Harkins Valley Art Theatre on Mill Avenue paid tribute this past week to the late actor Patrick Swayze.

More than 20 years since he danced his way into being the throb of every teenage girl’s heart in the pop culture classic “Dirty Dancing,” Swayze, 57, passed away on Sept. 14 after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer, which he was diagnosed with in January 2008.

The event, which began last Friday and concluded last night, featured seven of Swayze’s most notable performances, including Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 rendition of S.E. Hinton’s classic novel, “The Outsiders” “Roadhouse” (1989) and Jerry Zucker’s “Ghost” (1990) were also shown.

The celebration of Swayze’s movies was not only to memorialize the former actor’s career, but also to benefit local nonprofit organization Hospice of the Valley by donating 100 percent of the proceeds to the organization.

Hospice of the Valley was founded in 1977 by volunteers and led by Rev. Q. Gerald Roseberry, who wanted to create a new vision on treating and caring for those with terminal illnesses.

“The organization obviously helps out people in the same situations [as Swayze’s illness], and they’re one of the best so we wanted to help them out,” said Melissa Rich, senior marketing manager of Harkins Theatres.

Hospice has grown to be the largest nonprofit organization in the nation, serving more than 13,500 patients per year.

“We care for patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families,” said Beverly Medlyn, director of communications for Hospice.

Medlyn said most of the money Hospice operates on comes from Medicare and insurance companies, and the rest comes from donations. She said Hospice refuses to turn patients away, “regardless of their ability to pay.”

Harkins Valley Art kicked off the festival last Friday with an 11:30 a.m. showing of “Roadhouse.”

The event moved on to play five more films through the day, ending with a midnight showing of the 1995 comedy “To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar,” which Swayze stars in with Wesley Snipes. The pair plays two drag queens set out on a road trip to Los Angeles.

Most of the films chosen showcased Swayze’s most notable work.

But a lot of input from consumers was put into the festival, Rich said.

“When we posted the announcement [of the event] to Facebook, we got a lot of great input on what to show,” she said. “People have been so cool on what they wanted to see.”

Rich said although Valley Art Theatre is new to posting events on Facebook, they do plan on doing it in the future and are hoping to make the historical location a destination for the Tempe residents.

Medlyn said the idea to donate the film proceeds was completely Harkins’ idea.

“We are much appreciative of Harkins for this gesture,” she said.