Movie’s Over: Ceres drive-in theater will not reopen this year, or ever again
The era of the drive-in theater is over, and it’s not coming back. Owners of the Ceres Theatre & Flea Market — the region’s last drive-in — have confirmed that the show will not go on. They’ve put the property up for sale.
The drive-in had entertained families since 1948. It offered double features during warm-weather months, charging by the car load.
Atwater resident Megan Brudzinski said her parents started taking her to the Ceres drive-in when she was 8. “It was just a fun time,” she said. “It was a family thing. I’m disappointed that it’s closing. There’s not many drive-ins around any more.”
Charlie Leffingwell said he and his wife went to the Ceres drive-in a few times each season.
“I thought it was neat when I moved to Modesto that the one here was still open,” he said. “It’s kind of a nostalgic thing. But we enjoyed being outside. It’s a whole different genre than going to an indoor theater where it’s crowded.”
The site has four entrance and exit points, which was important back in the days when as many as 600 cars poured out after movies ended.
Fewer than 500 remain nationwide, according to DriveInTheater.com, which lists thousands of defunct theaters, including Modesto’s McHenry Drive-In and Prescott Drive-In, Turlock’s Lucky Drive-In and Merced’s Starlite Drive-In.
And if you aren’t interested in the latest “blockbuster” remake, you will still have a hard time enjoying some of your favorite local Great American pasttimes…
Valley cities’ seasonal activities getting some trims
As city governments continue to look for ways to cut back their budgets, some of the pastimes of summer — softball games, day camps, recreation center games — are among the targets.
Modesto is making significant cuts to its recreation programs.
In Modesto, the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhoods Department needs to cut the equivalent of 10¾ full-time positions for a savings of $1.2 million in the budget year that starts July 1. Director Julie Hannon said that will mean cuts at the city’s recreation centers, which will operate six hours per day rather than eight.
“Additionally, the summer camp programs will be eliminated along with the Graceada Park program and the Youth Commission,” she said. The city is considering looking for a private operator to handle its sports leagues.
With money so scarce, cities including Modesto and Turlock have dropped their scholarship programs, which helped low-income families pay for classes and camps. Both departments are seeking grants and trying to get donations for scholarship funds.
“Rundown parks might be the first thing people notice if Stanislaus County leaders follow the advice of their money experts.”
Stanislaus County Board studies cuts from park upkeep to cemeteries
Faced with losing $18 million from their general fund, county supervisors are expected to weigh recommendations such as:
- Frank Raines Regional Park would be open only on weekends. Its Deer Creek Camp Recreation Hall would be boarded up and no longer available to rent.
- County officials would plan few or no maintenance projects at the Kiwanis Youth Camp, and would all but ignore the Roberts Ferry, French Bar and La Grange cemeteries, repairing vandalism only when “essential to health or safety.”
- Even the county’s most visible public spaces would suffer reduced maintenance, including Tenth Street Place, the courthouse lawn in downtown Modesto, the old Scenic hospital, the Denair Amtrak station, the former Modesto City Hall behind the Gallo Arts Center, and grounds around the coroner’s office on Oakdale Road, north of Scenic Drive.
- After-school and summer programs run by the county’s Police Activities League could disappear from Parklawn and Salida parks.
The dismal outlook for parks is just an example of service slashing among the county’s 27 departments. Leaders are studying an array of potential cuts, including reducing library hours, closing some offices a few days a year and closing a 64-bed jail wing.
Bleak times will force county government to reinvent itself, leaders say. “We know we have to restructure and reduce service levels because we know 2010-11 is going to be worse,” Nino said.
Are there ways to increase the options we have for providing recreational services and enhancing the lifestyles of Modesto and area citizens? How can we infuse more play into our own individual lives, and help other get out and play? In which areas can community involvement improve a bleak situation?
LEISURE CHALLENGE
- LEARN – Educate yourself about Modesto’s leisure activities and options, as well as the benefits to getting out and playing. What are the challenges to current recreational services?
- ACT – What can you do about it? What were some of the hobbies, sports, or activities you enjoyed as a child but just haven’t had the time for? Go out and play in Modesto! Show and tell us about it!
- IMAGINE – Unleash your creativity and see how you can imagine ways to shatter the Hollywood stereotypes!
