Friday, June 26, 2009

Lexington: Hull's Drive-In ... movies under the stars

SWAC Niece tailgates while waiting for dark to signal beginning of movie.
The choice that night was "Star Trek."


A short 30-minute drive from Staunton will find you at Hull's Drive-In Theater, located on Rt. 11 outside Lexington. The only not-for-profit drive-in the country, it has an interesting history.

Hull's was operated by the Hull family from 1957 to 1999. After 42 years, it closed ... but many did not want to lose this community icon ... so a drive began to save it. They were successful and this year they are celebrating their 10th year as a not-for-profit drive-in with many volunteers pitching in to help.

Open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, the cost is only $6 per person (kids 11 and under are free) to see first-run movies and each night offers a double feature. If you stay for both movies, be prepared to be out late since movies do not begin until dark. The night we attended to see "Star Trek," the movie began at 9:20 pm and we left at 11:45 pm. If we had stayed for the second feature, it would not have been over until close to 2 am.

A car load of us piled in and headed to Lexington on a recent Friday night, carrying subs and a cooler of water and soft drinks to tailgate before the start of the movie. We also carried entertainment to keep us busy when not people watching before the start of the movie.

On the lawn in front of the outdoor screen, children played ... a dad and son pitched a baseball ... other kids played tag. Families parked down front ... couples parked near the back. Speakers played music from the 50s, 60s, and 70s ... the snack bar provided reasonably-priced offerings with everything from popcorn and sno-cones to onion rings, burgers, hot dogs, and BBQ.

This weekend's double feature is Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian rated PG and State of Play rated PG-13.

For a fun evening with the family ... or a date night with your significant other ... you may want to wander back in time to Hull's Drive-In.

Photo by SWAC Girl
Lynn Mitchell
June 2009

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