It’s going to be a different season, to be sure, but the owner of the Brackley Drive-In still plans to open.
Bob Boyle said the giant movie screen won’t be firing up in early May as it normally would, but he is quick to point out that drive-ins are opening up all over the world, including in British Columbia and Ontario, current hotspots for the coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) in Canada.
“I have had no contact with the (P.E.I.) health department, they’re quite busy dealing with a pandemic and I’m pretty low on the totem pole and the need (to open) is not there yet,’’ Boyle said. “As we get closer to the middle, end of May, then we’ll need to have a conversation on how we can make it work.’’
Like most people, Boyle knows life isn’t going to return to normal overnight. But, if he’s able to give people a little bit of hope by providing a night out of the house, and do it safely, he’s going to try.
Boyle has been keeping a close eye on what other drive-ins have been doing to comply with physical distancing guidelines — parking spots are eliminated to ensure there is a minimum of 10 to 12 feet between vehicles and only so many people are allowed in the canteen.
Just the facts
- In 1958, there were 5,000 drive-ins across Canada and the U.S.
- Today, there are fewer than 50 drive-ins in Canada.
- The Brackley Drive-In opened in 1959 but operated as the Parkview Drive-In until the Boyle family purchased it in 1992 and gave it its current name.
- The Brackley Drive-In is the last remaining drive-in operating on P.E.I. today, but at one time they were spread out across the province, in areas such as Cavendish, Charlottetown (then North River), just outside Montague (now Three Rivers) and Summerside.
He said it: “Where is the public safety issue? It’s a drive-in theatre. You’re in the car with the same people (you live with)’’. - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, referring to drive-ins operating during the pandemic.
The Brackley Drive-In has never used debit at the front gate for admission as it has always been a cash transaction. To remove that risk, Boyle said he would set up an online ticketing system where people would pre-purchase their movie pass, print it off and take it with them. The bar code would be scanned through the car window, eliminating any physical contact between the driver and the employee at the admission gate.
And, other than to go to the canteen or washroom, people would be required to stay in their vehicles.
“The part that I’m trying to wrap my mind around is the whole washroom idea. That, to me, is a bit of a bottleneck. I’m sure we could come up with a solution, whether it be portable washrooms and portable sinks and whatnot to be able to do handwashing.’’
In response to the pandemic, countries such as Germany, have been opening pop-up drive-ins to give people a safe way of getting out of the house for entertainment. Stages have been set up in parking lot for bands to play on with a camera projecting the band onto a makeshift screen while people sit inside their cars and watch.
In the United States, drive-ins are being used for everything from church services to graduation ceremonies and proms.
One of the challenges Boyle can’t do much about involves the movies themselves. The big movie studios are pushing their summer releases to later in the year because movie theatres are closed. Boyle said one alternative might be to offer nights with slighter older hit movies or classic movie nights, letting people online choose what two films the drive-in would show ahead of time.
And, because people aren’t supposed to be associating with others unless they live together, Boyle said they will eliminate carload pricing for the time being ($35 for up to five people) and go strictly with a per-person charge.
“(Opening) would be a gesture of hope to get back to some sort of normalcy.’’
