John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston opened the Ocala Film Festival in Ocala, Florida, on Thursday. This is the festival’s first year and it kicked off with a digitally remastered showing of the 1954 black and white horror film The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Travolta was introduced to the crowd during a chocolate and champagne event that took place prior to the introduction of the film.

Kelly Preston confirmed her attendance at the event just a couple of days ahead of time–via a text message to the film festival organizers.

“I think Ocala is an ideal place for a film festival,” she wrote. “It has the qualities of a peaceful retreat, with a cosmopolitan mix of people, which is an attractive combination for celebrities. There’s a great appreciation for the arts in Ocala.”

John Travolta & Kelly Preston will kick off the Silver Springs International Film Festival @ Marion Theater Ocala

— SSIFF (@SSIFF14) April 2, 2014

John Travolta and his wife, along with daughter Ella and son Benjamin, live in a home in nearby Anthony, Florida. It is not unusual for the family to be involved in projects involving the arts in their surrounding communities.

Prior to the film festival Travolta was in the news for explaining his gaffe at the Oscars, where he inadvertently flubbed the name of singer and actress Idina Menzel–calling her Adele Dazeem instead.

“I’ve been beating myself up all day,” Travolta said the day after the Academy Awards in a statement to CNN. “Then I thought…what would Idina Menzel say She’d say, Let it go, let it go! Idina is incredibly talented and I am so happy Frozen took home two Oscars Sunday night!”

It would be fun to learn if anyone asked John Travolta about his Idina Menzel mistake during the Ocala Film Festival. Hopefully if the actor did any introductions, he practiced everyone’s names ahead of time.

Image via Wikimedia Commons