A sure sign of spring is the annual opening of the Melody Drive-In Theater at Bass Lake. This is opening weekend, with movies on both screens tonight, tomorrow and Sunday. Continue reading
Melody Drive-In Returns to Weekends Only Showtimes
The Melody Drive-In Theater at Bass Lake is returning to a weekends-only schedule for the remainder of the season. The popular summertime attraction will remain open through September, but will not show films Monday through Thursday nights. Continue reading
Melody Drive-In Opens Next Weekend
A local summertime tradition is about to return for another year. Melody Drive-In at Bass Lake will reopen for its 2016 movie season next weekend. Continue reading
Melody Drive-In to Open This Month
Spring is on its way, and that means the start of movie season at the Melody Drive-In at Bass Lake. Continue reading
Melody Drive-In Adds Weeknight Shows
A sure sign of summer vacation in the Kankakee Valley is the switch from weekend-only to seven-day-a-week movies at the Melody Drive-In at Bass Lake. Owner Fred Heise says the new schedule goes into effect tonight. Continue reading
Melody Drive In to Screen “The Avengers Age of Ultron” Thursday Evening
Get a sneak peak at one of the most anticipated movie releases of the summer tomorrow night at the Melody Drive-In at Bass Lake. The theatre will offer a special advance screening of “The Avengers Age of Ultron” at 8 p.m. The box office will open at 7, and the concession stand will be open as well. Continue reading
Melody Drive In Set to Open Next Weekend
A sure sign of spring is the grand opening of the Melody Drive In Theater at Bass Lake. Owner Fred Heise says both screens are ready for Friday night’s features. They include “Furious 7″, “Cinderella” and “McFarland USA.” Continue reading
Plans Finalized for Local Jimmy Buffett “Live at the Drive-In” Event
Parrotheads will be flocking to the Melody Drive-In Theater in Bass Lake in droves on Thursday to catch perennial beach bum Jimmy Buffett’s “Live at the Drive-In” simulcast show. He’s performing at a theater in Fort Worth, Texas and making a closed-circuit feed of the show available exclusively to similar venues. Melody Drive-In owner Fred Heise says the gates will open at 5 p.m., with plenty of pre-show activities and entertainment for fans. Continue reading
Melody Drive-In to Feature Jimmy Buffett Concert Simulcast
Fins up, Parrotheads! Flock to the Melody Drive-In Theater at Bass Lake on Thursday, June 19 to enjoy a live Jimmy Buffett show via satellite on the big screen.
He’s performing at a drive-in in Fort Worth, Texas that night. The show is available via digital simulcast exclusively to drive-ins nationwide. Fans are encouraged to dress in grass skirts, Hawaiian shirts and other tropical costumes for the show.
Melody Drive-In To (Hopefully) Open April 4
The weather is slowly warming up as we approach the spring season, and many summer movie enthusiasts are chomping at the bit to enjoy the warmer air and a good movie. Fred Heise from the Melody Drive-In recently announced that the drive-in theater has set a tentative date to open this season, weather permitting.
Melody Drive-In to Reopen Friday
The Melody Drive-In will reopen this weekend, according to Fred Heise, who explained that the drive-in will be operating “one-legged” for a period of time while they work on replacing the screen that was damaged from strong winds that toppled the screen and caused extensive damage to the ticket booth. Fortunately, Heise said the replacement should be completed before the Fourth of July – but until then, he said they’ll still be showing movies.
“It will just be the second screen,” Heise explained. “The first one is a total disaster, so we’re working on the cleanup on that as we speak and we’ll, hopefully, have another one up by the Fourth of July if everything goes as planned.”
Melody Drive In Owner Hopes to Reopen Soon
The Melody Drive In should be back in business by the weekend. Co-owner Fred Heise, Jr. tells WKVI news the goal is to open with movies on screen two Friday, a week after strong winds ripped down screen 1 and caused extensive damage to the ticket booth at the popular Bass Lake attraction. Meanwhile, Heise is waiting for an insurance adjuster to assess the damage before the piles of debris can be hauled off. Nobody was injured.
Heise says his long-term goal is to replace the damaged screen, but until then he says movies will rotate through on the remaining one.
“We’re going to have to shuffle a little bit as far as the types of movies and when we’re going to play certain movies, so if people can just be a little patient we will play everyone’s movies. We may have to wait on a few of them, but we will eventually get around to them,” Heise says. Before opening for the season, the Melody Drive In underwent a digital upgrade. Heise says the past weekend has been quite trying for his parents. He adds the entire family will be fine, and says they appreciate the outpouring of support from friends and neighbors.
Melody Drive-In Theater Opens This Weekend
“Set your dates for this Friday, we are going to be open this Friday, and we’re going to be displaying our brand-new, all-new digital format – beautiful picture, so we’re all really looking forward to it,” Heise said.
Melody Drive-In Undergoes Digital Upgrades
The Melody Drive-In in Knox is preparing for the upcoming movie season with some new digital upgrades. Fred Heise, owner of the drive-in, said that the theater will soon be moving away from the older standard of film to digital film, and he said they are now putting in new digital equipment in an effort to enhance the movie-viewing experience.
Heise said the new equipment will serve to make the picture more clear and improve the sound quality, but it’s not just moviegoers who will benefit from the new equipment. Heise said the new equipment and digital film will save the theater a lot of time and preparation.
