. “I’m trying to make people think about the value of doing something that isn’t about money.”