P.E.I. teen touring small towns with a big screen

Usually during the summer, 14-year-old Dash Gallant from Mermaid, P.E.I.,helps his father out with the family's travelling carnival business, Atlantic Amusement.

But the carnival, along with many other events, has been idled because of the pandemic.Instead, Dash came up with the idea of a portable, outdoor movie theatre called Dash's Drive-In.

"I love watching movies, with friends and family mostly though, that's the big part," Dash said. "That's why I always loved going to the Brackley Beach Drive-In when I was younger."

In fact, Dash said Bob Boyle, who owns the BrackleyBeach Drive-In, helped him get the project started by giving him an FM transmitter so that vehicles could tune their radio to a specific station and hear the audio from themovies.

"He's kind of a family friend of ours. I've always been going to the drive-in since I was little. We went usually every weekend and yeah, Bob's a great guy. He's really nice to us and he supported us with this idea," Dash said.

'Everyone seems to love it'

Dash has a blow-up screen that uses a fan to inflate and a projector to display movies.It takes about four or five hours to set up.

Dashhad his first show in Montague on July 4at the parking lot of the Cavendish Farms Wellness Centre.

"Nobody complained. Everyone seemed to be happy. Everyone seems to love it," Dash said.

It isn't just a big screen touring around with Dash. He also has a concessionstand serving things such as hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy and it is a family affair.

"My stepmom and my sister ran the concessions. I ran the gate," Dash said. "My dad and my brother ran the parking. We had a couple other family friends to help us do breaks and what not."

While the family all chips in, Dash's father, Scott Gallant, saidhis 14-year-old son heads up the operation.

About 30 to 40 cars showed up for the Montague show this past weekend but Dash said he is hoping for more. He said the portable screen costs $3,000, and to license a movie he typically has to fork over 35 per cent of the gate per movie.

"We're going to try to make enough money to do this for the next few years. We want to keep this going," he said.

"We hope people are going to be happy that we are bringing it to them."

'Win-win for the whole area'

The Town of Three Rivers, which Montague is part of, is behind the idea of having a drive-in stop by regularly.

"A lot of people that went said they enjoyed it," said Three Rivers Coun. Wayne Spin.

"I think it is a win-win for the whole area. It seems like all my friends that I talk to, they all seem to travel to Brackley Beach to their drive-in so hey, we got it in our own backyard," he said.

Spin saidmany regular events are cancelled in the area because of COVID-19, but this could get people out and about.

"I really hope that people will come out and support this," he said. "Get out of the house, support something in our own area and let's try and keep it here."

Dash saidhe is hoping for a bigger turnout this weekend. He saidsetting everything up is a lot of work but on top of that, he also has to worry about keeping people safe from COVID-19.

In Montague last weekend, the parking lot could hold 200 vehicles, but he limited it to 100 to allowfor physical distancing.

"We make sure the cars stay one parking space apart. We tell people to try to stay in the vehicle if they are not doing anything, like try not to gather around with friends," Dash said, adding that there is hand sanitizer at the concession booth.

What's playing?

Dash charges $10 a person and $30 for a carload. Right now, he said all payments are cash, but he's looking into a debit option.

This upcoming weekend, Dash's Drive-In will feature Spiderman Far from Home and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Dash said gates open at 7 p.m. and movies start when the sun goes down.

While Dash's Drive-In will play Saturdays in Montague, another venue has also been added to the list.

This Sunday, the big screen will pull into Sourisat the parking lot of the Eastern Kings Sportsplex but Dash said there won't be concessions at that show.

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