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Iowa Big North to bring drive-in movies to Charles City

Ryan Zuspin and Harley Wilson of Iowa Big North hold up a photo taken last summer and the drive-in movie that Iowa Big North showed at the Floyd County Fairgrounds. (Press photo James Grob.)

Ryan Zuspin and Harley Wilson of Iowa Big North hold up a photo taken last summer at the drive-in movie that Iowa Big North showed at the Floyd County Fairgrounds. (Press photo James Grob.)

 James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Clear out the trunk of that 1967 Buick Skylark to make room to smuggle in all your buddies. Drive-in movie theaters are back.

Well, sort of.

The first drive-in theater — then called a “park-in” — opened for business in 1933 in New Jersey. According to the History Network’s website, their popularity spiked after WWII and peaked in the late 50s and early 60s, when there were more than 5,000 theaters nationwide.

Drive-ins became an icon of American culture, and a typical weekend destination not just for families, but also for “teenage couples seeking some privacy.”

It was also just a fun way for a group of friends to spend a Saturday night. That fun didn’t last forever, however. The rising price of real estate, combined with the rise of video rentals, all led to the demise of the drive-in industry, according to history.com.

Today, there are fewer than 500 still in operation in the U.S. According to a 2016 article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, there are just five drive-in theaters in Iowa.

Make that six, if you include the one in Charles City this weekend.

Drive-in theater returns to Charles City on Friday, when the live-action version of the movie “Beauty and the Beast” will be presented in the Charles City Middle School Parking lot.

“I’m really excited about doing this,” said Iowa Big North student Harley Wilson, who is one of about a half dozen Charles City students working on the project.

“I love doing this because I love history, and bringing back history is really fun,” Wilson said. “I think it will be really interesting to have younger children go and watch a movie the way their parents and grandparents watched it.”

An entire generation has little or no understanding of how much fun it once was to spend an evening at a drive-in theatre. Wilson said she went to a drive-in movie theatre once in her life, during a summer vacation trip to California.

“We’re trying to bring that back,” Wilson said.

The throwback to the old days of cinema is the brainstorm of Iowa BIG North, and the group has an inflatable screen on which to project the movie. The family-oriented night will include games and concessions.

Iowa BIG North plans to show movies every other week throughout the summer, into August. Showtime this Friday is 9 p.m., with the games such as bean-bags and ladder golf starting at 6 p.m.

“Fun family games, for people to come and enjoy before they watch the movie,” said Wilson about the pre-movie activities.

There will be no incentive to cram friends into the trunk of the car, because the movie is free.

The screen will be under the middle school balcony, and patrons can park in the parking lot. There will also be a seating area in the front so that people can listen to the movie over the drive-in theater speakers.

Wilson said that Iowa BIG North will make an attempt to get family-oriented movies “so kids and adults can both come and enjoy it.” A schedule of all the movies showing this summer will be available soon.

Iowa BIG North goes through a company that distributes the rights to movies. Wilson said the cost varies, and depends upon the movie, but is usually in the range of $200-$400 per movie. The cost is the same regardless of how many people see the movie and regardless of the price of admission.

The New Hampton Iowa BIG North delegation bought the screen and projector last year, and shares them with Charles City. Wilson said once inflated, the screen is 30 feet wide by 17 feet tall. Charles City has gotten assistance with the project from its partners in New Hampton.

“They have helped us a lot,” said Wilson. “We are working together. Iowa BIG North is about communication between the communities and the schools, so we decided New Hampton will have it one weekend, we’ll have it the next weekend, and we’ll just flip-flop weekends.”

New Hampton showed movies throughout the summer last year at the old Dungey’s Furniture store on 960 E. Main in New Hampton. One movie was shown in Charles City last summer, at the fairgrounds.

Wilson said Iowa BIG North is hoping to buy a new sound system. She mentioned they were also looking into the possibility of broadcasting the movie on a frequency which patrons could tune into on their car radios.

Iowa BIG North approached local sponsors to raise the money. Wilson mentioned Zoetis as one company that was helping to sponsor the movie experience.

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