This February, Thomas N. Lay Park will hold an African-American film festival for the second time in honor of Black History Month.

Every Saturday evening starting Feb. 3, Lay Park will show two films on the gymnasium’s big screen starting at 2 p.m. and ending at 6 p.m. Each film either features a chiefly black cast or a black producer.

Admission to the event is free, and snacks and drinks will be served.

Having a free event like this helps bring the community together to watch films they normally wouldn’t see. The festival attempts to promote the observance of Black History Month by calling attention to some of the recent black films and filmmakers, said Willie Hull, the facility supervisor at Lay Park.

“Last year (the festival) was only two weekends. We had a pretty good turnout, 40-50 people depending on the film,” Hull said.

Because the success of last year’s festival exceeded expectations, the organizers decided to expand it to each weekend in February. As the second annual festival, Lay Park again expects a large turnout, including university students who volunteer with Lay Park’s tutoring program.

Among the films to be shown are “Akeelah and the Bee,” “Madea’s Family Reunion” and “A Lesson Before Dying.”

“Akeelah and the Bee” follows the journey of a young girl from insecurity to accomplishment as she battles an unsatisfying home life to become a champion speller.

On a more comedic note, “Madea’s Family Reunion” is a film written and acted by Tyler Perry. Perry dresses in drag to play a brazen grandmother who has to face a variety of crises while concurrently trying to throw a large family reunion.

Finally, the film “A Lesson Before Dying” stars Don Cheadle as a teacher and Mekhi Phifer as a man wrongfully accused of murdering a white store owner and sentenced to death.

In this film, Cheadle tries to reaffirm Phifer’s worth as a human being as the execution approaches. “A Lesson Before Dying” sends a powerful message about humanity and reflects the purpose of celebrating black history month.

Lay Park is located at 279 Hoyt St., just past downtown.