Canterbury Village Transforms Into a Drive-In Theater
CBS Detroit - For those of us who can remember as kids being packed into the car with the rest of the family, or taking your girlfriend for a date night to the drive-in, with the advent of the megaplex, a lot of those drive-in memories disappeared.
With the Coronavirus halting nearly every part of our economy, for moviegoers, it has been a dark time indeed. Now a businessman who saw the need to transform his business in the wake of the Coronavirus has brought a drive-in to Canterbury Village in Orion Township. As the Detroit Free Press reports, the historical marketplace is meeting the need for people in Michigan who yearn for a night out at the movies.
Dan Newman is the owner of AV7 Productions. Normally he puts on concerts, but with COVID-19 hitting Michigan especially hard, and with restrictive executive orders, and social distancing regulations, producing concerts isn't happening. So he set forth to have his crew do something different, joining forces with Canterbury Village to create a socially distanced drive-in movie theater.
Credit: The Detroit Free Press, via Dan Newman handout.
Dan told the Free Press, "It's a great thing for the community, it's a great thing for my business," Newman said. "It is good for everybody, so it was kind of a no-brainer."
Originally the idea was to have shows on the weekends, but demand for tickets really picked up, selling out in just an hour. So they're offering shows every day of the week except Wednesdays.
The drive-in can accommodate 150 cars, allowing a 20-foot gap in between spots. Adhering to Governor Whitmer's executive order on social distancing. Approximately double the width of a normal drive-in parking spot. Staff is on hand to enforce social distance rules. The sound is provided via a low power FM transmitter, straight to the car radio.
Newman is utilizing a LED video wall, unlike a projector, he can play movies before the sun goes down. The cost is $20 per vehicle and can be purchased here. He also said he hopes to get a service up where people can call Canterbury Village's C Pub so food orders can be delivered to cars in golf carts.
Movie showings will be family-friendly, with titles like Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, Jumanji, Captain Marvel, and Toy Story 4 to name a few.
The Free Press reports the Ford Wyoming Drive-in Theater is closed until executive order banning movie theaters is lifted. The US 23 drive-in in Flint, MI remains closed as well.
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