Drive-in at UVic: A summer of nostalgia
Jane Potentier, AVP Alumni and Development, with Oliver Marler, Legacy Drive-In owner, and Michael McCartney, Legacy Drive-In General Manager
How many of you have fond memories of your local drive-in? Cuddling up with your families in the back of your station wagon, watching your favourite flick? UVic offered an opportunity to recreate those memories and create some new ones with the Legacy drive-in this summer.
The idea came from Brendan Harris, a Gustavson School of Business alum, and Oliver Marler. They created Legacy Drive-In as a way to provide the community a safe and physically distant way to gather, and to help UVic students financially. For $30 per vehicle, families enjoyed classic movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Top Gun and Dirty Dancing on the big screen.
$5 of each sale went to the UVic COVID-19 Student Support Fund, which raised a total of $6,350. The fund helps students facing economic pressure during these challenging times. It provides support for housing, food, mental health services, child care, mentoring, online learning and more.
In addition to weekly public screenings, UVic and Legacy Drive-In supported initiatives such as the Victoria International Jewish Film Festival, the Made in Canada Summer Film Series and a local grade 5 class. These young students and their families gathered to enjoy a private screening of the school play (which was recorded on Zoom and edited together by their teacher).
Thank you to everyone who attended a movie this summer, and to Brendan, Oliver and the Legacy Drive-in team for this unique opportunity to support our students and community!
Legacy Drive-In will be moving to new location in September. Learn more on their site: www.legacydrivein.com.
