UPDATE: 2:20 p.m., Sept. 16, 2020
The saga of the California Center for the Arts Drive-In Film and Concert Series has come to a happy new chapter. Over Labor Day weekend, the center began dismantling its pop up outdoor venue at the Westfield North County Mall when a dispute over parking spaces arose.
The center put out a call to the community for ideas for a new location and one has been found: California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM).
According to the press release issued Wednesday:
“We are excited to have found a home at Cal State San Marcos,” Executive Director Jerry Van Leeuwen said. “There is ample space to spread out on a grid that aligns well with the stage. We also took this opportunity to increase the height of our stage and our three LED walls to ensure our patrons all have a great view. Nestled in the hillside under the stars, Lot F is a fantastic venue for live concerts, stand-up comedy as well as classic movies.”
More space will also mean lower ticket prices. CSUSM can accommodate at least 400 cars so now movie prices start at $25 for 2 people in a car.
The Drive-in at Cal State San Marcos kicks off Friday with sing-along "Mama Mia!" Saturday features jazz singer and multi-instrumentalist Gunhild Carling and Sunday features swing and jazz by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
Revenues from the Drive-in support the development and delivery of virtual arts education to North County schools, bringing The World of Frida exhibition to the Center’s Museum and planning for future free community events. Rental fees for Lot F will help support the University’s School of Arts.
So good news for people looking to escape quarantine at the movies and for the center's ability to bring in much needed revenue.
UPDATE: 11:45 a.m., Sept. 24, 2020:
The California Center for the Arts, Escondido just issued a press release announcing that it was forced to cancel its successful outdoor, pop-up drive-in at Westfield North County. This film and music series provided work for Center staff and Local IATSE 122 union stagehands, who created the outdoor venue with state-of-the-art lighting, LED screens and surround sound.
The series also brought much-needed income to the center, which has had to shut down its two indoor theater venues because of COVID-19.
“The drive-in series provided work not just for our staff but for the crew and performers whose livelihood has been blindsided by the pandemic," stated Director of Performing Arts, Julianna Crespo in a press release. “We were proud to offer work for Active Working Women housekeeping and other local companies that brought in everything from fencing to port-a-potties. Restaurants and stores in the mall reported an increase in business each weekend from the hundreds of patrons we brought to their doorstep as well.”
But then the bad news came. Westfield notified center staff that they had inadvertently double-booked 100 parking lot spaces for Salon Republic and needed the entire drive-in operation moved immediately.
According to the center's press release: "In joint efforts by the Center and Westfield, the salon was offered rent reductions, lease payments for the parking spots, reserved parking signage in the next closest lot, free sponsorship and advertising to the thousands of drive-in customers and more which their corporate management declined."
On social media, however, Salon Republic replied to all complaints with this statement "Firstly, we offered a compromise to the mall allowing the venue to stay in the parking lot, which the mall rejected. Your anger is misplaced. It is the mall that has messed this situation up from day one, and continues to even today. Secondly, we have 50+ independent beauty professionals who operate their individual businesses in our salon that are working to feed their families too."
The Center staff started dismantling the stage over the Labor Day weekend and marketing director Josie Shepherd said they are actively looking for a new location. At this time there were no other locations in the mall parking areas that would work nor could the event continue in the smaller footprint.
Hopefully the film and music series will find a way to continue.
ORIGINAL STORY:
As cinemas remain closed because of COVID, arts organizations and businesses are trying to find new options for events. The answer for California Center for the Arts, Escondido (CCAE) is to create a drive-in at the Westfield North County mall.
California Center for the Arts, Escondido has been hit hard by COVID-19. Josie Shepherd, the organization’s director of marketing, said the two theaters located on its campus can no longer present live events.
"So the drive-in was an idea we had in early March as a way to kind of pivot into our industry," Shepherd said. "So we had to think of ways out of the box to be able to bring a safe socially distanced experience to people. And so we decided to take on the drive-in series, presenting movies and live concert events."
The series kicked off on Friday with the screening of "Grease" selling out online within five hours. It was so popular that there will be an encore screening scheduled for Aug. 30. The Saturday live music concert also sold out.
The pop-up drive-in takes place at Westfield North County in the former Nordstrom's parking lot. There are three LED screens so that approximately 200 cars will have a good view. People are allowed to sit in the backs of their pickups or hatchbacks but they are asked to stay within the footprint of their car. Event organizers said people needed gentle reminders over the weekend, but overall stayed within the guidelines.
To hear the film or concert audio, attendees can either tune in to an AM radio station the Arts Center is using or roll down their windows to get hear the audio from the outdoor speakers.
Director of performing arts, Juliana Crespo, is programming all the concerts as well as picking out the movies. While San Diego's veteran drive-ins, South Bay and Santee, are programming mostly new horror and recent family fare, Crespo is going exclusively for upbeat family and music-themed films.
This Thursday, "Dreamgirls" (with Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson) screens with Disney’s "The Princess and the Frog" playing on Friday, and the Best of Motown Live Concert on Saturday.
For movies, it is $50 per car, which is expensive if you plan to go alone but for a family of four, it proves to be about the same as it would have been to go to a cinema. And with cinemas closed, it offers a great opportunity to get everyone out of the house.
The cost for the live music concerts will vary depending on the artists. You can also purchase a snack box in advance and pick it up at the venue for $20. And in case you are wondering, yes there are what event organizers call "high-end' Porta-Potties with running water. But maybe bring some hand sanitizer and, of course, a mask.
The CCAE is a nonprofit and like so many arts organizations it is simply trying to find a way to survive and serve its community during the pandemic.
"We encourage people to join the California Center for the Arts membership portion of our organization since we are a non-profit company," Shepherd said. "We leverage that to give pre-sale benefits to members. We saw definitely an increase in membership, which is great for our organization."
You can find more information and the complete schedule on the Arts Center's website. If you want to weigh in on film choices, then check out its Facebook page.
