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You’ll see them starring in movies like Grease, Back to the Future and The Outsiders.
They might have had their hey-day in the 1960s, but drive-in movie theatres are still around, and the Twilite Drive-In Theatre in Wolseley is celebrating its 70th year in business in 2024.
The theatre opened in 1954 and was run by Stan Zaba, before being passed onto his son Don Zaba.
Don Zaba joined CJME’s Greg Morgan this week to discuss the theatre and what it’s like running a drive-in.
The Twilite Drive-In Theatre in Wolseley has its original screen. (Supplied/Facebook)
Zaba said not much work had been done to the facility over the years.
“That is the original screen,” said Zaba. “We resurfaced the plywood in 2016 .. whoever manufactured that screen was a genius cause it’s still upright.”
Zaba said a couple years ago strong plow winds came through the area and shattered car windows but the screen kept standing.
Many drive-in theaters have aged out over the years but not Twilite, something that Zaba credits to his father.
“My dad taught us well on how to run and manage things in poor conditions,” he said.
Zaba said the theatre changed to digital in 2013, adding that it has helped return Twilite to what it was like in the 1950s and 1960s.
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One modern challenge is bright headlights on cars that may not turn off easily.
Zaba said he’s got the best fix for that.
“… 90 per cent of them we can figure out, but some of them will not go out,” said Zaba.
“So we provide people with some rags or an old tea towel and we wet them well and they actually stick to the vehicle and it covers the lights.”
Zaba also lets fans vote on some movies they want to see and the most popular one by a landslide was 1978 musical Grease.
Films like 1982’s E.T and 1984’s Footloose were also popular choices.
A movie isn’t complete without something to eat and Zaba said the most popular choice isn’t popcorn.
“Our most popular sale right now is fries and gravy — poutine,” said Zaba.
Zaba also reflected on his time as a child and some of his favourite films.
“I used to like a lot of old westerns, so my favourite is ‘The Good, The Bad, The Ugly’ with Clint Eastwood,” said Zaba. “Films like ‘Old Yeller’ were very good.”
Now movies like 2024’s Twisters, a sequel to the 1996 movie Twister screening throughout July, will play for the next generation of drive-in moviegoers to enjoy.
Twilite is one of five drive-in theatres in the province, according to Tourism Saskatchewan, joining Kyle’s Clearwater Drive-In, Salty Cinema Drive-In in Manitou Beach, Prairie Dog Drive-In in Carlyle and Moonlight Movies Drive-In in Pilot Butte.
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