Bryan TX hosts drive-in event Saturday

Posted on by
Reply
photo from the City of Bryan TX web site

Bryan TX is hosting a Valentine’s Day weekend drive-in showing of “Top Gun: Maverick” at the soccer lot of the Bryan Regional Athletic Complex on Saturday, Feb. 15. You’ve got to be a grown-up (18+), and you have to bring cash ($10 per vehicle). The City of Bryan web site has more details, including the promise of a family-friendly “Lilo & Stitch” drive-in double feature on May 16.

That’s all good news, though it has stirred my old existential question – what is a drive-in theater? Should this qualify? Bryan has been doing this since at least 2022, apparently always in the same place. The photo from its announcement appears to be an inflatable screen, which isn’t a surprise given the multipurpose uses of its location. It’s running multiple drive-in nights per year, though less often than once a month.

That’s a pretty good argument in favor of including what I’d call the Bryan Drive-In as part of my list of active drive-in theaters. For example, the Blue Starlite in Austin just two hours down the road uses inflatable screens…

(Oh dear. When I went to get a link, I found that the Blue Starlite, which had shown movies as recently as January 2025, is on “extended hiatus from public showings so the creators can focus on their family during a difficult time.” Good luck and hurry back.)

Anyway, if inflatable screens aren’t disqualifying, how often does a location have to show movies to be on the list? The Highway 2 in Manistique MI scheduled only four nights last year. Heck, the Roadium in Torrance CA is mostly a flea market that shows movies once or twice a season to satisfy its zoning or something.

To include as many drive-ins as possible while omitting the once-a-year pop-ups, I’ll try to define it this way: If you’ve got a permanent screen like the Roadium or the Highway 2, any regularly scheduled showings are sufficient to remain an active drive-in theater. If it’s a temporary screen, then maybe four nights a year should be the minimum? I’ll need to consider where to draw the line. What do you think?

Video: Jesup Drive-In reopens after hurricane damage

Posted on by
Reply

Last fall, Hurricane Helene mangled the tin fences and dented both screens at the Jesup Twin Drive-In Theatre in Jesup GA. After $350,000 in repairs, the Jesup is reopening for a couple of community days March 14-15, followed by a grand reopening the following weekend.

That’s all according to a report by WTOC, the Southeast News Leader. (Yes, I know that I claim that every TV station with a drive-in story is its local News Leader; WTOC really means it. But I digress.)

Jesup Drive-In owner Ralph Hickox, who also happened to be mayor of the city of Jesup, told WTOC that his main reason for rebuilding was because of what the drive-in means to the locals. “The love of the community and what it means to people… I just couldn’t be the one that let it shut down,” he said.

The Jesup is the oldest drive-in in the state, opened in 1948, although it was closed for about 10 years in the 1960s. Atlanta’s Starlight Drive-In Theatre, which opened the following year, is Georgia’s oldest continuously operating drive-in.

Hickox said that his drive-in is still profitable, which is great to hear considering how much it cost to rebuild it. Here’s hoping that it stays a beloved institution for generations to come.

Wichita’s Starlite gets more time

Posted on by
Reply
screen grab from a KWCH news video

Here’s more good news from the continuing saga of the Starlite Drive-In Theatre in Wichita KS. Owner Blake Smith, who also owns the Admiral Twin Drive-In in Tulsa OK, received an extension on the loan that the city of Wichita gave him to buy the Starlite’s digital projectors. The full story is available, with a bit of video that I can’t embed here, at KWCH, Wichita’s News Leader.

The Starlite began its life as the single-screen Rainbow in 1953. The drive-in underwent extensive renovation in 1974, including a large new projection and concession building and a second screen, and became the Landmark Twin. In the intervening years, the name morphed into the Landmark Starlite and then to just the Starlite that it is today.

The struggles began in 2016. After longtime owner Jim Goble passed away, Chuck Bucinski bought the Starlite, but soon began saying the drive-in was in financial trouble. In the summer of 2018, he pursuaded Wichita to change the Starlite’s zoning to allow for industrial uses, “strictly for estate-planning purposes”, but announced its permanent closure in October that year. The community rallied, and Smith was able to buy the drive-in to keep it running.

The Starlite did well in 2019. Smith said he was considering selling season passes for 2020. Uh oh. The Covid pandemic tamped down the Starlite’s business that summer, and audiences have been slow to return in the years since.

Part of the package deal that Smith got in 2018 was a loan from the city to buy new digital projectors to replace the pair that were no longer there after Bucinski’s departure. That $200,000 was a heavy burden considering the covid-initiated drop in attendance. From KWCH’s report, the city council was delighted to help keep the Starlite open, extending the loan till 2031. It’s always nice when local officials recognize a drive-in’s value to the community.