- Ask A Mentor for Help
« Arts: Express Yourself Traffic: Showing Up is Half the Battle »
Learn:
What kind of things are there to do in Modesto? Plenty! You could go to one of two movie theaters. Or you could go to one of two bowling alleys. How about going to the Gallow Center? There is usually something there to do. If you don’t want to pay for something you could go to one of the parks. The problem is due to lack of funding a lot of this stuff is being neglected. The parks aren’t being as maintained as they could be. The prices of movies and bowling are high and going to catch something at the Gallow Center can be just as expensive if not more so! This simply can not do. There is only one way it can be fixed.
Act:
When I was a kid it was all about playing outside. Kick ball, baseball, or just plain playing in the dirt. I didn’t really know much about movies and things of that nature. The best time I ever had was going to the pool or zoo. Now a days everything costs money and lots of it. We need to find a way to make it more affordable if people are going to come. We’ve already helped so many people including business a little more for entertainment can’t hurt. Giving money to help make the parks a better, safer place would be a start. Since we’ve already worked on safety as a whole the neighborhoods being safer goes along way to making the parks safe. Giving some money to the business of entertainment so that they can lower their prices or even give a discounted rate night would also go along way to getting some entertainment into Modesto.
Imagine:
With better safer parks kids will want to get out and play more. Less time spent in front of the t.v. and more time out and interacting with other kids and having fun means a broader range of social skills that are crucial to gets as the grow up. They do better in school and even in society. Being able to communicate with your peers is learned by first playing with them when your a child. When people grow up knowing each other or being better able to socialize in general they are less likely to commit other crimes. With more money given to the movie theaters and to various other entertainment places through out Modesto they are more able to lower their prices making it more affordable for people to go. When a family can go together to see a play at the Gallow Center, or bowling with family then the family as a whole is better. The leisure day is saved! For now…
Learn: Modesto has a alot going on. Golf courses, tennis courts, art, classes, athletic classes, and more, modesto is really doing alot. with budget cuts comming up. They are going to have to elt some kind of maintenance go. This could any public place, ranging from parks to cemetarys.
Act: In hueson which right next to modesto, thier is a park where a group of about twenty people meet every thursday and play soccer at the park. It’s cool they bring out their own goals which are homeade and play for atleast an hour. Ive played with them a few times, it was alot of fun.
Imagine. For a large community game I would have a large scavenger hunt with the clues posted in the newspaper once a month and online. first person to bring them to city hall, at ? time wins. Or soccer at the park is one of the cheapest things that you can do.
Learn: I had no idea about some of the leisure activities that exist in Modesto. For example, I had no idea there was a cycling festival here! Ugh…I wish I had a bike…I’m going to steal my brother’s bike tomorrow. I also didn’t know how important it is for us to just have fun and relax…without t.v. or movies. I’m going to tell my husband to go to the park with my daughter and I. The fresh air and relaxing will benefit the three of us.
Act: When I was young, I enjoyed bike riding. I was never really involved in sports when I was younger…I was quite fat. I did enjoy playing tag. I was regrettably never into any physical activites until I was in my late teens. I started jogging then. All the physical activity I had in my high school years were because of my P.E. class. I enjoyed ultimate frisbee and capture-the-flag games…even though I never captured a flag -.- For my activity in Modesto I walked to the soccer field/golf course/park/ baseball field by my house…John Thurman Field. I took my daughter in a stroller. When we got to the field I laid a blanket down on the grass so my daughter could play. She is only 14 months and still isnt too comfortable walking so she mostly crawled around. She just played around with a few balls I brought along and enjoyed pulling grass out of the dirt. After she got tired of playing I put her back in her stroller and did a lap around the golf course. I would have enjoyed it more if the path was paved. It was only 50% paved and the rest was dirt. The stroller kept getting stuck in the dirt…which is irritating when one is trying to speed walk.
Imagine: I am going to hold a weekly activity day at a local park. There will be a capture-the-flag game!; an area for kids and another for adults. There will also be a maze area! But it will not be made of corn but of grass!…which I will make grow super fast with my laser vision! There will also be other games like that one game where you tie your leg to another person’s and try to reach a finish line….awesome. I will also shoot poisonous banana seeds at people’s feet to make them dance and get them moving!…I kid, I kid…or do I? >_> I will fund all of this because I am filthy rich, dammit!
LEARN: Originally, I was going to say that people shouldn’t worry about leisure when they can just go to the beautiful beach front and enjoy the surf and sand and, maybe, put a little shrimp on the barbie.
