![]() ![]() It also has permanent restrooms available thanks to Raven Tower. ![]() Like Space City, the Best Little Drive-In chooses films based on themes in an attempt to move beyond classic or overly familiar drive-in screenings. We want to add something special,” says Production Coordinator and Drive-In Manager Rachel Donelson. The opening previews feature videos of local bands, as Generations AV wants to showcase the Houston musicians they know and love. Cars arrive to assigned parking spots, where viewers can order from food trucks and Raven Tower for delivery to their cars. The group built a 20’ x 11’ LED screen in front of the bayou for an incredibly crisp, high-quality image. They tapped Raven Tower, a restaurant adjacent to and owned by White Oak Music Hall, as a partner with the plan to use Generations AV’s equipment for a drive-in at Raven Tower’s sloped parking lot. Generations AV, the company doing sound and light for several music venues and festivals in Texas, suddenly found themselves with a ton of equipment and no work once the pandemic struck. The Best Little Drive-In in Texas has a somewhat similar story. We try to get all five emotions, so people leave with an experience, a memory, a vibe like no other.” Sharif says people are looking for “an escape from real life, soothing is what we need somebody might just need a hug, or hope and romance, a good laugh. A family party atmosphere is a welcome respite the scene can also feel civic, as the night unfolds under a fantastic view of the downtown skyline. Sharif brings in local food trucks each week such as Houston Sauce Co., Dipping Dots, Foodie Bar, Nacho Monster, Drunken Jar, Three Sisters Cajun, Off the Leash Hot Dogs, Akari’s Candy Factory, and many others. The only Black-owned drive-in in Texas, and one of the few in the country, Space City Shows begins the evening with DJ Maphy, who plays music you might hear at a family reunion or a cookout she takes requests via social media. Then, true to the “If you build it, they will come” prophecy, he quickly found an audience. Through workplace connections, he found a contractor to build a 40’ x 20’ screen. After “bird-dogging” around, he found a space just east of downtown with fantastic views, a grassy lawn, and space for 200 cars. Founder Khairy Sharif, 26, was working in flooring and found business was drying up due to COVID-19. Space City Shows was creatively born from pandemic adversity. In Houston, four downtown drive-ins that popped up recently are powered by varying interests. It was a place for families and sometimes dates, as seen in the popular drive-in feature Grease. There were snacks that you could prop on the door of your car and, often, a double-feature. “The best seats,” says Khairi Sharif, owner of Space City Shows, “are the ones you bring.”ĭuring the rise of car culture in the 1950s, drive-ins appeared at the edges of towns where there was ample space to park hundreds of cars, set up a large screen, and not bother neighbors. In this upside-down time, these sorts of dualities work. It’s a way of being together while being separate, out in a field in the middle of downtown Houston, in front of a gargantuan glowing screen, with radio-quality sound coming in through the intimacy of car speakers. The drive-in experience itself, especially in Houston, rests on a series of oxymorons and unusual pairings. Now that so many crowd-centric entertainment options are off the table due to the ongoing concerns about COVID-19, watching a movie on the big screen outdoors from within the confines of one’s car is at once social and safe. Click here for more information.Out of the pandemic rubble, a crop of drive-in movie theaters has bloomed in downtown Houston, each within a few miles of the other.
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