End Of A Dream: Havelock Closes

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The Havelock Family Drive-In screen at night with cars

Photo from the Havelock Facebook page

The Havelock Family Drive-In just west of Havelock ON was always a labor of love for Gordon Henderson, a part-time gig that he hoped would grow into a full-sized retirement. Last month, that hope expired when Henderson announced on Facebook, “Well it’s official. The Havelock Family Drive In is officially closed. The property has sold.” Apparently the buyer won’t be operating a drive-in there.

Henderson built the Havelock in 2010, and said he had wanted to do that ever since he was a teenager. I mentioned that plus a lot more when I stopped by during my virtual drive-in-a-day odyssey in 2017. In retrospect, that was just before things started going south.

According to Kawartha Now, Henderson launched a GoFundMe campaign that fall seeking $75,000, stating that he was “in a very hard situation” and “faced with the devastating news that I am in jeopardy of losing my lifelong dream my beloved drive-in.” It raised less than $5,000. The Havelock was dark for most of 2018, eventually opening for a few weekends in the fall. And now it’s gone for good.

Let these drive-in closures remind you to seize the opportunity whenever you get a chance to take in a night under the stars. Buy some popcorn and sodas, and thank the proprietors for being there. Like everything else, it’s always temporary, and you never really know how long you’ve got.

WV’s Warner’s Almost As Good As New

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Warner’s Drive-In, which was rescued from oblivion by a local non-profit group in 2016, announced on its Facebook page last week that it was installing a new roof. It was another small step but a strong indication that the Historic Warner’s Drive-In & Cultural Resources Center is making sure that this Franklin WV institution will continue showing movies for years to come.

That story was nicely summarized in an article in The Inter-Mountain earlier this month. The cinderblock drive-in, built in 1952, was threatened by the need to convert to a digital projector. It stayed dark in 2015, but was saved by the creation of a community group to buy the property and renovate its old buildings.

“Getting good roofs, especially over the projection room, is a priority to protect our big investment,” said group coordinator Bob Davis. “Our screen is a building, very distinctive — but, has a roof that also needs replacement. So both buildings have leaks that we have to take care of right now. Our five-year plan has had to be put on hold while we handle the necessities.”

Since it’s that time of year, we’ll soon return to news of drive-ins that failed to answer the bell to open for Spring 2019. I thought we all needed a break, and this is a great way to celebrate a historic drive-in that was saved. There’s a lot more in that Inter-Mountain article, so you should go read it!

Santa Barbara Drive-In Abruptly Closes

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Colorful tractor-train carries kids through the parking lot

Free Movie Night festivities, from the Santa Barbara Drive-In Facebook page

Some drive-in closures tease out slowly, like the Cascade in West Chicago. Most are like a phone that stops ringing; you only know for sure when it doesn’t reopen the following spring. The Santa Barbara Drive-In in Goleta CA just gave us a rare form of sadness – the closure that’s a bolt from the blue.

As first reported in the Santa Barbara Independent, the drive-in announced on its Facebook page Friday, “Thank you for supporting the Santa Barbara Drive-In for the past nine years. We are now closed.”

This was a West Wind drive-in, one of several owned by Syufy Enterprises, and the announcement came just hours after it held its Free Movie Night, an annual company-wide tradition that primes the pump for summer viewing season. The Independent said that it couldn’t reach Syufy for comment on its sudden action. Indeed, as I type three days later, the Santa Barbara is still included on the West Wind web site.

When I stopped by for a virtual visit two years ago, I pointed out that the site doesn’t offer many other options. The Santa Barbara Airport immediately to the west probably prevents anything too tall from replacing the drive-in, and creeks to the east and west prevent encroachment from anything else.

I have no info yet on this event, but my interactions with Syufy have always shown it to be a class organization. I remember that years ago it regretted having to close a different drive-in because it couldn’t renew the lease with the landowner, and I can’t imagine any other reason for it to fold. I’ll update this post when I hear more.