Outdoor Movies and Drive In Movies Still a Treat in California
Pictured is Moonlight Movies on the Beach you can watch free during the summer at Alfredo’s Beach Club (alfredosbeachclub.com) in Belmont Shore, and the advertisement for food from the Snack Bar at the old-fashioned drive-in movies at South Bay Drive In, Imperial Beach (southbaydrivein.com).
The popularity of free summer outdoor movie screenings has grown during the past several year. These events are usually sponsored through parks and recreation departments of municipalities. The selected films are always family friendly and are often geared toward childlren. In reality, they are a throw back to the drive-in movie!
For those who have never experienced a drive-in movie, there are a few remaining in California and when you find one, go! You can pack the kids up in the car (sometimes wearing their PJs) and get a night’s entertainment, complete with walks to the bathroom, the snackbar, sometimes a playground for the kids, or just hanging outside the car in the fresh air. During the heyday of drive-ins there were over 220 in California. Today most have shut down to become swap meets, malls, housing developments and even a cemetery.
A few drive in movie theaters still open include:
- Imperial Beach: South Bay Drive-in, southbaydrivein.com
- Industry: Vineland Drive-in, vinelanddriveintheater.com
- Riverside: Van Buren Drive-in, vanburendrivein.com
- West-Wind Drive-ins, westwindpublicmarkets.com: Concord – Solano Way, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Barbara, Sacramento
- San Luis Obispo: Sunset Drive-in
- Santa Cruz: Sky View Drive-in
- Santa Fe Springs Drive-in
- Santa Maria Hiway Drive-in
- Santee Drive-in
- Twentynine Palms: Smith’s Ranch Drive -in
- Visalia: Mooney Drive-in
