Here’s all you need to know as Loxwood Drive-In Movies gets ready with its sparkling selection
It will be new territory for most of us – and new territory for the organisers too.
But if all goes well with their debut this month, Loxwood Drive-In Movies might well become a fixture in summers to come.
Organiser Maurice Bacon is reporting strong interest in tickets so far. And he admits it would be good to come back and do it again next year without the social distancing which will be essential this summer. Maurice is very much looking forward to this year’s series – partly because it will be new to him too.
“I had read about drive-in movies and put the thought to one side, and then I mentioned it to my son Danny as something we could possibly do this summer when it was clear we weren’t going to be able to put on our usual events like the Loxwood Joust.
“We didn’t discuss it any more and then two weeks later he said he thought it was a good idea, and we started to look into it.
“We always try to do things really well, but we had never done anything like this before. I’d always wanted to go to a drive-in movie, but it was something I had never done. And I found this company based around Poole, Dorset, and I rang her and asked if we could do it. She started to explain about the films and the screens and what was required, and she gave us the heads-up.
“We have now got this fantastic set-up with these amazing LED screens which you can watch just as well during the day. It’s a bit like when you go to a music festival, you see the screens at the side of the stage – that kind of thing. And then you start choosing the movies.”
Maurice says they will be able to take 150 sociallydistanced cars per show, with the vehicles arranged in a zigzag pattern to maximise distance. As for viewing, it is all about the angles and the height. The screen is 35ft by 14ft and will be three metres off the ground; a natural slope will also help ensure everyone gets a great view, Maurice says.
“All the technicalities are really quite complex, but we have learned a lot very quickly and I think we are in very good shape.”
A knock-on benefit, as Maurice says, will be that it will feed into the local economy. He will have ten staff; the sound company will have several more, as will the lighting; and then there are the caterers: “It will create jobs and employ people. And I think it is going to be great. I am really excited about it.
“It is going to be about the experience. It is not so much about the movies. People are picking the movies they want to go and see, but none of them are new movies. It is really just that people want to go out. I am dying to go out myself, just like we used to. I would go anywhere! But this is somewhere that people can go and where they can feel really safe and comfortable.
“And it if does well and if we get good feedback, I would like to add it to our events list. I would love people to really enjoy the experience – and then maybe next year we could do it with people being able to get out of their cars.”
Loxwood Drive-In Movies launch in Loxwood Meadows on July 9 and will last for 14 days.
Cars will be parked at least two metres apart in numbered bays and a food delivery service will enable you to text your order for delivery to your vehicle.
Tickets must be booked in advance and for the full film programme and to book tickets, visit the Loxwood Drive-In Movies website at www.loxwooddriveinmovies. co.uk.
The films are The Lego Movie, A Knight’s Tale, Finding Nemo, Rocketman, Despicable Me, Grease, The Goonies, Dirty Dancing, The Lion King, Joker, The Amazing Spider-Man, Pulp Fiction, Toy Story, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Wall-E, Mamma Mia, The Incredibles, The Matrix, Chicken Run, The Notebook, The Lego Batman Movie, Back To The Future, Beauty And The Beast, Alien, Cars and Notting Hill.