RM of Lumsden shuts down drive-in theatre over traffic safety

They say the show must go on, but maybe not for Lumsden’s drive-in theatre.

Moonlight Movies Drive-In, located near Lumsden off of Highway 20, announced in a Facebook post Tuesday that it is closing. The post alleges the RM of Lumsden told Outer Edge Adventure Park, which operates the drive-in, that traffic before and after showings causes a public safety concern.

Shawn Barrett, owner of the drive-in, ran the theatre along Highway 20 in 2017, before being invited by the town of Lumsden to use an inflatable screen in town. Eventually, he moved operations to the current location at Outer Edge Adventure Park.

“We started playing movies at Outer Edge about mid-summer because it took a while to build a screen,” Barrett said. “It came together at last, (and) then we just found out that the RM of Lumsden had decided that ‘No, that’s not safe.’ ”

Barrett said he’s “thunderstruck” by the decision, especially because of the RM’s alleged concern over safety because of the traffic.

“When I was on Highway 20 in 2017 they didn’t care,” said Barrett. “And this is the same Highway 20 you go to Craven on (for Country Thunder) and we all know what that’s like.”

According to Barrett, the RM has never previously complained about the drive-in being a concern and he’s frustrated with what he feels is a lack of consultation on the part of the RM.

“They’ve never consulted with us and even when they gave a decision to Outer Edge, they didn’t even give an opportunity to remedy (it) …,” he said. “It was just arbitrarily, ‘Drive-in done.’ ”

Barrett claimed the RM warned him the noise of the drive-in could be a nuisance to nearby neighbours, but he said no one has complained to him. He said he only received “blank answers” from the RM when he asked about it.

“We’re having a hard time coming to grips with the logic behind this decision,” Barrett said, but he’s thankful for the positive feedback his Facebook post has received.

“We made the post (Tuesday) morning hoping to get some support and we’ve been floored,” he added. “It has been so overwhelming, we’re just asking everyone to keep it up.”

Moving forward, the owner said he hopes public outcry will be enough to have the RM reverse the decision.

“The only thing that can fight it honestly is the public opinion …,” he said. “If they don’t feel pressure from the public, nothing is going to change.”

A representative from the RM of Lumsden was unavailable for comment Tuesday afternoon but said a statement on the matter would be released soon.