The Southern California
Drive-in Movie Society

Hey folks, we have just posted an important message from our fello drive-in fans over in Arizona. They need out support ASAP.! Click over to the "News & Stuff" page for more information.

The Excellent Upcoming Drive-in Documentary

"Going Attractions"

by April Wright

Hello folks, as we begin spring here in Southern California summer's warm breath isn't too far away. That means our SocalDIMS tailgate season is approaching fast. There may be some changes to our tailgate schedule but to warm our appetites we have an update from Co-Founder Dennis Cozzalio over on his fantastic blog Sergio Leone and the Infileld Fly Rule...

http://sergioleoneifr.blogspot.com/2011/03/carbon-arcs-burn-bright-drive-in-1976.html

3D movies have finally made it to a drive-in movie theater.

Last weekend the Galaxy Drive-In Theater in Texas

began showing movies in 3D.

Finally an affordable option to those expensive indoor

theaters. Tell us what you think.

Visit the Galaxy Drive-In Theater website for more information.

SoCalDIMS Visits the Santa Barbara Drive-In

When people think of Santa Barbara , they think of beaches, shopping, Amtrak, andfine dining.  But  drive-in theatres?  Well, thanks to chance circumstances,West Wind has reopened the Santa Barbara Drive-In Theatre in Goleta ,just a few exits north of Santa Barbara ’s State Street .  And what a theatre itis…just like Rocky, this drive-in certainly goes the distance! Opened in 1968 as a twin screener, the Santa BarbaraDrive-In closed in 1991.  However the Public Market swap meet has runcontinuously on the property, negating any disrepair or vandalism usuallyimminent once a drive in goes dark. The second screen was removed several yearsago after blowing down in a windstorm, but the second lot and projection boothare intact and house the area for the Market.

SoCalDIMS was very excited to learn of this theatre’sreopening, but it took us awhile to check things out.  Finally, in August 2010,we were able to go road tripping to Santa Barbara to get a first hand look at this wonderful newaddition to the SoCal drive-in landscape.

The Santa Barbara Drive-In offers ridiculously easy freeway access:  from the 101 take the exit for 217 and the airport, get off and turnright on Hollister, and then left on Kellog a couple of blocks down.  The drivein sits just around the bend from a row of car dealerships, hidden from view. As there is no businesses in the immediate vicinity, there is no lightpollution, and once the sun sets the night sky dazzles with such an array oftwinkling stars you think you’ve  suddenly been transported to Arizona or Alabama . The cool ocean breeze makes viewing an outdoor movie quite pleasant, with notrace of smog or mosquitos!

I was not expecting the rural country charm of thiswonderful drive-in. The Syufy snack bar is a sight to behold, with it’scurved dome and wonderfully vintage supports.  The food was delicious,featuring Nathan’s hot dogs, hamburgers, churros, ice cream treats,candy, and tasty popcorn!  The prices were very reasonable, and there was roomto sit on the patio and enjoy your meal.  I especially loved the drive-incollector cup with retro graphics!

The lot holds up to 500 cars and the staff was very friendlyand helpful. There is a parking attendant to make sure taller vehicles parkbehind the first few rows to ensure good viewing for cars.  Having one of theselarger vehicles was not a problem as the view was perfect from where I was aswell.  The crowd was very excited to be at the drive-in: many set up lawnchairs and some brought their dogs!  One patron proudly told others that it washis first drive-in visit ever and he was having a great time.

<a href="http://s1018.photobucket.com/albums/af303/socaldims/Santa%20Barbara%20Drive-In%20Road%20Trip/?action=view&current=ADrive2.jpg" mce_href="http://s1018.photobucket.com/albums/af303/socaldims/Santa%20Barbara%20Drive-In%20Road%20Trip/?action=view&current=ADrive2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af303/socaldims/Santa%20Barbara%20Drive-In%20Road%20Trip/ADrive2.jpg" mce_src="http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af303/socaldims/Santa%20Barbara%20Drive-In%20Road%20Trip/ADrive2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

The Santa Barbara Drive-In sits next to the Santa Barbara Airport , and occasionally planesdescended along the back of the property.  Noise was never a problem while wewere there, and I enjoyed watching their descent into the setting sun.  Oncethe movies started, the projection was very bright, and the sound quality ofthe films (through your car speakers or portable radio) was excellent.

Manager Ken Krummes was very welcoming and his pride forthis theatre was evident.  He said the reopening came about due to a requestfrom a local charity to rent the theatre for a special movie night.  Initialplans were delayed, but once the event took place it was a huge success, andsoon after a Facebook page was launched campaigning  for the permanent reopeningof the theatre.  West Wind, who had previously reopened a drive-in in Concord , CA ,decided to give it a try, and the Santa Barbara Drive-In opened in May for atrial summer run. 

Upcoming events at the theatre include a free movie night onSeptember 16, 2010.  Gates will open at 6pm for an 8pm showing of“Inception” followed by ”The A-Team.”  There will bemusic and games for the kids, and free movie nights will hopefully become anannual event.  I’m sure there will be plenty of fun and excitement forall! I really hope this theatre is successful and remains inoperation.  Hopefully the nearby college students will support it, andday-trippers to Santa Barbara will include it on their agenda before heading back home.  The drive-in has aFacebook page (SantaBarbaraDI) which posts movie times and news updates, andthe West Wind site (www.westwinddi.com) also has it listed with theirother theatres.

