It's a big come back for the Garden Drive-In near Hunlock Creek after last year's season was cut short due to vandals causing thousands of dollars in damage.
It's a sure sign warm weather is here to stay as the Garden Drive-In opened for business, kicking of its 65th season on Route 11 near Hunlock Creek.
Car after car pulled in, with folks excited to shed the winter long cabin fever.
“Beautiful day, nice to have the drive-in, great way to spend a Friday night, Saturday night, awesome,” said Sean Leachy from Larksville.
“You know what?” said Richard Dunstan from Trucksville. “It`s a beautiful night, here with some good friends, my girlfriend, my buddy and his girlfriend, it`s just a really great night to be out here watching a movie.”
But it took a little more than spring cleaning to get this place up and running this year.
Vandals broke into the concession stand last September, causing thousands of dollars in damage, destroying the digital movie projector for the drive in`s big screen and other equipment.
They then fled with stolen items from the concession area.
With the projector out of commission, the drive-in was forced to end its season early.
And no one has been caught for the crime.
“We did get surveillance video from one of the neighboring businesses but we couldn`t really tell anything,” said Dave Hudzik, the Garden Drive-In’s manager. “All we know it was a pickup truck leaving the property at 2 a.m. that morning that it happened.”
“This is such a wonderful place and something like this we don`t have many of them so I really hope that people would maybe respect it a little bit more because everyone loves it,” said Stephanie Jallen from Harding.
Security has since been beefed up and the equipment repaired.
Now it`s time for a great season at the drive-in.
“It`s a great time with your family, you come out and sit, beautiful night, stars, it`s a clear night,” said Dunstan.
“We try to come almost every weekend in the summer,” said Jallen. “We love it here, we come with all our friends, there`s like ten other people going to show up, so it`s going to be a really good movie tonight.”
The Garden Drive-In Route 11 is now open Friday, Satuday and Sunday.
The flea market is set to open Sunday, April 23rd.