Unfortunately, this was around the time my failing mark in Geography came back to bite me in several rather uncomfortable and embarrassing places. Apparently, and I’m not sure if you knew this about Modesto, it’s landlocked. Yep, that means land to the left and right. And…the other left and right. Er, no wait. North, south, east and west. Also, down. Technically there isn’t land up of Modesto, but that’s mostly air and there isn’t much to do in the air other than sky diving. Then again…
IMAGINE: I think I’m seriously onto something with this whole skydiving thing. Come on, Modesto has an airport, I think. Unless its just a poverty stricken region called Airport just for kicks. No, Modesto’s got an airport and it should do something with it I think. Instead of saying something complacent like “Dur hur, well Modesto is within driving distance of all these other BETTER places”, we should be highlighting that which makes Modesto a pretty rad place to live and, from what I’ve seen, inevitably die in.
Thus, sky diving and other air related sports. On an unrelated note, can it really be called a sport if gravity does most of the work? Just saying. Anyway, think of it this way. Instead of being a defeatist and sending people out of the city, sending upwards but still withing the city limits. PLus, its a win-win for most people invested. If the person falls and dies, the beauty of Modesto will be the last thing they see. Unless we can actually figure out a way to gently ease those falling to their deaths towards our rival cities so that they’ll be known as That City where all those poor skydivers fell to their deaths. It’ll be a PR nightmare for them. Not for us though. Modesto will be the city where in defiance of nature, skydivers all live. They’ll land on Modesto’s only mildly dirty land and after breathing in its exponentially more toxic air, will be infinitely more greatful. Plus, come on, its fun. It really puts things in perspective. I’m sure someone much better at analogies than I would even go so far as to compare it to going to the moon with the Beatles in a legit yellow submarine WITH sub sandwhiches.
(If you don’t think skydiving with a sub sandwich is amazing…well you’re just dead to me at this point aren’t you? )
ACT: Why is nothing in real life as amazing as it is in my fantasy? That’s a total buzz kill. I’m just saying. In reality, I don’t know if you’ve been to Modesto,it’s a pretyt boring town. But that’s kind of the norm. Most towns are boring. I mean, save for the big cities. Modesto is a big city only in terms of gross people and crime. The problem is the people. Look around most people in Modesto. They’ve got the energy of sloths. They don’t want to bother setting up anything fun to do, so there you go, there’s just no fun. Tell you what, first fix the other problems plaguing the city, get the fat residents off their ever expanding rears and go bowl. Or take up marksmanship at the range.
The people of Modesto lack as much passion for leisure as they do for everything else. Apathy has set in and for the most part, the people don’t care for group leisure. They do their own personal thing, even if that just might be staying at home, eating artery clogging crap food and watching old reruns of Wheel of Fortune. Am I unduly harsh? No, this is how I see the world.
If the people of Modesto don’t want to do anything together, you can’t make them. This isn’t preschool. If they want to be alone and have fun, let them. I don’t even care. I’ve got my own thing of relaxing and that’s good enough for me. I don’t care if fat bobby down the street doesn’t want play air guitar with me. Forget him. I’ll put on the sickest reenactment of every Pink Floyd concert ever. By myself.
Learn: Hmmmm? Ah-hah! I have an idea I will simply just peek in some of the houses to see what the children are up to. Tisk..tisk.. tisk just as I expected. These little precious children are all too busy being corrupted by the XBOX 360’s and Play stations. I mean if they were playing the Wii then I would be a little more understanding considering the fact that the Wii is a major workout and exercises’ more than just thumbs. This video game epidemic needs to put to a stop. So I Fierce Dreamer will set out on a conquest to find activities for these young Modesto children to participate in.
Oh what a wonderful day it is bright and sunny not to hot and not to cold. So why is it that as I fly over the local neighborhoods there are no children in sight. What could possibly be keeping these young children playing outside on a day like this.
As I Fierce Dreamer went on my conquest to get children to participate in activities I came across a Family Cycling Festival that is located right here in the Stanislaus County. Not only is it a fun way for children to ride their bikes and meet new friends, but the whole family can participate in it together. The problems with most recreational activities are that it comes with a price. Most parents view the recreational price as a hassle so they do not let their children participate in activities. However, one recreational place that is fairly cheap is the Boys and Girls Club it only cost 15 dollars for a whole year. This can be best described as an after school club that children of all ages can join. I know from experience that this club is great as I fly over the Boys and Girls club there are always children outside playing various sports. It’s a great way to get children involved with meeting other children and a good way to keep them active.
