In honor of National Drive-In day lets make a week long tribute and take in one this weekend...
For those who don't know there actually is a National Drive-In day and it was this past Tuesday June 6th, so next year we will have to be more diligent in getting the word out ...Drive-Ins first established as out door theaters were created and developed in 1933 by Richard Hollingshead for his mother who loved the cinema, but was never comfortable sitting in the theaters seats..so out of love for mom Richard started the first Drive-In.
The Drive-In was a big hit and at first sprang up in areas where there was no theaters..rural and farm country..but then spread to small towns and then on to the outskirts of cities..in fact during their prime there were over 1500.. and the market catered to teens with disposable income and families.. Disney, I was a Teenage something,double Bond sales,giant monsters, biker flicks and Vincent Price reigned supreme depending in what decade you were grew up in....but now over the years with the coming of cable TV and VHS-DVD the sheer numbers have dwindled to just over 350 ... but the good thing is that some of these remaining pieces of Americana are actually new since the early 90's and most recently someone has started construction on a Drive-In experience in one of the large cities of America- Nashville- with a building that on the inside will duplicate the Drive-In going event for areas where a Drive-In just would not work ...
Now it's time to harken back to those good ol days when going out to the movies meant dad in shorts, mom in her curlers and a big cooler filled with ice ... lawn chairs and sleeping bags in tow.. a stop at the store to grab some movie candy- Boston Baked Beans, Good and Plenty, Bottle Caps - Root Beer or something from the concession stand just before the movie starts like a cheeseburger or a pulled pork sandwich...maybe even a pizza and popcorn..especially by intermission time-remember at a Drive-In it is in general a double feature-a cartoon-PSA's and intermission, so plan on being there after midnight..make it a fun relaxing event- there is nothing like watching a movie under a starry sky...so call up a neighbor and have a tailgate party...we used to do that a lot ...the fun was to see how many of your friends came and then try and a get a row or area together...and most of the Drive-Ins had a playground for the little ones to burn off some of that energy before the show started... and now a days there shouldn't be a need to worry about leaving with a speaker attached to your car window because you forgot to put it back on it's stand..most have a radio channel and you just use your aux setting for the car & tune your radio to their frequency...
So get out there this weekend and it might not be babes in bikinis and surf boards gliding across the screen but we can't have everything...see ya I gotta go find my lawn chair...and a big blanket..always a great date nite...hint,hint...
Below: links to where to locate the nearest Drive-in and some active websites for individual Drive-In theaters featuring one of the best interactive sites the Southbay Drive-In-this is truly how to brand your product and create a fun and informative site...
https://driventheatre.com