The Dolores Chamber of Commerce will offer free Drive-in Movie Nights at Joe Rowell Park throughout the summer.
Movies will be shown on a 20-by-30-foot screen on a trailer built and donated by Lone Wolf Welding and Val Truelsen Sawmill.
The sound will be transmitted on FM radio in viewers’ cars, through a hand-held radio or an app on smartphones.
Movies are scheduled after sunset in July at 9 p.m., in August at 8:30 p.m. and in September at 8 p.m.
The parking lot will open one hour before the movie starts and will be first-come, first-serve, with a maximum capacity of about 75 vehicles.
The July lineup is:
July 3: “Independence Day.”July 10: “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”July 17: “Star Wars, Episode IV.”July 24: “City Slickers.”July 31: “Armageddon.”August and September shows will be announced soon.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, many community events were canceled or delayed, leaving businesses without the usual draws into town from locals and tourists, said Dolores Chamber director Susan Lisak.
To help fill the void, the chamber launched the drive-in theater. It is designed to allow for social distancing.
“It gives locals and tourists something to do on a warm summer night,” Lisak said.
Entry is free. But to help out local businesses, especially restaurants hit hard by the closures, the chamber encourages viewers to pick up some takeout food around town, then head over to Joe Rowell Park for dinner and a movie.
The chamber will offer snacks, sodas and water at a concession booth.