Act:
I am utterly confused on why children prefer to stay inside on gorgeous days instead of roaming freely outside. When I was in my ages of youth I loved to play any type of game that revolved around tag. Whether it was freeze tag, regular tag or hide and seek they were all so fun. On top of that I didn’t realize how much running was involved in tag until I played with my sisters and cousins. I mean enjoy playing outside when you’re young kids, because trust Fierce Dreamer when I say the older you get the less your body participates with you. I mean I am not against video games or anything, but while there is light outside children should be out there playing. When it gets dark outside the children can come in and play video games then; playing video games 24 hours a day is outrageous.
Imagine:
Now time to put my plan in action. The first thing I will do is cause all the parents to enter a dream like trance where they will visualize all their lovely children playing graciously outside with the other neighborhood children. When the parents wake up all they will make it a household rule that their children must play outside for at least an hour, and at least 2 hours if they wish to play video games. I mean we have to take little steps first before we successfully reach our destination. My dream destination would be to have bi-monthly a tag-athon because we know that kids have a busy schedule so I couldn’t make it monthly. The tag-athon consist of a whole day of tag and of course children aren’t interested unless prizes are involved. Of course all the prizes will be healthy and educational. I will simply keep that detail from the children.
LEARN: It’s no secret. Too many people are sitting at home in front of the computer or television and not enjoying what life has to offer! It’s time to get off the couch. It’s so easy to stay inside and camp out on front of the TV, but that’s just not good for you and what kind of example is that for your children.
The City of Modesto Parks, Recreation and Neighborhoods Department offer activities for children and adults. Dry Creek is available for runners, walkers and cyclists. There are parks with tennis courts, playgrounds and lighted ball fields. So many people do not take advantage of these outdoor activities.
There are performance opportunities like Townsend Opera Players and Modesto Performing Arts. I have danced in shows for Townsend Opera Players and it was a lot of fun. I fully agree with the BNET article, people need to come out and play! I will help spread the message.
ACT: It’s very important to get out and be active. As a mom, I make sure my kids have opportunities to explore, play and enjoy life. I was lucky to have activities as a child. I took dance lessons starting at age 3 which led me to dance professionally in the Bay Area and in Southern California in my early 20s. I taught dance lessons here in Modesto for over ten years. This is something I don’t have the time to do now with my current school schedule. I took piano lessons, played the clarinet and saxophone which didn’t last long. I took karate, youth art classes and was in a group similar to Girl Scouts as a child. Life was good and still is. I realize I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to do what interested me.
My husband and I provide our children with extracurricular opportunities. My daughter took dance lessons, gymnastics and now takes tennis. My son played baseball, took karate lessons and is involved with tennis with his sister. We like to expose our children to different activities. They build friendships and it’s a lot of fun for them. We don’t like to have our children sit in front of the television and be bored. Sure, they have their downtime and watch their favorite programs, but they are aware that we want them to get out and enjoy life. However, we stress the importance of school first and activities second. They never have more than one activity going on at one time.
When I’m at school at night, my husband makes sure to take our kids to the park before dinner. They love to play on the playground, fly their kite, ride their bikes and do all sorts of other things kids love to do. My husband feels good knowing that they’re getting out and enjoying the outdoors, but most of all bonding together as a family. I love joining them at the park on weekends, biking with my kids at Dry Creek and playing tennis. These are the outdoor activities we like to do in town.
I want to create a community where people truly understand the importance of play. I want to take my experiences and help families in need. Their children need to explore the arts, sports and the outdoors.
IMAGINE: I get the City Park and Recreation class catalog in the mail. There are many classes for kids such as archery, golf, etc. I’ve never signed them up, but would like to in the future. My mom used to teach youth classes for the city and enjoyed it. These programs are priced well and introduce children and adults to different activities.
Hearing about the significant cuts to Modesto’s recreation programs is saddening. The summer camp program and Graceada Park Program will no longer be offered. The scholarship programs have been eliminated. These departments are seeking grants to support families in need.
Supermom needs to help! I want all kids to have the opportunity to enjoy camp and other activities! I will gather local businesses and the members of the community to help donate to the City of Modesto. These programs need to run and be available to children in our community. We need an official park play day full of fun activities for kids and adults just like the Takoma Park Play Day. I would love to set something like this up. Local businesses can gather and help support the fun-filled day. It would be great for advertising. There can be live music, art projects, mini golf lessons…the list can go on and on!
