I don’t know about you all, but I’m terribly disappointed that I live too far away to attend any of the moviehouses showing Under Our Skin this week. After all, the theatrical release of this film is one of the biggest events to hit the Lyme world, ever. So, I’m making up for it by throwing a “virtual” theater party…and I hope you’ll join me.

Here’s the deal. I’ve arbitrarily chosen beautiful downtown San Diego as the location. (Since I’m only traveling there in my mind, why not go for a great vacation spot?) The Gaslamp Stadium 15 Theaters opens its one week run of the Lyme documentary with an 11:30 a.m. matinee on Friday, June 26.

Now, I’m guessing that attendance at the 11:30 matinee may be a bit sparse. After all, there are four showings of the movie that day. So, I’ve selected that time slot for my virtual party.

As host, I’ve already purchased my ticket at Fandango. You can too, for $9.50. (In fact, you can save a buck by making it a child’s ticket. I won’t check IDs.)

And what do we get for the expenditure? If enough of us do it, we’ll make a significant bump in the money this theater rakes in on opening day of Under Our Skin. That number will be reported in the industry, and if high enough, will encourage other theaters across the country to book this film.

And that will raise the level of conversation about Lyme disease in the public’s eye. Maybe even help persuade Congress to pass the federal Lyme research bill.

Sounds like a good reason for a party to me. So go to Fandango right now, buy your ticket, and then maybe eat a little popcorn on Friday morning in honor of our virtual party. If you’re on a diet, you can make it virtual popcorn.

Contact this blogger at dleland@lymedisease.org.