The drive-in in the Resort Village of Manitou Beach. (Facebook)

By Libby Giesbrecht

The sequel at Manitou Beach: Drive-in to reopen for summer

May 25, 2023 | 1:13 PM

A beloved Saskatchewan drive-in theatre will reopen for the summer.

After a debacle last year that left the equipment at the Manitou Beach Drive-In severely damaged and in need of costly repairs, the theatre will once again feature films throughout the summer months on its outdoor big screen.

Because of the damages, the future of the drive-in remained up in the air until Lane Manson, a local entrepreneur in the Manitou Beach and Watrous area, took over as the new director of the non-profit.

As chair of the Watrous town council’s marketing group, Manson said he’s involved with promoting and marketing the area. He was keeping an eye on the situation involving the drive-in and saw it as worthwhile to save.

“The sum of the parts is worth less than the whole,” Manson said.

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He said the theatre complements other offerings in the town — including other businesses he owns — making it more of a destination for visitors. Losing that momentum, he said, would spell the beginning of the end for the area’s tourism industry.

Manson has been piecing together solutions to deal with the problem parts of the drive-in. His list included finding a new projector, securing films to show and other cleanup of the area.

A partnership with Moonlight Movies Drive-In, located just outside of Regina, secured Manson projector equipment and studio relationships to acquire films.

He also recruited another local business owner to take on running the concession stand and manage the site.

The Village of Manitou Beach approved his proposal and a plan and contract came together.

“The village has invested time and money and energy and their prerogative isn’t to be running tourism businesses or tourism in general … it’s to run the village,” Manson said.

He said the goal was to get the theatre open, and said he’s hoping the first film could be shown as early as June 9. Details about the movies to be shown and dates will be made available on the Salty Cinema Drive In Theatre Facebook page.

As the theatre is a non-profit, and with the previous drama that swirled around the theatre still fresh in the community’s mind, Manson talked about the importance of remaining transparent with the operations.

He talked about community involvement and putting together a capital plan to be shared publicly. Manson mentioned holding a cleaning bee for people to come together and help spruce up the drive-in area, and noted the screen also needs a coat of paint and work is needed for the roof on site.

“I’m really looking forward to getting the movies up there and having that come together for us,” Manson said.

He’s hoping to not see any costs to himself personally over the project, aside from the time Manson is investing in it.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a huge moneymaker but if we can build something that’s profitable and we can attract people to come here with it and we can preserve that history, then I think it’s kind of worth the effort,” he said.

Even though the Facebook page was just launched, Manson has already heard positive feedback from the community.

“People are just happy to hear that they’re going to be able to bring their kids to the drive-in,” Manson said, calling the theatre part of Manitou Beach’s cultural history.

“It’s been there forever. It’s an institution.”