I would love to work with every single Super Hero to create a huge flash mob of dancers. This would get kids moving and grooving. I have access to a dance studio with three big rooms to get people together to practice. It’s all about fun and getting people involved. Click here to see a flash mob of young dancers in action!
Corrupt Angel Investigates: I remember the good ol’ days full of relaxation, fun, and games. Sigh…..what happened to those days? Oh yeah adulthood happened. While I was off daydreaming about the past, I decided to research the state of Modesto’s leisure activities. Sadly, many of the after school programs that filled my childhood afternoons with fun are gone. What are our children to do with their downtime? Better yet, what are us adults (ahem….and super heroes) going to do when we have a minute to ourselves?!?!? The economy is in shambles and many can’t afford your typical means of having fun.
Act: Hey I’ve decided that this super hero needs a break! You know what i looooved to play as a kid? DODGEBALL!!!! I know, I know many of you are probably thinking “What?!?! dodgeball is horrible!” No one likes to get slammed in the head with those oversized, red, rubber balls. Well the child that would be Corrupt Angel loved it! Call me aggressive or overly-competitive, but nothing said fun more than nailing someone with a ball. Muahahahaha!!! So now how do we get Modesto into dodgeball?
Imagine: This super hero says Modesto needs the largest dodgeball game in history! I will use my mind warp to get the guys in charge to close down a street downtown. Let the madness and fun that is dodgeball ensue!!!
We will all get out that aggression, blow off some steam, get some much needed exercise, and, most importantly,……have FUN! Embrace your inner-child and play DODGEBALL!!! (there’s a lot of caps-lock going on in this post……I do apologize, but dodgeball gets me excited. All those caps are like me yelling in excitement. YAY!!!!)
Learn: Budget cuts are everywhere. I hear about them everyday, whether I want to or not, and after a while it can become dreadfully depressing. So, with little funding to go around, it’s no wonder that Modesto’s recreation would suffer. After all, there are necessary services that do need what little funds are available. And when people can just stay inside and watch reruns all day or game on a console or PC endlessly (guilty of that myself, I must admit), of course recreation is going to get the axe.
Act: I have friends all around Modesto, so I get to drive around quite a bit. One thing I always notice, especially with Summer slowly approaching, is a lack of any good waterparks. It’s an odd thing to notice, yes, but it ties into my childhood. When you’re a kid, and the weather outside is nothing short of oppressive heat, hearing your parents say “Let’s go to the waterslides!” is the closest you get to divine intervention. My family and I would always go to Manteca Waterslides, which went belly-up some years ago. So, driving around I thought, “How great would it be to have some kind of waterpark here in Modesto? It didn’t have to be massive, just enjoyable. Hey, it might even people another reason to come into the city!”
Imagine: Working under the assumption of a hypothetical “just-the-right-amount-of-cash” budget, I plan to rework a small waterpark into Modesto, see if I can’t bring in some summer fun. More on this as it develops.
Learn: Modesto has some recreational and playtime opportunites. Being a Modesto resident, I have definitely seen the city take charge of its parks and paths and remodel them to motivate people to get out and be active. The Virginia Corridor bike path was put in a few years ago, and I always see people walking and riding bikes on the path to get in shape. Even a little exercise can work wonders for one’s health, both physical and emotional. Currently, Modesto is in need of more recreational activities for families and friends to enjoy together, especially with summer coming up. I always hear my peers complaining about how there is nothing to do in Modesto for fun.
Act: I plan to create an outdoor movie theatre for modesto. Currently, in Graceada Park in the summer, there are family outdoor movie nights. I thought this was a fantastic idea, and I wanted to create a permanent area for this purpose. This would be a great way to get outside and enjoy the warm summer nights, while spending time with family and friends.
And so, here’s my finished product. A little rough, but Photoshop, despite its glory and majesty, can only do so much. I didn’t want to just plop a waterpark into Modesto, but rather wanted to see what it would look like if I tried to outfit an existing structure as a waterpark. I decided to use a rather decrepit looking building on Sierra and 7th in downtown. It may not be a sprawling aquatic affair, but I feel it’s a start.
Background and building images taken by myself. Additional images from Flickr with credit going to: Jennifer Kiernan, username: The Kilens, username: Kingstonist.com, and Bill Keaggy.
Seems like the link to my video didn’t show up last time. Anyway, hopefully this works.
Okay, so…this site doesn’t want to accept the link to my video. Well…not sure what to do here.
Here is my final collage with my five planes.
The link to my 3D animation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjuu662T-G0
The link for the video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAOqb2eQnbs