2020 could be a horror movie all in itself, couldn't it? One welcome resurgence during this COVID-infested era of social distancing, though, is the return of the drive-in movie theatre. In our newest episode of The Cabin, the official podcast of Discover Wisconsin, Mariah Haberman and I - along with "Audio" Dave and producer Ellen - talk drive-ins where you can enjoy movies under the stars.
Wisconsin has had a ton of drive-ins through the years' most shuttered in the 1980s and 1990s and only a handful of originals remain. Some have opened up more recently too, and with 2020 being what it is, some places have really gotten creative and opened up "pop-up" drive-in movie theaters that show films in parking lots. The Milwaukee Milkmen baseball team started doing this in their parking lot in Franklin; the Madison Mallards did the same in their "Duck Pond." Some movie theaters, including the Moonlight in Shawano and Marcus Theaters in Waukesha and Oak Creek, added outdoor screens to their parking lots to show films while their insides were closed to the public. Bottom line? You have a lot of options for the rest of this summer and into fall.
Many drive-ins now offer concessions delivered via an app, digital sound for the movie broadcast via low-power FM stations, and all the latest technologies. Although, we do remember and love that heavy, tinny metal speaker you used to have for listening - but we'll take today's audio instead. Wisconsin Drive-In Movie theaters we discuss in this podcast episode include the Big Sky in Wisconsin Dells; the Stardust Drive-In in Chetek; Starlite 14 in Richland Center (which recently reopened); the Highway 18 Outdoor in Jefferson (billed as Wisconsin's "first digital outdoor theater"); the classic Skyway Drive-In along Highway 42 in Fish Creek, which has played to Door County movie lovers since 1950; Field of Scenes in Freedom between Green Bay and Appleton, which opened in 2003 and, as you might guess, took its name from a popular baseball movie; the Goetz Sky Vu Drive-In in Monroe; the Chilton Twilight Outdoor Theatre in Chilton; and some of the "pop-ups," including the Duck Pond Drive-In in Madison, Moonlight Outdoor in Shawano, the Milky Way in Franklin, and the Majestic Cinema of Brookfield (Waukesha).
I cover Wisconsin Drive-Ins thoroughly in on my StateTrunkTour.com road trip website too, with updates on what's playing, where.
Check out the podcast now by streaming it below or listening at your leisure on iHeartRadio or Apple Podcasts.