KSBY, San Luis Obispo’s news leader, aired a fairly lengthy report about the state of several of its nearby drive-in theaters. I would have loved to embed it here, but the pre-roll commercial auto-starts and then the player never loads the actual video, so it’s in turn annoying and useless. … Continue reading
Category Archives: California
Drive-in success story: Occasional free nights
I picked this up from the Santa Barbara (CA) Independent, but it really applies to all of West Wind‘s drive-in theaters in California, Nevada, and Arizona. This is a brilliant idea. Show recent, family-friendly movies for free on one special, promoted weeknight. It reminds families how much fun it is … Continue reading
Motor Vu of Imperial CA won’t reopen
While it’s heartening to celebrate the continued existence of so many drive-in theaters, it’s also important to make note of those that pass away. Last week, the Imperial Valley Press of El Centro CA ran an article which said that the Motor Vu Twin Drive-In Theatre was closed indefinitely. The … Continue reading
Vineland hopes to make an expensive conversion
Most drive-in video is good, though some videos are better than others, and this little snapshot of the Vineland Drive-In in City of Industry CA is one of the best I’ve seen lately. It comes to us from Annenberg TV News of the University of Southern California. If you’ve never … Continue reading
Ceres Drive-In may reopen this year
According to an article in the Modesto (CA) Bee, the Ceres Theatre may reopen some time in 2013. The drive-in had closed after the 2008 season, then suffered extensive damage in a “suspicious” fire in June 2010. But its new owners, Diego Castillo and family, say the local community wants … Continue reading
LA Times profiles Rubidoux’s digital conversion
The Los Angeles Times ran a great story last weekend about the digital projection conversion and the problems it is giving drive-ins in general and the Rubidoux Drive-In (Riverside CA) in particular. I don’t want to bury the lead, so the good news is that the Rubidoux plans to make … Continue reading
Kings is closed for the season, maybe for good
As we reported recently, the Kings Drive-In (Armona CA) was suffering the effects of vandalism and was hoping to find enough support to keep going. Now there’s a new story from KFSN, Fresno’s news leader, that it may all be for naught. The report says that switching to a digital … Continue reading
Free movie night tonight!
For one night, Thursday, September 26, the West Wind 6 (Sacramento CA) will offer a free movie night, according to the Rosemont Patch. It’s Superhero night, and the movies scheduled are Brave, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Amazing Spider-Man. (Wait, Brave is a superhero movie?) Based on tonight’s schedule … Continue reading
Kings tries to stay afloat despite vandalism
According to a story in the Hanford (CA) Sentinel, the Kings Drive-In in Armona is in danger of shutting down. The problem isn’t digital conversion or Walmart, it’s persistent vandalism. Which reminds me of all the signs I see in drive-in rest rooms reminding patrons that vandalism can kill this … Continue reading
Short travelogue visits five drive-ins
The Nile Guide Travel Blog just posted a list of five places to see drive-in movies in North America. I love the neon tailfins of the Georgetown (IN) Drive-In, and it’s nice to read about the new Stevie Rae’s South-Western (Tilbury ON). The other three theaters on this eclectic list … Continue reading