The family-run Twilight Drive-In theatre in Aldergrove may be closed by the end of September.
On its Facebook page, the drive-in announced on Sept. 13 that a final date hasn't been chosen yet but "it will hopefully be towards the end of the month."
"That's our educated wish. We can't make any guarantees, but we will try our best to get there," reads the post, using a quote from the newest 'Deadpool & Wolverine' movie.
Movies screening this week are double features of 'Beetlejuice' and 'Blink Twice' on Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 18 and 19. Both nights start with 'Beetlejuice' at 7:45 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online at twilightdrivein.net.
Earlier this year, owner and operator Jay Daulat posted on social media that the drive-in made a “last-ditch effort” to save the theatre with a lease extension by the landlord, but they were told there would still be a huge rent increase.
“They were still wanting a 2.4x rent increase. That, coupled with the exponential increase in property taxes over the last five years, has made operating the drive-in no longer viable. As such, 2024 will definitely be the last year for the drive-in,” the post reads.
Property taxes on the Aldergrove location, at 260 Street and Fraser Highway, have increased 260 per cent during the past three years – 72 per cent this year alone, Daulat said in an earlier post announcing the closure.
Upon hearing of the news last year, a customer-created petition was quickly launched in support of keeping the drive-in, and Township Mayor Eric Woodward won unanimous support from council for a review of options to keep Aldergrove’s Twilight Drive-In theatre open.
In a previous email to Black Press Media, Daulat said overall attendance hasn't bounced back to pre-COVID numbers.
“Ultimately, it will be this season’s attendance which determines if a new location would be feasible in the future,” he said.
The Star has reached out to the drive-in for more information.
“We all are very sad that future generations may not be able to have the drive-in experience, and ultimately we are disappointed we weren’t able to come to a viable agreement with our landlord,” Daulat had shared.
Langley Township Mayor Eric Woodward told council at the time that he had met with the operators of the drive-in, who explained 16.8 per cent of their customer base is local, with the rest, more than 80 per cent coming from outside Aldergrove and Langley, making the theatre a destination that draws people from as far away as Vancouver Island.
“It has been a challenge to find other land outside of the Agricultural Land Reserve that would be available and economic for this use,” Woodward told Black Press Media.
At its Sept. 23 meeting, Langley Township council will review a report from staff about locations for the drive-in, according to the meeting agenda.
"I met with the owners of the business and the land and was unable to see any path towards an ability for them to reach an extended agreement. The property owners have told me personally that they would like to develop the property. Alternative sites are not obvious, ones that would be large enough and affordable for them," Woodward told The Star in an email.
"In order for the Township of Langley to assist the business it would have to be restructured as a non-profit, which was of no interest to the operators, as I understand it. I am still hopeful something can be done have this kind of option available in our community, we are limited in what we are permitted to do."
According to the driveinmovie.com website, the Aldergrove theatre is one of only three surviving drive-ins in the entire province, with the others being the Starlight in Enderby, and the Park in Prince George.
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