Lancaster on Ice team to launch drive-in open air cinema on city car park

Lancaster Lockdown Cinema will feature 45 films over three weeks with big screen classics and new releases.
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Grease, The Greatest Showman, Contagion, Matilda, Moulin Rouge, The Goonies, Dirty Dancing, Thelma and Louise and new horror film The Hunt are all on the bill for what is understood to be Lancaster's first ever drive in cinema which will run throughout July.

The Lancaster on Ice team - Chris Selkirk from Sustainable Festivals, and Hannah and Martin Horner, from The Borough in Dalton Square - have secured St Leonardsgate car park to launch the series of events, which will feature three films per day for up to 100 cars.

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The site was recently used as a Covid-19 testing centre, run by the army.The films will be shown on an 8m by 4.5m digital screen with the sound transmitted on an FM frequency through individual car stereos.

Lancaster Lockdown Cinema will be similar to the moonlight drive-in cinema at Deepdale Retail Park (from 2018). Photo by Neil Cross.Lancaster Lockdown Cinema will be similar to the moonlight drive-in cinema at Deepdale Retail Park (from 2018). Photo by Neil Cross.
Lancaster Lockdown Cinema will be similar to the moonlight drive-in cinema at Deepdale Retail Park (from 2018). Photo by Neil Cross.

Hannah said the team had been looking into how to make this work for several weeks, and were looking forward to bringing another new attraction to the city.

She said: "It's going to be a while before cinemas open again, and we just thought it would be great to bring something new and different to the city and that this would work in a lockdown situation.

"We've all had highs and lows through this, and after a lot of discussion, we felt this would be a great thing to do for families in Lancaster and Morecambe."

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Tickets will be priced per car, and there will be cinema style refreshments available which can be ordered in advance or on site.

Chris Selkirk and Martin Horner from Lancaster On Ice.Chris Selkirk and Martin Horner from Lancaster On Ice.
Chris Selkirk and Martin Horner from Lancaster On Ice.

There is even talk of re-purposing some of the Lancaster on Ice skates into roller skates in the spirit of outdoor cinema in the United States.

It is understood that this is the first drive-in cinema in Lancaster, although if anyone knows different, please let us know.

"We've picked some old classics, and we're working to secure some new releases that would have come out over the summer," Hannah said.

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"There will be three films a day - a matinee aimed at families, a tea time slot for teenagers and older children, and an adults only evening viewing.

"We've tried to go for films that will look really good on a big screen too."

Further information about tickets, booking and prices will be announced soon, and the team have also launched a new Facebook page.- {https://www.facebook.com/Lancaster-Lockdown-Cinema-Club-103240591411058/

"It's going to be fairly limited in terms of the number of cars, which will be less than 100.

"It's important to us that everyone has a good view."

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Hannah said that one of the first questions she was asked was whether draught beer would be on offer.

"We think so!" she said.

She added that she hoped that Lancaster On Ice and the Big Wheel in Dalton Square - which attracted 90,000 visitors over the 2019/2020 Christmas period would still go ahead this year.

"The rink is outside, and the wheel definitely works in terms of social distancing," she said.

See next week's Lancaster Guardian in print for more on Lancaster Lockdown Cinema.

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