Category Archives: 2017 Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey

This is the virtual tour that will imagine what it would be like to visit every North American drive-in theater in 2017 by visiting one or two every day. While the drive-ins, restaurants, and hotels are real, all the events in this section are fiction. But it’s fun to dream!

Sept. 10: Cine-Parc Satellite, Paquetville NB

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It’s Day 253 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I left a comfortable pit stop barely across the border in Madawaska ME and resumed the Canadian portion of my trip. Once across the St. John River, it took almost four hours of driving lonely, tree-lined highways to reach the Cine-Parc Satellite in Paquetville NB.

This is normally the place where I recount the history of my drive-in of the day. This time, I’ve got almost nothing to tell. Mike Rivest’s Movie-Theatre.org pretty much guessed that the drive-in was open from about 2002 to 2005, owned by Paul Marcel Albert. I’ve found other references that Albert owned the nearby Ciné-Parc Bellevue, which closed after the 2012 season, but nothing else linking him to the Satellite. And obviously, the Satellite must have reopened at some point, if it was ever closed.

My strongest source is a September 2012 article in Acadie Nouvelle, which says that the Satellite’s owner at the time was Gabriel Foulem. He was pondering the expense of switching to digital projection. “On est en période de réflexion,” Foulem said. “Tout le monde s’attendait à ce que (le passage au numérique) ait lieu en 2014. Puis là, subito presto, on nous dit qu’à la fin octobre (de cette année) il n’y aura plus de 35 mm.” Which might translate to “We are in a period of reflection. Everyone expected (the switch to digital) to take place in 2014. Then suddenly we are told that by the end of October (this year) there will be no more 35mm.”

I barely missed a meeting of the Mustang Owners Club of the Acadian Peninsula, which got together at the Satellite on Sept. 9.

The Satellite started a Facebook page in June 2013, and that’s where it posted the above video just last week. Maybe if you dive deep into all the posts and photos there, you might be able to uncover a few more clues about its origin.

And that’s about it. I’m not even sure what municipality claims the Satellite. It’s in a settlement / neighborhood / something called Bois Blanc between the villages of Saint-Isidore and Paquetville and just south of Paquetville Parish.

After a week in Quebec, I thought I had missed the opportunity of a French-language movie night, but I got it this night. Since this was my sixth viewing of The Hitman’s Bodyguard, it was pretty easy for me to keep up.

Miles Today / Total: 194 / 29278 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Mon Meilleur Ennemi (The Hitman’s Bodyguard) / 163

Nearby Restaurant: The closest restaurants are in Paquetville. Since I’d already used up my Tim Hortons visit, I chose La Crêpe Bretonne. The menu had a little bit of everything, but I was overdue for a healthy meal so I tried “Salade Bertha,” which came with vegetables, parmesan cheese and shrimp.

Where I Virtually Stayed: There aren’t any hotels really close to the Satellite, so I ended up in Caraquet, home to that closed Ciné-Parc Bellevue. I was glad to see a Super 8 there, a familiar sign in a foreign land. It had an indoor pool with a little corkscrew water slide, outdoor views of Chaleur Bay, and a clean room with a full set of modern amenities. The continental breakfast was enough to get me going for another Canadian day.

Only in Paquetville Caraquet: The Super 8 is across the street from Musée Acadien, a small-town museum dedicated to the history of Caraquet Acadia. It’s inexpensive, and it’s all in French. Thank goodness for Google Translate on my phone.

Next stop: Brackley Drive In, Brackley Beach PE.

Sept. 9: Skylite Drive-In, Madawaska ME

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Skylite Drive-In movie poster "marquee"

Photo from the Skylite Drive-In Facebook page

It’s Day 252 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. As much as I dislike border crossings these days, it only made sense to stop over on my way from Mont-Saint-Hilaire QC to New Brunswick at the only drive-in within walking distance of the Canadian border, the Skylite Drive-In in Madawaska ME. The drive took a solid five hours, not counting time at the border.

Once upon a time, there was the Madawaska Drive-In. It opened in 1952 or so and survived until at least 1969. Then in mid-1970s, there’s no trace of it. In 1978, a different owner either took over the old Madawaska or built a new one. In either case, that drive-in was on Highway 1 southwest of town. It operated at least until 1988, and the site was redeveloped between 1999 and 2007.

And actually, that whole story has very little to do with the Skylite, which opened in 1973 by a Mr. Pelletier. It was a little larger than the Madawaska, if that still existed when the Skylite opened, and the two were definitely competitors into the 1980s. Some sources were getting the two a little confused, which is why I brought it up.

The Skylite’s history, in contrast, is both clear and straightforward. As documented last year by the local newspaper, the Fiddlehead Focus, “Since 1983, Donna and Gary Pelletier have owned and operated the Skylite Drive-In on 11th Avenue in Madawaska. The couple purchased the business from his father, and the traditional summer entertainment venue is now in its fifth generation, with the Pelletiers’ 5-year old granddaughter Kaitlyn Ferree handing out cool-pops to patrons during the warm weather months.”

