Saco Drive-In Saved Through Honda Contest

JOURNAL TRIBUNE: Saco Drive-In saved through online campaign

“It’s like, ‘pinch me, this is a dream,’” said State Rep. Justin Chenette, who worked on the campaign to save the drive-in. “My head is spinning. It was a long shot. The community came together,” he said. “People care, and it shows.”

Journal Tribune Article

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD: Fans' votes help save Saco Drive-In

"This is a good example of what you can do with social media. This was a long shot, but it shows how tight-knit Maine communities can be," said Justin Chenette, a Saco native who has helped Russell in his effort to save the drive-in. "The community rallied behind this. We've saved a piece of our cultural history and an important job generator."

Portland Press Herald Article

Journal Tribune
Saco Drive-In saved through online campaign
By LIZ GOTTHELF

SACO — The show will go on. The Saco Drive-In has won digital projection equipment through a national contest, which will ensure that it can continue to bring entertainment to carloads of people into the future.

The local theater was one of five drive-ins to win the equipment through Honda’s Project Drive-In, a nationwide contest sponsored by Honda Motor Company.

On Wednesday, the Saco Drive-In was the first of the winners announced, and the rest of the winners will be announced one a day, through Sept. 15.

Winners were determined by the number of votes made online and by text message. Saco Drive-In Manager Ry Russell said Honda has not yet announced the number of votes the drive-in received.

The Saco Drive-In, located on Route One, has been in operation since 1939, and is the second oldest operating drive-in in the United States. With the film industry requiring a conversion to digital projection, the drive-in would have been forced to close if it didn’t acquire the $75,000 equipment.

“I’m so overwhelmed with emotion,” said Russell, Wednesday. “It’s surreal.”

Russell said he was notified earlier that day by Honda officials.

“It caught me off guard,” he said, and admitted that he “balled like a little girl.”

Russell said that the small, seasonal drive-in won a national competition up against larger, year-round theaters shows how much the community loves the drive-in and the experience.

“It’s like, ‘pinch me, this is a dream,’” said State Rep. Justin Chenette, who worked on the campaign to save the drive-in. “My head is spinning. It was a long shot.

“The community came together,” he said. “People care, and it shows.”

Russell addressed a crowd of people who came that night to celebrate the win and watch “Grown Ups 2.” He thanked the voters, his staff and all those who supported the drive-in.

“I didn’t do this alone,” he said.

Russell and a group of supporters of the Saco Drive-In had a fundraising drive, raising $5,000, all of which was spent on advertising for the campaign.

“Obviously, it was well spent, because we’re here today,” said Russell.

Eric Holsinger and his 11-year-old son Delsin Holsinger, sat in outdoor lounge chairs by a radio and ate sandwiches as they waited for the movie to begin.

Eric Holsinger said one aspect he likes about the theater is that when he walks into the concession stand, it feels like he’s walking into the concession stand at the drive-in from his childhood in Pennsylvania.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].

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Portland Press Herald
Fans' votes help save Saco Drive-In
By Gillian Graham [email protected]
Staff Writer

SACO – Maine's oldest drive-in movie theater has been rescued by a social media campaign.

The 74-year-old Saco Drive-In was named Wednesday as a winner in a national contest that will provide it with a new digital projection system.

The drive-in had faced closure without the digital conversion, like many other drive-ins nationwide. So Saco Drive-In manager Ry Russell launched a Facebook campaign to mobilize fans to vote in a Web-based contest sponsored by Honda.

The automaker's Project Drive-In contest will provide digital projectors to the five theaters that get the most votes from supporters. Saco Drive-In, the second-oldest in the country, is the first winner.

Russell said it's proof of the community's dedication to the theater and the power of bringing people together through social media.

"I cried like a little girl. It's totally surreal," Russell said. "The drive-in is so much bigger than just a small business or anything I've put into it. It's an escape for families from the financial difficulties everyone is facing today. For me to be a part of preserving that is a feeling like no other. It feels like we've accomplished a lot more today than just saving the drive-in."

Many of the country's roughly 400 drive-in theaters face closure as the movie industry switches from film reels to digital technology, requiring theaters to invest about $80,000 each for new projection systems, according to Honda.

The Saco Drive-In launched its own fundraising campaign earlier this year, but fell far short of the amount needed to buy a projector.

Other Maine drive-ins are trying to make the digital conversion and avoid extinction. The state has five drive-ins, in Saco, Westbrook, Bridgton, Skowhegan and Madawaska.

Some operators have said they are trying to raise money for digital projectors, but it's uncertain how many will survive the film industry's conversion, which is expected to happen at the end of this year.

The Prides Corner Drive-In on Route 302 in Westbrook, which opened in 1953, also participated in Project Drive-In.

Honda will announce the remaining four winners this week. A sixth theater will receive a digital projector paid for with donations collected as part of the campaign, said Honda spokeswoman Jessica Fini.

More than 2 million votes were cast on the Internet in the past month, but Honda is not disclosing the number of votes the Saco Drive-In received.

"I honestly think social media is the reason why we won," Russell said. "We probably had a very significant disadvantage. We are a small, seasonal theater in a small state."

During the past month, Russell posted every day on the Saco Drive-In's Facebook page, asking supporters to vote. The page has more than 26,000 followers, and Russell said some of his posts were shared as many as 500 times.

"This is a good example of what you can do with social media. This was a long shot, but it shows how tight-knit Maine communities can be," said Justin Chenette, a Saco native who has helped Russell in his effort to save the drive-in. "The community rallied behind this. We've saved a piece of our cultural history and an important job generator."

Russell said the new projector will enable the Saco Drive-In to open next year for its 75th season. The theater was called the Motor-In Theatre when it was opened in 1939 by an Italian immigrant, Eugene V. Boragine. Its first feature was "Forbidden Music," starring Jimmy Durante, and a ticket for an adult cost 35 cents.

Within an hour of Wednesday's announcement that the drive-in was a winner, more than 600 fans had posted comments expressing their excitement. Thousands more "liked" Russell's posts and video.

"So glad that everyone pulled together to make this happen! Goes to show if you want something bad enough all you need is a little faith and determination along with some work and things happen," wrote Jennifer Bruno, who said she voted every day.

The projector will arrive at the theater within weeks. Russell said he will have to make some improvements to the projection booth to make sure it is climate-controlled and secure. He anticipates that on-screen advertisements will help fund those renovations.

"We'll make that conversion on our dime," Russell said. "The community has done more than enough."

Gillian Graham can be contacted at 791-6315 or at:
[email protected]