Drive-In Movies are Back in Little Rock
May 5, 2010 12:00 AM
Kerry Kraus
NaturalStateBlogger@gmail.com
http://www.visitmyarkansas.com/kerry-kraus/default.aspx?id=573
How long has it been since you’ve been to a drive-in movie? For some people, the question is, have you ever been to a drive-in movie? Experience the nostalgia of the drive-in movie while helping a good cause this Saturday as the Friends of Dreamland Ballroom hosts the first of six showings.
The May 8 showing of Charade begins at sundown, approximately 8:30 p.m. The 1963 romantic thriller stars Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Concessions selling hot dogs, soft drinks, bottled water, Yarnell’s ice cream and Diamond Bear Brewery beer are on-site.
The screenings are projected on the back of the historic Arkansas Flag and Banner building, also known as Taborian Hall, with the audio broadcast through your car radio, courtesy of AV Arkansas. Viewers should find their spot in the rear parking lot behind Arkansas Flag and Banner.
The subsequent movies are going to be shown every second and fourth Saturday from May through September. According to Friends of Dreamland Ballroom, the movies to be shown cover a broad spectrum in hopes of having something for everyone.
Taborian Hall is one of Little Rock’s most important historic structures. During its heyday, the ballroom played host to Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra, B.B. King, Duke Ellington, Arkansas-native Al Hibbler, Nat King Cole and his Trio, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzie Gillespie, and Arkansas’s-own Louis Jordan.
Admission is $20 per car or $5 for walk-ups, who should bring their own lawn chairs. Arkansas Flag and Banner is located at 800 West 9th Street in downtown Little Rock. More information on the ongoing work on the ballroom, visit www.dreamlandballroom.org/.
Proceeds from the movie series go toward restoration of the ballroom. Other scheduled showings are:
May 22: Reefer Madness/Sex Madness (1936/1938 – two exploitation films)
June 12: Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero’s 1968 cult favorite)
June 26: The Outlaw (1943 Howard Hughes-directed film starring Jane Russell)
July 10: The Little Princess (1939 classic starring Shirley Temple)
July 24: The Fast and The Furious (1955 starring John Ireland)