At one time, drive-in theaters dotted all the prairie provinces, but as viewing habits and technology changed, many of these places went out of business. That’s not the case with the Twilight Drive-In at Wolseley where it continues to operate successfully after 70 years.
“The main key is we stuck with it and, of course over the years, we’ve had our ups and downs, but in the last 15 to 20 years it’s more of a nostalgic thing because there’s not many drive-ins around,” said owner/operator Don Zaba. “The baby boomers that used to come to the drive-in now bring their children and grandchildren and it’s been a very good ride.”
The Twilight has made several improvements over the years including the addition of digital technology, which Zaba says was a big decision for them.
“It was very expensive and we were sort of the fence, should we do it, not do it? Anyway we did it and it was one of the best decisions we ever made and since then its been doing very well.”
The drive-in has been in the Zaba family since 1954 and they still remember what the very first movie was that they projected on that giant screen.
“Dad always told us it was ‘Take Me to Town’,” stated Zaba
“Take Me to Town” was released in 1953 and starred Ann Sheridan and Sterling Hayden. The musical western comedy about a woman who escapes police custody and hides out in a small town where she unexpectedly becomes a mother to motherless kids who want their father to re-marry.
Full interview:
In celebration of 70 years of business the Twilight Drive-In will be showing a few retro movies this weekend. Friday night they will be showing “Grease” with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, Saturday will be E.T., and “Footloose” with Keven Bacon will be shown on Sunday. CLICK HERE for ticket info and movie times.
(Photo by Twilight Drive-In. From Facebook)
