Holiday Twin doing great with its new projectors

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The Loveland (CO) Reporter-Herald published a nice portrait of the Holiday Twin Drive-In (Fort Collins) and its owners, Stephanie and Wesley Webb. The Webbs sank about a quarter-million dollars into renovations to support digital projection for their two screens. And you would expect, “We’re in it for the long haul as long as we can stay there,” according to Mrs. Webb.

In the article you’ll find a good history of the Webbs and the Holiday Twin, about the work that working with film used to require, and of course that nice video embedded above. But don’t settle for just the video, go read it!

This is probably the Keno’s final season

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Keno Drive-InThis week, the Kenosha (WI) News did a magnificent job of reporting the status of the Keno Drive-In of Pleasant Prairie. According to the article, a Save the Keno page popped up on Facebook last week, drawing a lot of support. The city fathers in Pleasant Prairie say they don’t know of any specific plans to replace the Keno with a Walmart or anything else, but apparently there are a lot of rumors about it.

Mind you, it doesn’t look good. According to the article, “Jeff Rey, president of Cinema Management Corp., which has leased Keno for the past seven years, said he was told by the property owner last fall that this year would likely be the last for the drive-in.” Rey said he’s seen workers performing soil tests on the site. The landowner couldn’t be reached for comment.

Rey also said that he invested in digital projection equipment for another drive-in he owns, the Cascade in West Chicago IL, but he’s sticking with film for now at the Keno, where business is still good. “I think people are wanting to get out there because this might be their last chance,” he said. “Unless something unexpected happens, it looks like it will be the end.”

Wilmington owner changes mind, will reopen

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Wilmington Drive-In sign and distant screen

photo by Bill Eichelberger, used by permission

You may remember our previous coverage of Phillip Chakeres, the CEO of the company that owns the Wilmington (OH) Drive-In. Chakeres said he wasn’t sure whether it was closed for good, then a couple of days later he said he was certain it was closed for good. Now there’s news this week that Chakeres said he’ll open the Wilmington this year after all.

The article in the Wilmington News Journal was again written by Andrea Chaffin, who has talked to him so often she should be Chakeres’s best friend by now. “Based on the feedback last year and the interest, I felt I owed it to the people of Wilmington and the surrounding counties to give the drive-in one more chance,” he said. “That’s where we are.”

Chaffin wrote, “Last year, the drive-in did not open. At the time, company officials said its long-term future was questionable due to the economy. Chakeres said Monday he plans to evaluate the business once again at the end of the summer.”

Now I would like nothing better than for the Wilmington to thrive this year and for generations to come. And since I don’t know anything first-hand about the situation, it’s entirely possible that the current management is making all the right moves to keep it going. But when I see so many healthy, active drive-ins whose only problem is finding a lump sum to cover all new projection equipment, it really makes me wonder whether the folks here could learn how those successful drive-ins do it. Here’s hoping!