• Friday is the first of six movie showings at the park over the next five months

Fairview’s Box H Park is opening its traditional Drive-in movie season on Friday, May 30 with a showing of “Rio.” As a gesture of gratitude for the community’s support, admission to this show is free of charge. Gates open at 8 p.m.

“We want to give back to the community, so we are offering free admission to [Rio] on the last day of school as a thank you to everyone for helping us rebuild the park,” said Emily Martin, who serves as Secretary on the Fairview Box H Board of Directors. “We hope that people who have felt the admission fee has limited them before will take advantage of this and just come and enjoy the movie.”

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Two of this season’s films are scheduled for Friday nights with one on the last day of school and the other in the fall with the Halloween feature, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

Gates to enter are on the north and west sides of the park from the corner of Spring Creek Road and Fairview North Road. GPS doesn’t recognize the address, so guests can find the park from the four-way stop in Fairview.

Beginning in June, the cost for each vehicle is $20. Guests are welcome to pack as many people into their vehicle as they would like. “We have people that bring pickup trucks and put mattresses or bean bags in the back,” said Martin. “We have people who roll their windows down and sit in a lawn chair next to their vehicle, and lots of people who watch from inside their vehicle.”

Audio for the films comes through a radio frequency provided by the park volunteers through a QR code shared at the gate. “We have no outdoor sound. They need to tune a radio to our frequency to listen to the movie’s audio. We don’t recommend trying to stream from a cell phone because of a delay in the transmission,” said Martin. “People bring portable radios or use the radio in their car.”

Concessions are also available. With the QR code, guests can view the menu and place their order by text. Nachos, root beer floats, soda, popcorn, cotton candy and suckers are a few of the offerings. “You can text your order in, or you can take a little walk and go into the building and purchase your own food as well.”

These drive-in movies generate revenue for park maintenance and improvement. “If you like how we are improving our park, please come out and support our events, or make a donation. We are just a non-profit private entity that keeps the park functioning through donations.”

The Board used funds to improve the playground last year and is preparing to replace the infield dirt on the baseball diamond with Diamond Dust, which is used on professional fields. New bases are also scheduled for the ball field, and two new soccer goals have been purchased for the east end of the park. They will be installed this season.

“We will be cutting the grass shorter, so that family, friends and youth groups can come and enjoy soccer at the park,” said Martin. “We have been able to make improvements in our bathrooms by replacing toilets, sinks, and soap dispensers.” Funds gathered this year are slated to make improvements to the building next year.

The Board and all staff members are exclusively volunteer. “We are grateful for those who come and help us clean the park and offer service in other ways.  These movies are made possible because of generous sponsors that allow us to purchase the movie titles. We are excited to kick things off and provide new improvements. We are really looking forward to a great season.”

In the event of inclement weather, movie showings will be rescheduled.

Movies currently scheduled:

Friday, May 30 “Rio” Rated G. Admission is free for this showing only.

Thursday, June 5 “Top Gun: Maverick” Rated PG-13

Thursday, June 12 “Despicable Me” Rated PG

Thursday, June 19 “Hook” Rated PG

Friday, October 10 “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” Rated PG