<a href="http://s1018.photobucket.com/albums/af303/socaldims/Santa%20Barbara%20Drive-In%20Road%20Trip/?action=view&current=SoCal1.jpg" mce_href="http://s1018.photobucket.com/albums/af303/socaldims/Santa%20Barbara%20Drive-In%20Road%20Trip/?action=view&current=SoCal1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af303/socaldims/Santa%20Barbara%20Drive-In%20Road%20Trip/SoCal1.jpg" mce_src="http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af303/socaldims/Santa%20Barbara%20Drive-In%20Road%20Trip/SoCal1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

We here at SoCalDIMS certainly plan to patronize thistheatre as much as possible, and hopefully it will be around to for many yearsto come.  We can’t wait to go back!

The Skyline Drive IN Theatre in Barstow, California will have it's official Grand Re-opening on Friday, October2nd.  The Skyline is the latest acquisition of Gene Harvey Theatres and will open on the big screen with "ZOMBIELAND" and "DISTRICT9" from Sony Pictures.  Screen two bookings will be announced next Monday September, 28th.

From opening day until Thursday October 8th - all paid admissions will receive a free popcorn and a free soft drink.

The Skyline Drive IN will be managed by Mr. Quiyon Verner with guidance from

Jeff Thurman, COO of Gene HarveyTheatres and formerly with

DeAnza Land and Leisure at the Mission Tiki Drive INTheatre in Montclair, CA.

We hope to see all SOCAL DIMSmembers in Barstow soon.

Earlier this week we received word that the Skyline Twin Drive-In, a beautiful dual screen drive-in in the Desert town of Barstow California had closed it's doors. SoCalDiMS had made a road trip out to the Skyline earlier this summer and had been very impressed with Randy Shull and his efforts to keep this drive-in open and viable and technically up to date.

SoCalDIMS founding member Kathy Beyers would like to share some thoughts on the loss of this theater to our drive-in community:

Some Thoughts on the Skyline Drive-In, Barstow, CA

I am very saddened by the news of the Skyline closing, and have a few thoughts on the subject concerning operators/leasing issues.  Larry Rodkey (owner) grew up on the Sunset drive-in property in SanLuis Obispo and started learning the drive-in business when he was just a kid.  At one point his Rodkey Theaters owned or leased 4 theaters:  3 drive-ins and 1 restored walk in. 

The Sunset is nowhere near the Skyline so it's not like he could just run over there every day and check on things...

Barstow is a small town which sits in the desert.  It has to pull patrons in from 3 surrounding communities (40 miles away) to stay busy. Thousands of people pass by on the interstate, but few seem to stop in Barstow except for lunch and fuel on the way to Vegas.  When SoCaldims was there ealier in the summer Randy said business had been down for a couple of years now.

Randy Shull, a long-time drive-in manager, has the Skyline in tip-top shape, even though there had been some weather related incidents in the past year.  His love for this theatre was obvious, but he also has a family and a full-time job in town.  He did a really cool thing with the first Transformers movie promotion and got totally ignored by the industry people for which it was intended...his disappointment was evident.

I think Randy and Larry have both done a commendable job in bringing the Skyline back to life after it sat vacant for a long while and keeping it going for as long as they did. Maybe someone will step in at some point and continue the operation.  This is a really nice drive-in but like all of them is not without it's challenges.

I know I will miss it, and I'm sure all the patrons in Barstow, Apple Valley, and Victorville will as well.

Kathy

Turner Classic Movies and the folks from the Deanza company continued their summer run of Sunday evening classic movies under the stars with a screening of Elvis Presley and And Margaret in Viva Las Vegas at the Mission Tiki Drive-In in Montclair California.

And what a turn out there was to behold. Elvis Presley can still pack the house. Projectionist Jeff Thurman made the announcement over the FM transmitter that on this night, the Mission Tiki was proud to announce that we were part of the largest crowd for these summer classic movie night. Every gave themselves a round of applause by tooting their horns and flashing their headlights.

And then it happened... The MGM logo appeared and the music kicked up and we all sat back to watch and listen to the King of Rock n' Roll move and groove alongside the sultry and swingin' Ann Margaret. If you couldn't make it there, well then you really missed a great night.

The following is from Kathy Beyers, Co-Founder of the Southern California Drive-In Movie Society as she reflects on her experience traveling out to the high desert of Barstow California...

We hit the road about 11am and the drive to Barstow took just under 2 hours.  We checked into our motel and headed over to Yermo to have lunch at the nearby Peggy Sue's Diner, then visited the Route 66 museum and met up with the rest of DIMS for a nice dinner before heading over to the drive-in.

The Skyline Drive-In is one of my favorite theaters.  As the sun goes down, the twinkling lights of Barstow appear behind the main screen for a truly spectacular sight.  Both screens offer Technalight projection and the audio quality is excellent.  The snackbar has great food and a friendly staff (Flicks candy anyone?), and the restrooms have always been clean.  If the nearby Harvey House is the Casa del Desierto, the Skyline is the Diamond of the Desert - what a gem!

Randy Shull really knows how to run a theater - he has the experience and dedication to make this drive-in a first class operation. He took a few minutes to chat with our group and told us an amazing story about an opening night promotion he did a few years back, and SoCalDIMS will hopefully post the full story in the coming months. I have never heard of any theater anywhere doing what he did, and I wish I could have been there!

I always stop at the Skyline for a movie whenever I'm on my way to (and from) Vegas.  The Skyline sits just off the 15 and is within sight of historic Route 66.  Barstow is a wonderful little town, with great places to eat and a couple of museums that were very interesting.  The Motel 6 there is very quiet and has always been a great place to stay.

Our group had a wonderful time - I think we'll be making many more trips to the Skyline Drive-In and Barstow!

- Kathy Beyers.