Staff at a long-term care home in Burnaby, B.C., sought to bring back memories of summer-night drive-in movies for its residents with an outdoor film screening of the classic musical Grease.
Dania Home residents treated to outdoor screening of Grease, with hotdogs and popcorn for all
A sign reading ‘Dania Drive-In’ points to a large screen that looks like a giant TV screen outdoors.
Staff at a long-term care home in Burnaby, B.C., sought to bring back memories of summer-night drive-in movies for its residents with an outdoor film screening on Monday.
Dania Home staff wore vintage costumes and served hot dogs and popcorn at the mid-20th-century styled event that was designed to stir up nostalgia.
“They remember when they were younger, as teenagers, going in the car, hiding their buddies in the trunk or their first date with their girlfriends,” said Leslie Torresan, recreation consultant for Dania Home, at the event.
“And now they’re able to share this experience with their families here.”
A number of people are seen wearing white costumes with white hats, in the style of old cinema attendants. One of them is pictured at a table serving food.
Most of the residents at Dania Home, which has around 100 beds, are in their 80s, Torresan said.
On Monday, dozens of them attended a screening of the 1978 musical Grease, which stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
A woman wearing an old-time cinema attendant costume laughs.
One of them, Roy Stacey, said he used to go to the Hillcrest Drive-In Theatre in nearby Surrey, B.C.
“A long time ago, yeah,” he said. “Never snuck in, though.”
He said his favourite memory of the drive-in was going with his then-girlfriend.
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Craig McCulloch, whose 90-year-old father has lived at Dania for 2½ years, said the event gave a sense of how drive-in theatres once fostered connections between generations.
“This is how most people, a lot of people saw movies for the first time,” he said. “It was economic, where you packed the entire family and go down to the drive-in, right? And we don’t do that any more.”
He said it also made a world of difference for long-term care residents and helped restore a sense of normalcy for them.
A black-and-white picture of a series of cars lined up at a drive-in theatre.
The event also honoured the Cascades Drive-In Theatre — the first drive-in theatre in Canada, dating back to 1946, according to Heritage Burnaby — which was located a few blocks west of the home before the site was redeveloped in the 1980s.
source & photo: CBC
