MANSFIELD — A tradition that began nearly a century ago in New Jersey will renew itself Friday night when the Springmill Drive-In Theater opens for the 2020 season.
Given the dearth of local entertainment options during the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing a movie from the comfort and safety of your own vehicle perhaps has never sounded better.
The Springmill Drive-In, which features two screens, is easily found at 1040 Springmill Road, aka Ohio 39, just about a mile north of U.S. 30.
Opening in 1950, the local landmark offers first-run double features, with the occasional triple-feature at no extra charge.
All four movies showing this weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings are 2020 releases.
On screen one each night, the Disney Pixar animated movie “Onward” starts at 9:15 p.m. with “Call of The Wild,” starring Harrison Ford, at 11:15 p.m.
On screen two, “The Hunt,” an American satirical horror thriller film, begins at 9:10 p.m. “The Invisible Man,” a science fiction horror film, starts at 10:55 p.m.
The box office opens one hour before showtime. Tickets on Friday and Saturday at $10 for adults and $5 for children. Tickets on Sunday evenings are $8 for adults and $4 for children.
The theater, which shows movies rain or shine, accepts cash, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover cards.
If you plan to go, here are some essential “etiquette” points to remember:
— The concession stand will be open. If you want to bring in your own food and drinks, a $10 food permit must be purchased at the time of admission.
— Patrons will need to have a working FM radio in their car to hear the movie audio. If your vehicle FM radio doesn’t work, please bring one with you. The drive-in will not supply FM radios.
— Trucks, vans, SUVs and other vehicles taller than five-feet tall must park no closer than four rows back from the screen. The first three rows are reserved for smaller vehicles.
— Patrons who want to keep hatches open during the movies must have their hatches died down level with the roof of the vehicle, unless they are backed in the back row with no vehicles behind them.
— No screen switching is allowed. Ticket purchases are for the movies on the same screen. If you want to watch one feature on one screen and the second movie on the other screen, you must exit the drive-in and purchase a ticket for the second screen.
— Re-entry into the drive-in for any reason requires another ticket purchase.
— At this point, pets are permitted at the drive-in. If your pet causes a disturbance, or if you don’t “clean up” after your pet, you will be asked to leave without a refund or raincheck.
