Flip-flops and lawn chairs might be replaced with Christmas lights and mittens, but one thing holds true at the drive-in theater — tradition.
At Starlight Drive-In in Butler, Beth Chiesa-Manson and her husband John Manson are gearing up for their annual Christmas at the Drive-In, an event scheduled this week that draws kids and families to watch classic movies like “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and newer ones like “The Grinch,” which was remade in 2018.
The theater is one of eight left in Western Pennsylvania. Only the Evergreen remains in Westmoreland County. Dependable is the last one standing in Allegheny County.
“It’s all about the community,” said Chiesa-Manson, adding that the event brings back the old-time Christmas spirit. “We’re never going to make a million dollars from this, but we feel strong enough that we want to do this for the community. And we want to pass this on to our granddaughter when she’s old enough. She loves the drive-in.”
Starting the tradition four years ago when they bought Starlight — previously named the Pioneer — Chiesa-Manson and Manson transform the classic drive-in into a winter wonderland, offering hot chocolate, coffee, brownies and cookies at the snack bar, along with hot food. Kids are encouraged to play in the game room to keep warm.
“We put the Christmas tree up, we put up all the decorations,” Chiesa-Manson said. “It is Christmas inside. The kids will play, it all depends on the weather.”
Almost 30 miles down the road in Moon Township, Dependable Drive-In stays open most of the year, running on a fall schedule with 25 to 30 cars replacing the normal 300 that fill the lots in front of the screens and a skeleton crew manning the concession stand.
This year, the theater will show “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and “Jumanji: The Next Level,” both slated to premiere in December. Leading up to those, “Frozen 2” and “Knives Out” were shown throughout November.
“We have a lot of people that only come from October to spring because they don’t like the crowd,” said Dependable owner Rick Glaus. “They like coming where they can park where they want and not have someone next to them.”
He said movies are weather dependent, adding, “There have been weekends where we have had to close. It’s basically at the mercy of the weather. A couple years ago, we had a bad stretch of single digits. Nobody comes out for that, we know that. It’s kind of hit or miss.”
Still, Glaus said he uses the time, and limited crowds, to manage the drive-in by replacing speakers and maintaining the projectors.
In Armstrong County, Riverside Drive-In plays movies through November, but closes for the season on Dec. 1, according to their Facebook page. This year they played “Frozen 2” and “Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil.”
This Friday through Sunday, Starlight Drive-In also will host a food drive for a veteran-based organization. Chiesa-Manson, who comes from a large military family, is in the process of choosing an organization to work with, and will announce items that guests can donate throughout the weekend.
“One of these years, we’ll get ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ in there, but we really try to get movies that bring the kids in, bring the families in,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun.”
