South Jersey’s Delsea Drive-In Announces Opening

Earlier today, NJ Governor Phil Murphy announced on Twitter that, "Gatherings of vehicles, such as drive-in movies or church services, are not a violation" of the state's order "prohibiting mass gatherings."

Murphy's tweet noted that these gatherings are not in violation,"as long as all participants remain in cars. If vehicles are closer than six ft apart, all windows, sunroofs, convertible tops must remain closed."

That's good news for fans of South Jersey's only drive-in theater, the Delsea Drive-In in Vineland.

According to a post on Delsea's twitter page, the theater was scheduled to open for the season on March 20-21.  Unfortunately, just 4 days before opening night, the Coronavirus outbreak forced the drive-in to postpone its opening.

Earlier this month, one of Delsea's owners, Jude DeLeonardis, told Townsquare Media, "If we can't open up with enough under our belt I don't have a game plan to pay that massive mortgage come the end of July. I don't know what will happen. It's a big question mark."

When Townsquare Media spoke to DeLeonardis today, she said, "We're going to put something out on the 22nd come hell or high water whether it's one screen, two screens. I don't know. We're putting something out on the 22nd, we're making something happen."

The Delsea's website says that the drive-in theater opened in 1947.

If you've never been to a drive-in, this may be the perfect time to give it a try.  I go to see a movie at the Delsea Drive-In at least once a summer and the novelty alone makes it a special experience.