When Ken suggested we go to a drive-in movie last Friday night, my initial thought was no short of nostalgic. What lept to mind were rows of Cadillacs, girls in poodle skirts with dainty scarves adorning their pony tails, silhouetted soda-pop bottles and buttered popcorn for days. My second thought was, ‘Do we even have one around here?’ The last time I’d heard anything about a drive-in movie theater was a few years ago when many of them seemed to be closing their doors: a by-gone chapter in America’s history it had seemed.
Well much to my surprise, drive-in movies are very much still a hoppin’ summertime event! Almost a subculture of families, groups of friends, kids on dates (even married ones like us) all gathered for a triple movie feature beneath the evening dusk sky. We pulled up to Vali-Hi Drive-in’s ticket window about 45 minutes before the first movie began to find the theater over 3/4 full and bustling.
Though the tangible era markers have changed, the heart of the drive-in movie is every bit the same. The concessions are still serving up the usual menu of popcorn, pop and ice cream, the black and white photo booth is still snapping away shots behind the drawn curtain, the golden oldies are humming away providing a light-hearted soundtrack, and the chatter rising from the sea of cars never fails to silence as the sky darkens and the screen begins to glow.
From what I can tell, Minnesota has about 5 drive-in’s still operating around the state: Vali-Hi, Long Lake, Elko, Verne, Litchfield. But if you don’t have a drive-in theater near you, set-up a backyard movie night instead! Oh Happy Day! totally has you covered on this front. Or check around in your area for ‘movie-in-the-park’ nights. It seems like there’s one in almost every Minneapolis neighborhood during the summer.
