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WEST WYOMING — Kayla Cunningham and her fiancé, Zachary Erfman celebrated their third anniversary Friday evening in a way few Americans have done in decades.
The Duryea pair went to a drive-in theater for its grand opening.
“We actually got our tickets yesterday,” Cunningham said as they waited for showtime at the Moonlite Drive-in.
“Grand reopening” may actually be the better term, however.
Once a popular outdoor movie venue, the original Moonlite faded into obscurity three decades ago, as drive-in theaters across the country rapidly disappeared from the scene.
New owner Eric Symeon has spent two years getting the Shoemaker Avenue property back into shape, since acquiring the property in 2017.
“There was only two of us working on it, clearing the land, doing all new sewers, electric,” Symeon said.
The nation’s first drive-in opened in 1933 in New Jersey. By the 1950s there were between 4,000 and 5,000, according to several news accounts. In 2018 there were just 321, according to statista.com.
Anticipation mounted as Moonlite’s big night neared, and the national tally shot up by one.
Facebook posts on Moonlite’s official page and a Times Leader story earlier this week were shared hundreds of times as the community looked forward to the drive-in’s rebirth.
“Everybody can’t wait to come check it out,” Symeon said.
Cunningham and Erfman had their SUV turned around and were in the process of setting up blankets and pillows in the back seat to prepare for a comfy movie experience as dusk fell.
When asked if they were excited for the theater’s return, Erfman said he “couldn’t wait.”
Friday’s showings were “Abominable,” a family-friendly animated film from Dreamworks about the Abominable Snowman, and “Good Boys,” a decidedly R-rated film about a group of sixth-grade boys hoping to get their first kiss. Erfman and Cunningham said they were excited to see both films.
Chris Jones, though, was only there for “Abominable.” The Hanover Township man was there with his young daughter, Nora, so he needed to keep the night kid-friendly. But that didn’t stop him from being excited.
He said it was a fun thing for the family to do, especially since the Garden Drive-In, in Hunlock Creek, is already shut down for the year.
Nora, meanwhile, could barely contain her excitement, dancing around while her father spoke with a reporter and seeming to have the time of her young life.
According to Symeon, the theater will be open through the autumn, but will close before winter. An exact final date for the year hasn’t been set. The Moonlite Drive-In is open Friday and Saturday nights.