Drive-In Theatre: A Film of Memories
- navakallc
- Jun 9, 2024
- 3 min read
As the summer approaches, the weather in Redmond warms me up to the extent that I never want to leave. All the Washingtonians are so happy that the rainy months have finally come to an end and the sun has started peeking through the clouds, pushing them out of the way. With the warmer weather comes a facet of other activities, one in particular that I love for its tradition.
I’m talking about drive-in movie theatres. Every year, one of my favorite parks in Redmond, Marymoor Park, hosts an annual drive-in movie theatre. They offer multiple different movies along a range of dates, and it’s a must visit tradition for a lot of the families around here. A drive-in theatre is different than other theatres, for obvious reasons, starting with the fact that it is outdoors!
There is a large screen they put up a few hours before the designated movie time, which is inflatable. It’s like a projector screen, except you fill air in it like an inflatable, to make it stay upright on its own, without the support of poles. It’s always a fun experience to go there a few hours early and experience the thrill of the whoosh sound of the screen as it fills up the air, and the screech of the food trucks as they park in their designated spots for the night. I love to watch the cars slowly driving into spot with good views of the screen, like a parking lot on grass.
Once everyone gets settled into their spots, you can see people taking out beach supplies from their cars. Foldable chairs, picnic mats, cartons full of food and snacks, and coolers full of drinks. It’s a colorful array of mismatched supplies, each family mimicking the other, like a known routine that everybody follows each time they go to a drive-in. We do the same, and then, the fun part, go and scout the food trucks.
There’s all kinds of foods that you can find there, Mexican, Asian, Italian, American, and most importantly, the glue binding together the entire buffet, the dessert. There’s ice cream sandwiches, cupcakes, and most importantly, the most important movie snack… Popcorn (Kettle Corn). I love the vibe that’s there at the theatre, full of laughter and smiles as everyone is excited by the summer that’s rapidly approaching.
The pacific northwest experiences a longer daytime as summer approaches, due to the tilt of the earth. On the longest day of the year, June 21st, the sunset time is at 9:11pm, and it takes even more time to go completely dark. Since the movie is outdoors, it has to start a few minutes after sunset, when the only light in the sky is the distant reddish glow of the sun on the horizon, and the stars twinkling in the night sky above us.
As we approach the timing for the movie to start, we’re all requested to tune into a specific radio channel. This is another thing that’s unique about drive in theatres. The audio is heard inside our car, on the radio channel. As the movie is about to begin, everyone huddles in their car again, increasing the volume of the speakers and watching the large screen outside. The first movie we watched there was Jumanji 2, and it was truly an amazing experience.
These small experiences we get here in Redmond bring us closer to the summer, and is something I truly cherish. It gives me a sneak peak into all the experiences and memories my friends, family, and I will make over the course of the summer. Starting with turning my cell phone off, leaning back into my car seat, and enjoying the ride the movie will take me on.