New West drive-in experiment charms moviegoers
Frank Mahovlich, 75, settles in to his 1961 T-bird for a special drive-in screening of Grease along New Westminster's waterfront on Saturday. He said he was the second car to arrive, shortly after 6:30 p.m.
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Updated: July 15, 2009 4:31 PM
Barry White and Petra Eberl can't talk about their memories about going to the drive in movies. After all, it's a family newspaper.
But on Saturday night, snuggled together in the rumble seat of their 1934 Ford 3 Window Coupe, they got to relive some of those good times, the G-rated ones at least, on the New Westminster waterfront, at a special Drive-In Movie Night, part of this year's Royal City Show and Shine.
"It's a great community event," said White. "It's things like this that make everyone appreciate the city and appreciate each other. We're not just a bunch of strangers. New Westminster is sort of a small town in the middle of a big city."
It's also relatively bug-free, said Kim Breslin, who was celebrating her 49th wedding anniversary with her husband, Ron, by watching Grease on the 30-foot portable screen erected at the east end of the parking lot along the Fraser River.
When she and Ron went on their first date to a drive-in theatre outside Toronto 51 years ago, the mosquitoes were huge and Kim was so sick she fell asleep in the passenger seat of Ron's TR3. Obviously, he wasn't offended.
"It's a nice feeling of nature," said Kim as she edged her lawn chair a little closer to Ron's. "It's more relaxed. I think it's a nice idea, as long as you can get something to drink and have a little snack, you're all set."
At the small concession stand set up at the back of the lot Joan McLean, of the New Westminster Lions Club, was in charge of doling out some of those snacks.
"This is a great idea," said McLean, her arms buried elbow-deep in warm, yellow popcorn. "This really brings back the old days. When you're sitting in your car, you've got more room."
Or on your car, like six year old Payton Vining, who staked out the prime viewing spot on the hood of his family's Jeep Grand Cherokee.
"We're out to see it for the excitement," said Payton's mom, Tamara, as she cuddled the newest addition to the family in the front seat.
So were a lot of other people. Steven King, a summer ambassador for the Downtown BIA and one of the organizers of the event, said his crew of volunteers guided about 200 cars and 400 people into the lot east of the Fraser River Discovery Centre. And when the lot was full, some late-comers perched themselves along the railing of the Front Street parkade, tuning in the movie's soundtrack on a special frequency on the FM radio of their cars.
"We saw it as a history maker," said King. "It's never been done before. We had high hopes but it went better than expected."
That's better than a John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John duet to the ears of New Westminster Mayor Wayne Wright, who saw the evening as a chance to showcase the potential of the neighbouring Westminster Pier property, which was recently acquired by the city with the intent to turn it into a park.
"It shows off the city," said Wright, as he munched on popcorn in the front seat of his tan and brown Ford Bronco, parked in the centre of the front row of cars. "It shows we're family-oriented and that's what we want.
"It's a perfect evening. It's a happening. I think people are going to remember this and they're going to talk about this for a long time."
v2
