NORTH SMITHFIELD – An Eddie Dowling Highway drive-in showing first-run movies to up to 550 carloads of patrons a night has been named among the best in the northeastern United States by USA Today.
The Rustic Tri-View Drive-In made a list of the ten best in the region, which also features drive-ins in Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts, published on Tuesday, Aug. 24.
“Opened in Rhode Island’s rural Blackstone Valley in 1951, the Rustic is the small state’s last remaining drive-in theatre,” the story notes, overlooking the state’s one other outdoor theater in Misquamicut. “But there’s nothing small about this three-screen, thoroughly modern venue, which shows two movies – both classics and first-run, or live streamed concerts and events, nightly.”
Operated by the Your Neighborhood Theaters division of Belmont Capital, the Rustic is the last remaining theater in Rhode Island with such first-run movies, shown in double features on three giant screens Wednesday through Sunday nights.
“Amongst the usual snack food, enjoy traditional Rhode Island clam cakes,” the article recommends.
The nearby Mendon Twin Drive-In in Massachusetts also made the list.
The Rustic is open from late April through October and costs $27 per vehicle. Tickets can be purchased at http://YourNeighborhoodTheatre.com/.
