Grab your popcorn: Maritime drive-ins plan big summer with new releases, old favourites
For some Maritimers, it’s a ritual as sacred as the first swim of the summer; for others it’s a brand-new experience. The drive-in theatre might not be the cultural behemoth it used to be in the 1960s and 1970s, but several businesses are keeping the projector lights flickering as they prepare for what they hope is a busy season in the region.
“I think the public’s interest in drive-ins has grown in the last 10 years,” said Kirk Longmire, co-chair of the Valley Drive-in at Cambridge Station, N.S. “There will never be a return to the 50s, but the nostalgia piece is huge. Going to the drive-in is one of those things you remember, you remember how it made you feel.
“It’s a lifelong thing. We’ve been doing it long enough that we actually have young people who worked with us in 2000 who have kids and grandkids of their own who come.”
Waking up a drive-in from its winter hibernation is no simple task, especially for the Neptune Drive-in located in Shediac, N.B., which has been closed since August 2022. Sébastien Després is the new co-owner of the business, bringing the drive-in under the banner of Shediac Wonderland.
Després said they’ve completely remodeled the canteen and they plan to bring in Texas-style barbecue, which they hope to keep open year-round. They’re looking at a soft open on May 9 followed by an official launch on the Victoria Day long weekend.
“It’s a weight of responsibly I feel we have right now and we want to do well by the community,” he said. “The drive-in has been a mainstay in Shediac since the 60s.”
When it comes to mainstays, few spots in the Maritimes can match the legacy of the Brackley Drive-in on Prince Edward Island, which originally opened in 1959. Current owner Bob Boyle has operated it for 32 years and he’s seen firsthand the regular ebb and flow of the business, which underwent a big change during the pandemic.
“Times were tough during COVID-19, all the turmoil in Hollywood put the regular film production on hold,” he said. “We never seemed to get back to a normal film schedule. This is the first time since 2019 that it looks like a more normal year.
“This is the first year in my 32 years in the drive-in business that I went to the drive-in convention in Orlando, Fla. It was a great exchange of ideas with a number of passionate drive-in owners. I have a notebook full of ideas I want to try.”
Don Monahan, co-owner of the Sussex Drive-in, which has been around since 1967, said the pandemic helped bring some traffic back to the outdoor business as people wanted to see movies on a big screen while maintaining social distancing.
“During COVID it helped to re-establish the importance of the drive-in,” Monahan said. “That drove attendance levels to a higher record. A lot of people thought drive-ins play old movie but it’s quite to the contrary.”
Longmire said they plan to make a few structural upgrades to the backside of the screen while Monahan will put the projector through a few trial runs to ensure the lightbulb still works. A drive-in movie theatre is much more exposed than its indoor counterpoint, making maintenance and cleaning a major component of the opening process.
“When you put it to bed in the winter, there’s a lot of cleaning to do,” Boyle said. “Debris to pick up from the winter storms, general maintenance that needs to get done, it takes about two weeks.”
Many of the drive-ins are mere days away from welcoming fleets of cars, vans, and trucks to their lots for the new season. The Valley and Brackley drive-ins are opening on May 3 while the Sussex Drive-in is looking at May 10 as their starting point. The Shoebox Drive-In in Westville, N.S., also opens May 17.
“It’s similar to tailgating,” Monahan said. “Folks show up early and they turn it into a small community event.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Chiefs' Harrison Butker has no regrets about expressing his beliefs in speech
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has no regrets about expressing his beliefs in a recent commencement speech and he said he has received support as well as “a shocking level of hate” from others.
American Airlines drops law firm that said a 9-year-old girl should have seen camera on toilet seat
American Airlines has replaced the law firm that told a judge a nine-year-old girl was negligent in not noticing there was a camera phone taped to the seat in an airplane lavatory.
Three dead after vehicle plunged down a 100-foot embankment in Shediac, N.B.
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.