After two months of silence, The Big Mo drive-in theater will reopen its gates for a concert in late June.
While not the usual form of entertainment, the owners of the Big Mo will use the experience to test their space and safety measures in preparation for a more solid reopening in upcoming months.
"We've been telling (customers) that (we'll reopen) when it's safe and when Hollywood releases new movies," owner Lisa Boaz said. "We're keeping an eye on COVID-19 statistics… and waiting for them to stay down for a period of time."
Awakening Events Inc. has rented the drive-in hold the concert, which will be performed live on the main field and broadcast to the screens on the other fields.
On June 23, Christian music artist TobyMac will perform.
The Big Mo temporarily closed due to coronavirus concerns on March 21 despite implementing various safety measures, including closing the playground.
With the entertainment industry at a standstill, Hollywood has been unable to release new movies as dozens of films remain in post-production or were halted during filming.
With movies like the live-action remake of Disney's "Mulan" and Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" still slated for release in July, Boaz is holding out hope that she will be able to reopen the drive-in more regularly very soon.
However, things won't be able to go back to normal right away.
"When we do reopen… we may not reopen all three screens," Boaz said. "It's going to be a gradual rollout. If there's only one movie (released) we'll play it on one screen… it just depends on what Hollywood is doing."
"We're waiting for the science and the Hollywood studios to tell us when we can reopen," Boaz said.
Ticket for the concert are limited, Boaz said, as the drive-in will be imposing 50% capacity on all three fields with one vehicle per each set of posts.
All attendees will be asked to remain 6-feet apart at the concession stand and in bathroom lines as well as wear masks that cover the mouth and nose when they are away from their vehicles.
Tickets for the TobyMac concert are available online at www.eventbrite.com.
