It's not just the prospect of seeing free movies that drives residents to the Northside Hospital-Forsyth Film Fest.

One Forsyth County teenager said he's going to compete at the festival's "Guitar Hero" competition.

The guitar simulator video game is usually played in living rooms, but faced with the opportunity of scoring points on a 70-foot screen, 16-year-old Noah Owens said he's game.

"It sounds cool," Owens said, adding that his family would probably show up for the free movies which begin Thursday and run through Saturday and feature three family-friendly films.

Southern Outdoor Cinemas puts on the show, and company owner Paul Murray said he'll be putting up the businesses' biggest screen at the Central Park venue.

"It's as wide as a tractor trailer," Murray said, "and it's as tall as a four-story building.

Families can enjoy refreshments at the festival as well as a 45-minute clown show prior to the event. While admission is free, some activities will require a donation.

Donations will benefit the Cumming Civitan Club and research for Mitochondrial Disease. Last year's event brought out several thousand people, according to Murray.

Events begin at 7 p.m. each night, and movies start when it gets dark. "Spiderman 3," will show Thursday; "Alvin and the Chipmunks" is Friday night; and "Horton Hears a Who" is Saturday night.

The "Guitar Hero" competitions are new to this year's event, and Murray said the winner of the competition will receive a gift certificate from Best Buy.

"This is just one more way we reach out to the community," said Russ Davis, Northside marketing director. "We support events we feel will bring the community and the people of the community together."

This will be the second year that Northside Hospital-Forsyth has held the event at Central

Park, and Murray said it has been a successful venture so far.