Hey there, AltKids, remember back when I always used to take a few minutes to pimp the superamazing Fantasmo programs at the Chesapeake Central Library?

Me neither, but apparently I did and it was a worthy cause that I slacked off on. But take a look at this collection of great things in one sentence, all happening at this Saturday’s Freeplay: junk food, arcade games rigged to ‘free’, and sometimes hard-R cult movies for free in projected, stereo blasted, air conditioned splendor.

Don’t be a bum, though. Drop a few bucks in the plastic pumpkin if you’re gonna hit the snacks too hard.

Impressively, Fantasmo has persevered even without my illustrious support. This weekend, Fantasmo is combining with something new for a mindblowing daylong event called Freeplay. There’s a theme here, and I’m sure I’ll decipher it by the end of this.

Came out during our wonder years.

Moviewise, things get cracking early with The Wizard at (gasp) 9:30 AM. This feature-length Nintendo Entertainment System commercial boasts my favorite big screen Fred Savage performance after The Princess Bride and Rules of Attraction, the other two movies I have seen him in. This non-gem will not only stoke nostalgia for an era where 8-bit was king, but also eagerly awaits rediscovery by indie pedophiles. The female lead is none other than a pubescent Jenny Lewis. Have fun with that, but be warned that the Chesapeake Library system does not take as kindly to discreet public masturbation as, say, Norfolk does.

At 1:30 they take a detour into good movies with a screening of The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. This wonderful documentary seems almost too good to be true, coming with a compelling underdog to cheer for and preening villain to hiss at.

The movie takes a look into the geek sub-subculture of the folks who collect and compete on classic arcade games. Freeplay has a record-setter there to present the movie. Better yet, there will be arcade games running all over the place for free (hence the name of the event I now realize). [I did a review of that movie when it first came out on another website.]

At 7pm Fantasmo will proudly present what is certifiably one of the coolest looking movies ever, TRON. This is a perfect opportunity to see this classic on a big screen with a crowd. Besides, we all better catch up on the story so we won’t be completely lost when TRON: Legacy bursts forth from the screens in December. By the way, anybody else want to get lifted and catch the new one on Christmas Day, or as I call it, in memory of the true son of god, James Brown, Star Time?

Here’s some TRON on yah:

Speaking of Star Time, the Freeplay movie programming will really blast off into space around 9 with The Last Starfighter, a nostalgia trip for ’80s babies and a charming curiosity for others. This wish fulfillment fantasy, in which an arcade game turns out to be a training program for outer space battle (starfighting), boasts some of the earliest CGI to not look nearly as cool as the stuff in TRON. Much like the last dragon, airbender, unicorn, Mohican, rainforest, boy scout and detail, there was no sequel to this story.

Good times, no? Free video games and movies about video games all day! But wait…there’s more. HRGeeks and Derek Williams are both hosting presentations during the day that promise to be scintillating and/or involve video games. It’s all at the library Saturday. Learn more here, which is an even better resource for Fantasmo news than AltDaily.