‘Splash’-tacular: Capacity crowd for Dive-in Theater
The city’s Parks and Leisure department hosted a successful Dive-in Theater on Friday evening at the city pool.
Just as the sun began to descend into the horizon, the gates to the annual event were opened. Because it was a first come, first serve style event, a line that wrapped around the pool’s fence had formed and it nearly reached the parking lot. There were concerns not everyone was going to make it in.
Luckily, every family in line made it into the pool and the event reached its capacity of 280 people.
Before this year’s chosen film, Ralph Breaks the Internet, started families were allowed to enjoy some playtime in the pool together. Soon after families began flowing in, splashes, shrieks of laughter and the buzz of conversation filled the space within the pool. In only a matter of minutes, lines had already formed for both the diving board and the water slide.
Some of the families carried in ice chests and bags of food. A snack bar on the far side of the pool near the men’s locker room sold food items like nachos, candy, churros and ice cream, for those who needed snacks before or during the movie.
More than eight life
guards roamed the outside of the pool reminding children to walk and kept a watchful eye over the many bodies in the water.
This was the first and only Dive-in Theater for the year. In previous years, the event would happen multiple times over the course of the summer, however because attendance had been falling after the school year started, the Parks and Leisure department decided to switch the schedule up and try something different.
As the sky started to turn purple and pink, the time was near for the movie to start. Several families brought out folding chairs they positioned in what they felt was the best spot to enjoy the film with their families. Some people remained in the pool and enjoyed the movie from the water.
“I like this event because it’s a fun way to spend time with my family,” said Eduardo Hernandez. “We bring food, we eat and laugh. And then we enjoy a movie together. What could be better than that?”