With spring moisture steadily sowing green around Colorado, drive-in movie theaters have been polishing their projectors and raking their gravel lots for their annual cinematic gatherings. This weekend, they throw open the gates.

Significantly, these are not pop-up events or free, outdoor screening series on lawns. Those are wonderful — don’t get me wrong — as is Denver Film’s Film on the Rocks series.

But many that sprouted up during the pandemic have gone back underground. And anyway, there’s something special about seeing a movie outdoors from the inside the comfort of your vehicle (or camping chairs), with theater-quality projection and sound, surrounded by people having the same indoor/outdoor experience.

Of course, there are economic headwinds, as CEOs like to say when laying people off. This year, Minturn’s beloved Starlite Mountain Drive-In is taking the year off to focus on its Austin, Texas, operation, producers wrote on their website. “Please stay tuned because there is still the chance we will bring a few nights of Movies under the stars to Minturn mid-July in some form.”

The Denver Mart Drive-In has also been demolished, subject to new construction on the site of its eponymous, former convention-center neighbor.

Read the full story at DenverPost.com.