The president of the Sussex Drive-In says they have seen a great start to the season, despite the pandemic.
The outdoor movie theatre opened its gates for the season on May 15 as the province started to lift restrictions.
Don Monahan says they have taken several steps to keep everyone safe, such as installing plexiglass at the canteen.
“The lineups are long but people are just happy to be out and happy to be able to go to the drive-in and have some form of entertainment,” said Monahan.
“We’re parking cars on busy nights, such as Friday and Saturday night, to ensure that that six-feet distance is respected and at the same time to ensure that we can maximize the number of cars that can partake at the drive-in facilities.”
Monahan said the pandemic has also given the drive-in a chance to expand their offerings. He said they have received several requests this year to do more than just play movies.
The drive-in has partnered with Pocologan Productions to host a music and comedy night on June 12.
“We’ve also got some other local events that are going to be happening on Sunday afternoons starting on June 21st where we’re going to have some folks come in and play music and broadcast on the FM radio,” said Monahan.
“We already have plans to host potentially another music fest as well at the end of July and next year we want to have at least one music-type or comedy event per month.”
The drive-in will also host students from Petitcodiac Regional School and J.M.A. Armstrong High School in Salisbury for their graduation ceremonies this month.
Monahan acknowledges the changes would not have happened had it not been for the pandemic forcing them to improvise.
“We were just focused on playing movies and using that theme to generate revenue for the campground. By COVID actually taking place this year, it’s allowed us to take off the blinders and rethink what we really want to do to help spice up the drive-in and give it a different format for years to come,” he said.
