McHenry Outdoor Theater ready to resume operations this weekend
The McHenry Outdoor Theater will reopen for business Friday and Saturday with a host of new regulations in place to maintain social distancing, its owner announced Sunday.
The first features planned for the Golden Age Cinema facility, 1510 N. Chapel Hill Road, are "The Flintstones," followed by the action-adventure picture "Jurassic Park." Gates will open at 6:30 p.m. and customers are advised not to arrive later than 7 p.m.
"You came together as a single voice in an effort to help us open," Golden Age Cinema CEO Scott Dehn wrote in a Facebook post Sunday. "Your efforts are a true testament as to what can be accomplished when people work together towards a common goal. Imagine if we all did that across all areas of our lives."
Dehn noted several precautions the theater will be taking, based on guidelines from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
Among them, the theater will be limiting its capacity to 350 vehicles instead of the usual 750. Filmgoers must stay within their vehicle, though they may lay in the bed of a truck or van if wearing a face mask. No outdoor seating will allowed.
Only one vehicle will be allowed to park between two speaker poles, allowing for a distance of 12 to 16 feet, Dehn wrote. Pets will not be allowed.
Pole speakers will not be turned on, and the theater will not be renting radios. Dehn recommended bringing a radio from home if the vehicle's radio is unsuitable.
Bathrooms will be open and subject to social distancing, but the concessions stand will be closed. However, food and drink items will be available from carts in the parking lot. Customers using the services must wear a face mask.
The theater eventually hopes to operate seven days a week, beginning May 23, Dehn said.
"In the 70 (-plus) years that this theater has stood it has never had to function during times like these," he wrote. "I can promise that we will all do our best and I will be closely monitoring everything from Box Office to the Concession Carts in an effort to find ways to improve."