New valley business following COVID trend coming to Oakdale Rodeo grounds this weekend
A place more accustomed to seeing cowboy hats and bucking broncos will be home to a big screen and Hollywood blockbusters soon instead.
The Oakdale Rodeo grounds will turn into a temporary drive-in movie site for three days starting Friday, Feb. 26. The mobile drive-in business is being launched by Oakdale resident Will Pringle II, with plans to bring films and live concert broadcasts to the eastern Stanislaus County city.
Its creation is a reminder of how this pandemic has proven — time and time again — that necessity remains the mother of invention.
For Pringle, that meant starting his own drive-in business in part as a way to keep his three young children entertained as the now more than year-long COVID-19 outbreak and shutdowns wore on. The new mobile Oakdale Drive-In debuts with three days of screenings this weekend at the rodeo grounds on East F Street.
“This was all brought on by the pandemic and being a family guy with little to no entertainment options for three small children,” Pringle said. “I saw stories of (drive-ins) developing in rural places across America and I thought it was an excellent thing to jump on. It’s a true multi-generational experience.”
Drive-in movie theaters have flourished during the pandemic, as traditional indoor cineplexes have remained dark through much of the crisis.
Drive-ins have flourished amid COVID-19 pandemic
Drive-in projects have popped up from downtown Modesto’s historic State Theatre, and at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds in Turlock and the Los Banos Fairgrounds. The area’s only remaining permanent drive-in theater facility, the original Ceres Drive-In, also reopened last September and is now showing first-run movies.
But unlike some of the region’s other permanent and pop-up drive-in businesses, Oakdale Drive-In doesn’t have a dedicated home base just yet. Instead Pringle’s business utilizes a specially designed inflatable 40-by-20-foot screen that is mobile and can be set up from start to finish in about four hours. As with other area drive-ins, the sound will be received through your car’s FM radio system.
The company that makes the equipment, Airscreen, has been used for drive-up events at film festivals internationally from Venice, Italy to Tribeca in New York City.
The first-run for the Pringle’s fledgling business will be have two showings per night, an early 6:30 p.m. children’s animated feature followed by a 9 p.m. live-action family friendly film.
The lineup includes the previously released movies “Trolls World Tour,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “The Croods: A New Age,” “The War With Grandpa” and “Back to the Future.” Tickets are a flat rate of $30 per movie per carload.
Live concerts, other events planned for Oakdale venture
But Pringle doesn’t want to keep his big-screen dreams limited to vintage flicks and family films. He also hopes to partner with the national event production company Encore Live to bring concerts back to Oakdale. The company has produced simulcast broadcasts of live concerts during the pandemic, working with the likes of country superstar Garth Brooks and metal icon Metallica.
Pringle said he is working on a deal with Encore Live, and to find a home base to bring the concert events to Oakdale. But his plans aren’t limited to Stanislaus County either. Down the road he also hopes to be able to host mobile film events and others throughout Northern California, and even outside of the state.
In May he has a small tour of Colorado and Utah planned for his mobile screen. The private drive-in movie events were scheduled by a financial institution, he said.
As for his Oakdale plans, he hopes to have more events solidified by spring. As with other pandemic businesses, Pringle said he hopes his new mobile drive-in will outlast COVID-19.
“I think there’s a lot of debate on whether this business will have a long or short life cycle, and I’m prepared for both,” he said. “Anytime (you) enter a business (you) have the best hope it will continue. I’m focused on Oakdale as our local to home location. But I also wanted to have equipment able to move to these other locations and other sets of eyes as well.”
For more on the Oakdale Drive-In call 209-764-5356 or visit www.oakdaledrivein.com.
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