The Skylite waited until the last minute, early 2016, to install digital projection but that worked out well. The drive-in is open seven days a week, perhaps helped by the relatively early sunsets at the eastern edge of the Eastern time zone; on this night the one movie started before 7:30. That sounds doable even on a weeknight.

So I kicked back with the Skylite’s signature fried Oreo, enjoyed watching The House for the first time in a couple of months, and felt as northeastern as I could get. Until I cross the border and get even more northeastern next week.

Miles Today / Total: 334 / 29084 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: The House / 162

Nearby Restaurant: Everyone told me that I had to try Dolly’s Restaurant, and they were right. The special was chicken stew and ployes, and they were amazing. Apparently there’s a French Canadian way to make that stew, and I had just dodged it somehow during my week in Quebec. And it turned out that Dolly’s is named for Odette Pelletier, who bought it in 1987.

Where I Virtually Stayed: There aren’t a lot of choices on this side of the border, though I was quite happy with the Inn of Acadia. My room had a mini-fridge and a Keurig, the wifi was solid, and the continental breakfast included ployes. I’d call them wheatcakes, but I guess they’re darker on one side like a crepe. I love local, tasty treats!

Only in Madawaska: Motorcyclists from across the US visit the granite monument in Four Corners Park marking it as the northeast corner of the country. The Four Corners Tour of the Southern California Motorcycle Club includes stops at San Ysidro CA, Blaine WA, and Key West FL.

Next stop: Cine-Parc Satellite, Paquetville NB.

Sept. 8: Cine-Parc Orford, Sherbrooke QC

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Cars at the drive-in, with a screen in the distance

Photo from the Ciné-Parc Orford Facebook page

It’s Day 251 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey and my fifth day in Quebec. It took me about an hour and a half to drive from Mont-Saint-Hilaire to the Cine-Parc Orford, just a little northeast of Sherbrooke.

The Orford opened in 1972 and survived until the end of the 2012 season. The following March, owner André Monette announced that it would not reopen for the 2013 season. One year later, three investors bought the drive-in and purchased everything that would be needed to convert both of its screens to digital projection. According to EstriePlus.com, those three were David Hurtubise, president of HB Pictures Productions, Jean-Yves Martel, a special effects producer in Montreal and Toronto, and René Gazaille, a general contractor.

Digital projection also allowed the Orford to introduce a wonderful innovation on Screen One. It shows English-language movies on two radio channels, one with the original dialogue and one dubbed in French. That’s such a great solution that should be used more often in other bilingual drive-in situations. Screen Two, by the way, is French only.

The CBC ran a nice little video, which I wish I could embed, in July 2015. It interviews Martel and provides a nice glimpse of the rejuvenated Orford. “C’est une clientèle qui était disparue et qui revient avec les nouveaux projecteurs et les films d’animation pour enfants,” Martel said. Google Translate thinks that might mean “It’s a clientele that was missing and comes back with the new projectors and the children’s animation films,” but that sounds pretty clunky to me.

In April 2016, as the Orford was preparing to open for another season, Martel told Le Reflet du Lac that business really took off in 2015. “C’est assez incroyable ce qu’on a vécu l’année passée, admet l’un des actionnaires,” he said. “Jurassic Park et Les Mignons ont vraiment attiré beaucoup de gens, au point tel que certains soirs, ça créait un bouchon près de l’autoroute!” Which might translate to “It’s pretty incredible what we lived last year. Jurassic Park and Minions really attracted a lot of people, to the point that some evenings created a cork near the highway!” Or traffic jam, you get the idea. The article also mentioned that Hurtubise had left “l’aventure.”

A note on the regional (local? I’m so confused) chamber of commerce site said that there are plenty of activities to keep patrons busy before each night’s show, including a makeup artist, inflatable games, and a volleyball court. “Attendre les films n’aura jamais été aussi plaisant!” or “Waiting for movies has never been so pleasant!” What a great slogan!

Thanks to the bilingual screen one, I watched the 2013 remake of Carrie as the start of a “weekend de l’horreur” horror movie weekend at the Orford. This was my last night in Quebec, and I never watched a movie in French. C’est la vie.

Miles Today / Total: 73 / 28750 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Carrie / 161

Nearby Restaurant: My recent inexpensive meals and lodging built up enough surplus for me to try one that’s pricier than I usually prefer, but I simply couldn’t pass up any restaurant called the Antidote FoodLab. My shepherd’s pie was made with “horse cheek” (please tell me that’s a bad translation on the English menu), and my crackerjack dessert was made with popcorn ice cream and peanut butter powder. Adventurous and amazing!

Where I Virtually Stayed: The occasion called for another less expensive, non-chain place to stay, and I got lucky with the Motel Lennoxville. The room included a full kitchenette, and everything was clean and comfortable. It was easy walking distance to a humble breakfast at McDonalds, and I was ready to say au revoir to la belle province.

Only in Sherbrooke: On a rainy sort of day like this one, it’s a great time to visit Musee De La Nature Et Des Sciences, what I would call the Museum of Nature and Sciences. Its Terra Mutantes interactive exhibit lets visitors witness the birth of the Appalachian Mountains, cross the lava fields, feel the continents shift and watch the glaciers. All in less than half an hour!

Next stop: Skylite Drive-In, Madawaska ME.