A campaign to save the last drive-in theatre in the Lower Mainland is gathering support online.
By Wednesday afternoon, June 21, the online change.org petition “Save the Twilight Drive In!!” had gathered more than 1,300 signatures.
Petition organizer Jasmine Mitchell recalled the iconic drive-in was “where my boyfriend and I had our very first date!”
Among those who signed, Kashmir Penkoco declared “Vancouver’s last standing drive in deserves better,” and Ferris Zaugg described the tax hike as “ridiculous.”
READ ALSO: Aldergrove’s Twilight Drive-In announces it will close
In making the announcement, Twilight owner Jay Daulat said the drive-in would be shutting down after the 2024 summer season, citing rising taxes as the reason.
Elsewhere on social media, other expressions of regret and support were being made.
Karen Hefferland called it “terrible new” adding “we took the kids when they were young, and now they take their friends. I’ve even been able to take my grandson. This makes me so sad…”
Lori Neville described it as “my favourite local date night activity with my husband.”
Kelsey Anderson commented: “What a sad end to such an amazing place…”
READ ALSO: Can the Lower Mainland’s last drive-in be saved? Langley’s mayor thinks it might be possible.
On Saturday, June 17, Township Mayor Eric Woodward announced he was instructing staff to “start to consider possible options to address this [shutdown] and keep Twilight Drive-In open and operating in Aldergrove, subject to possible council direction at our next meeting on June 26th.”
In his online statement, Mayor Woodward called Twilight a “great destination so many of us don’t want to lose,” adding he wished the business “had reached out to me prior to this announcement to see what could be done, as I would have been on it right away. Regardless, we will now start that process.”
According to the www.driveinmovie.com website, the Aldergrove theatre is believed to be one of only three surviving drive-ins in the entire province, with the others being the the Starlight in Enderby, and the Park in Prince George.
There are 43 in all of Canada, with the most (18) in Ontario.
Have a story tip? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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