Long Prairie Drive-In Shares Opening Weekend Safety Guidelines

The Long Drive-In in Long Prairie has recently announced that it will be opening Memorial Day weekend, and of course operating in accordance with safety guidelines set by the CDC.

The movies for the opening weekend of the drive-in will be Trolls: World Tour (which is really special because it didn't get a true theatrical release), and Sonic the Hedgehog will be the late show.

Here is what you can expect if you catch a movie at the Long Drive-In this weekend:

• Cars must be parked six feet apart. Marker poles have been added to avoid confusion.
• Camping will not be allowed until it is cleared by state officials.
• Movies need to be watched from inside your vehicle. Back of pickup beds and SUVs with hatches open are allowed. No chairs can be put on the ground. (That is a state mandate at the moment)
• Children are not allowed to play in the front yard by the screen. The Long Drive-n is encouraging people to bring cards and board games to play together as a family inside your vehicles to still make it a bonding experience.
• Booths outside the concession stand have been removed. (This is a heads up for the walk-in crowd that uses them)
• Concessions will be limited the first weekend as they wait for shipments of supplies and work out a new system to avoid lines.
• Plexiglass has been installed inside concession to separate lobby from back of counter where food & staff are. Staff will be wearing masks and using hand sanitizer between customers.
• Only 5 people will be allowed in the concessions stand at a time.
• Masks are not required but recommended when you are out and about on the lot.
• Extra portable restrooms have been added to the premises to avoid long bathroom lines, and will be cleaned every 30 minutes.

These are a lot of changes, but they are all for the greater good. It will be a bit odd not rolling up to the drive-in, parking right next to friends and setting up our usual camping chair semi-circle, and tossing around a ball. But if it means Long Prairie gets to open their drive-in for the summer, I'm ok with every single one of them. I can't wait to spend Memorial Day Weekend in my hometown catching a movie at our beloved drive-in theater!