Ohio drive-in movie theater holding graduation ceremonies

MONROE TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKRC) - It's a venue with space, a big screen and speakers. Those speakers have never played Pomp and Circumstance, but that's about to change. A movie theater of the past wants to make graduation a reality this year.

At Showtime at the Starlite Drive-In, the popcorn is hot and the parking lot is full. Manager Anthony Smith enjoys sharing that experience with his children.

"She loves coming down here and watching movies," said Smith.

Because of the coronavirus, the drive-in isn't open in its traditional sense. Instead, the staff is sprucing up the facility for events they never thought they'd host.

"We had someone call us about a wedding this year. It was the first wedding, and it got us thinking, you know, maybe this could be a venue," said Starlite drive-in co-owner Jeff Groner.

Its first use as a new kind of venue started with drive-in church services.

“The preacher stands on the back of his truck and he preaches to the church. From what I understand, his attendance is growing," said Simon Groner, a Starlite drive-in co-owner.

The success of those in-car services got owners brainstorming graduations. After posting on Facebook, Jeff said he's taken calls from every high school in greater Cincinnati.

"Madeira and Indian Hill asked if they can have a video played on the screen and all stay in their cars and things like that," he said.

Three hundred cars will be let in at a time. If a graduating class is bigger, they can hold more than one ceremony. To adhere to social distancing guidelines, cars will park in between speaker posts, staying six feet apart.

"Only a couple people in the bathroom at a time, and we have to clean the bathrooms after each use, and we're going to do carry-out only so someone can order the food online, and then we're going to have a little window on the side of the building that we'll hand it and we'll text them when it's ready," said Smith.

The way each school hosts its ceremony on the big screen is up to them. One thing is for certain: It will be something the class of 2020 will not soon forget.

"Seniors will have a graduation. Won't get it stolen from them," said Jeff.

Starlite will open on May 1 to show movies. It will adhere to the same 300-car limit, social distancing guidelines, carry-out-only orders and bathroom restrictions.