A much-loved icon of the past is about to shine with a new chapter as thousands of people stream into Dubbo’s drive-in at the weekend.
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Movies will return to the giant outdoor screen at the Westview for the first time in more than three decades.
Hundreds of cars are expected to roll through the gates on Friday evening, the first of three big nights of entertainment and unique cultural experience.
The one-off return of the Westview Drive-In has been organised by Dubbo City Youth Council in partnership with Dubbo Regional Council for Youth Week.
The project that has been two years in the making was greeted with an outpouring of enthusiasm when it was announced in January.
With the drive-in continuing to loom large in the collective imagination, former patrons and a new generation looked forward to a night at the drive-in.
Ticket sales to three of the five movies have sold out, with each session having a 400-car capacity.
On Thursday council youth development officer Jason Yelverton reported there were people coming from as far away as Wollongong, Sydney and Newcastle for the event.
Hard yakka brought the site back into order to receive patrons.
Mr Yelverton said only the finishing touches remained.
On Wednesday they did a test pattern on the screen.
“Last night when I saw the first bit of light on the screen. . . just to see it was something else, a special moment,” Mr Yelverton said.
Caterers, generators, toilets and ticketing stations were about to arrive.
Mr Yelverton said the preparation had been huge.
“The hard work’s done, the exciting part’s all to come,” he said.
On Friday Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and then Top Gun will show.
Saturday’s line-up will be Grease for the early session and Dirty Dancing for the late session and on Sunday night it will be horror classic Nightmare on Elm Street.
The project was originally the brain-child of the then 12-year-old youth council member Phoenix Aubusson-Foley.
The Westview Drive-In was officially opened on October, 8 1970 featuring the film Kelly’s Heroes starring Clint Eastwood, and was the largest drive-in in country NSW with a capacity of 550 cars, state-of-the-art projectors and window-hanging speakers.
It was a popular haunt for years until it eventually closed in 1984.