UPDATE (Thursday, April 27, 2023): The featured film on May 5 has been changed. Viewers will now enjoy a screening of the original Footloose.

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Edmond Town Hall (ETH), the historic theater and movie house located at 45 Main Street, announced this week the return of its summer drive-in movie theater offering.

The ETH team first conceptualized the drive-in as an alternative to the theater’s standard indoor movie screenings in June 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although intended as a temporary, one-time movie-viewing adaptation, Edmond’s drive-in quickly became known as an exciting and unique experience for people of all ages.

Uniting the greater Newtown community through nostalgic summer fun, the drive-in was an experience to remember.

The 2020 project successfully hit the ground running with a movie screen adhered to the west side of the 1930 Georgian-style building. Vehicles parked in the building’s upper, back lot.

Moviegoers lined up to secure their parking spot and order in-house concessions, which were hand prepared and delivered to vehicles by ETH staff. Although a success, execution of the drive-in involved many expenses. The projector rental and installation of the film screen were especially costly. The first season closed in October 2020, with multiple community members since requesting and hoping for a reprise of the experience.

Newtown High School Senior Abigail McManus is among those to drive the return this approaching season.

As her NHS Capstone Project, Abigail expressed interest in having a drive-in movie at Edmond Town Hall, to double as a fundraiser for Newtown Ecumenical Workcamp Students (NEWS).

The result is a special screening of the 1984 feature film Footloose, now planned for Friday, May 5. The parking lot will open at 8 pm, with the screening to begin at 8:30.

Rain date will be Saturday, May 6.

Tickets are $15 for ages 13 and up, and $10 for ages 12 and under, with a $50 vehicle maximum. Tickets must be purchased in advance through Venmo, @Laura-Roche-10; Laura Roche is a NEWS board member.

Concessions will also be available that evening.

For additional information call 203-219-1748.

Summer Season

Abigail’s initiative to hold a drive-in movie, combined with public demand for the summer drive-in, inspired a proposal by Edmond Town Hall staff for a newly revamped full season outdoor movie experience.

The ETH drive-in is expected to fully emerge once again in June, though it will look a little different. Full details are currently in the works, but employees at Edmond Town Hall can confirm that Ingersoll Auto of Danbury will be purchasing a new, stand-alone film screen, to be set up independent from the building, in the theater’s lower-level back parking lot.

Presenting the drive-in at the lower lot will provide indoor building visitors, who were not permitted inside the theater in 2020, with adequate parking space for their events.

The 2023 drive-in will continue to feature concessions and on-site drive-in staff. The entire town hall parking lot is also expected to be freshly resurfaced prior to the start of the summer drive-in season. The 2023 drive-in movie schedule will be posted shortly.

Once listed, tickets may be purchased and reserved online by patrons at edmondtownhall.org. Employees at the Edmond Town Hall are thrilled to re-invite any and all people to experience the new drive-in, which is expected to bring all the fun, joy, and excitement that the 2020 season provided.