As the pandemic continues, finding safe yet fun activities has become a priority for people around the country. For movie fanatics like me, drive-ins are the answer.
Throughout the pandemic, drive-in theaters — once the backbone of summertime entertainment decades ago — have found a resurgence thanks to the built-in social distance quality: you stay in your car to watch the movie.
But there are only around 300 drive-ins still operating across the US. That leaves out a lot of moviegoers who miss that big-screen experience. However, some local theaters are getting creative.
In Cranford, New Jersey, a few towns over from where I live, the local arthouse, Cranford Theater, has created a drive-in experience. In cooperation with the local officials, the parking lot of the Orange Avenue Pool, the public pool in the town, gets transformed a few nights a week into a drive-in theater.
And since it started showing movies around the July 4 weekend, it's been a hit. There have been sold-out shows of classics like "Jaws" and "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark." There will also be future showings of other great movies like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Uncle Buck," "Beetlejuice," and Tim Burton's "Batman" (all those showings are sold out). It costs $25 per car, which isn't too bad if you bring your entire family.
On Tuesday night, I took my family to see "The Karate Kid." It was certainly a highlight of our summer so far.