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.

SoCalDIMS founding member and blogger Dennis Cozzalio,

creator of Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule

has put together an exciting event at the Mission Tiki

on May 30th.

For more information on the event visit Dennis' blog at:

http://sergioleoneifr.blogspot.com/2009/05/show-starts-at-dusk-drive-in-season.html

The event has also receievd additional internet press from

LA Observed:

http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2009/05/keeping_drive-in_culture.php