8/2/14: For 66 years, Colchester’s Sunset Drive-In has been welcoming movie lovers young and old. In the 1950s, there were about 4,000 drive-ins across the country. Today, there are around 350 and three of those are in Vermont. The Fairlee Drive-In and the Randall Drive-In have both gone digital as the industry transitions to all digital prints and theater owners fall in line. But the Sunset is still projecting 35-millimeter film onto its four screens. And this summer owner Peter Handy built a movie-themed motel called the Starlight Inn adjacent to the drive-in.
Eva visits the Sunset on a busy Saturday and flashes back to an earlier era when the drive-in was king. And on a warm summer night, it’s easy to see why movies under the stars are still attracting crowds.
Music: Barbacoa, “Spy-Fi,” Italian Medallion, “Teen Beast”
This episode of Stuck in Vermont was made possible by
Hotel Vermont and Vermont Tourism
This article appears in Aug 6-12, 2014.
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