The Drive 815 brings weekly outdoor movies to your car
Outdoor movies will run at The Drive 815 through October.
Remember the fun of packing a car full of friends on a warm summer night and heading to the local drive-in? The concept died out for a while, but now drive-ins are making a return.
Local entrepreneur Jalen Ponder is getting in on the new trend.
In June, 2021, Ponder, CEO of Evendtor, a digital marketing company, partnered with Beloit International Film Festival (BIFF) to bring movies outdoors again. Ponder is a 2020 graduate of Hononegah Community High School.
“Business is going well,” Ponder said recently. Movies are shown Friday and Saturday nights on a huge pop-up screen at Rockton Athletic Fields, 12801 Old River Rd, in Rockton.
Tickets can be purchased online at their Facebook page through EventBrite or through their text club at http://drive815.com/. Cost is $20 per carload or $25 at the gate. Movies will run until the end of October.
On a recent Friday evening, Ponder greeted incoming cars wearing a flower lei around his neck. It was Hawaiian Night at the drive-in. The featured movie was “Moana.” Needless to say, the parking area was filled with little ones and their parents.
Families tailgated from their cars, or ate a burger from the food truck on the premises. Games, music, and glittery balloon-tying were a nice addition to the drive-in experience.
It won’t be long before the weather gets cold and the drive-in shuts down for the season. There’s still time to catch a movie at The Drive 815’s Cinemas from your car.
