Not a ‘normal’ opening night for drive-in theatre

Apr 24, 2020 | 9:11 AM

An owner of the Starlight Drive In in Enderby admits he’s excited, but also a bit nervous, about the opening of their 2020 season.

Brian Smith and the Starlight Team are launching the season the night of Thursday April 30, with social distancing rules in effect, which he says have taken a great deal of work to arrange and meet provincial health standards.

“Our key component is reducing our capacity by more than 50 per cent so that each car has 20 feet of space and they’ll be approximately 14 feet from each other,” Smith told Vernon Matters.

The other big change will be online ticket purchases only.

“You have to buy your ticket in advance which is something we’ve never done. But if we are of limited capacity, the last thing we want is for you to leave home unnecessarily.”

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The first movies on the big screen will be Sonic The Hedgehog and 1917.

The Starlight is one of just three drive in theatres in British Columbia with the other ones in Langley (Twilight) and Prince George (Park).

Smith says they plan to have five nights of shows, then take two off, and return with five more nights.

“If you look at our Facebook page, the overwhelming majority are saying ‘Please open.’ People are really looking for something to do.”

Smith calls it the “perfect social distancing activity” because you can drive there, watch a movie, drive home and never get out of your car.

Tickets sales open today at 9 a.m on their website, with tickets ranging from $13.75 (single) to $36 (family).

“You never know how it’s going to go over. There are lots of people who are very excited about us doing this, and there are some that are not,” said Smith of those with safety concerns.

Other safety measures at the Starlight will include:

Limited Hours: The gates will only open 1 hour before the first show in order to get everyone parked and situated safely, this also shortens your total time at the drive in.

Limited Activities: Some of the activities you enjoyed in the past won’t be possible until social distancing rules are relaxed, for example: ball playing, walking your dog, visiting between vehicles

Facilities: Washrooms in the concession will have social distancing measures including limited capacity and additional porta-potties will be on site

Concession Changes: Limited products will be available at the start the season which may be expanded depending on the success of our social distancing changes. Strict social distancing measures will be in place, and guests are asked to send one person from their vehicle to concession to minimize risk.

by Pete McIntyre

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