photo by Bill Eichelberger, used by permission

Brenna Angel of National Public Radio member station WUKY presented a nice report this week about the Bourbon Drive-In near Paris KY. It’s always nice to get the sights of the drive-in (and there’s an excellent, unrelated drive-in photo on WUKY’s page), but it’s a rare gift to be able to hear the sounds of the drive-in. There was a film projector tick-a-ticking, a 57-year-old popcorn machine popping, and co-owner Patricia Earlywine talking about getting the drive-in spirit “in your blood”.

There’s a short clip of D. Edward Vogel, board member of the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association and owner of Bengies Drive-In of Maryland. (Good thing Angel did that over the phone and not at Bengies or she’d be in trouble.) Angel mentions a studio program to reimburse some costs for converting from film to digital projection, but that the Bourbon couldn’t use it because it requires a high-speed internet connection. That’s the first I’d heard of that; I’d think that dishNet satellite broadband might work.

At the end, Angel shows that she gets it. “Going to a drive-in movie theater isn’t really about the movie,” she says. “It’s about the experience of being there.” Amen to that! So go over to that WUKY page and don’t read the report, click the play button and listen to the sounds of the drive-in.