It’s been featured on “Good Morning America” and in Forbes magazine as it toured from Texas to Florida, from Philadelphia to Indianapolis, even as far as Scotland.
Now, the Parking Lot Social brings its traveling drive-in experience to Springfield Town Center in Springfield, Virginia, for a five-day pop-up event from Wednesday to Sunday.
“This is the same company that owns the world’s largest bounce castle and travels around with that,” tour manager Dex told WTOP. “When all this [pandemic] hit, the drive-in became a realistic idea again, and they jumped on that.”
The series features a variety of activities, including stand-up comedy.
“A lot of these comedians have just been looking for a place to get some of this material off their chest,” Dex said. “Sometimes there’s some honking involved, sometimes they flash their lights to show their approval, it’s a pretty fun thing.”
You can also show your singing chops with “Car-A-Oke.”
“It’s basically just a sing-along in your car with all your friends,” Dex said. “The songs come up on the board, the lyrics come up on the screens, and you just sit there and belt them out with your friends. … They’re all the hits that get picked at karaoke.”
Meanwhile, test your knowledge with drive-in trivia.
“That’s all app-based,” Dex said. “We’ll give you a little piece of paper when you come in, or we flash up the instructions on the screen that tell you what app to download. …. You pick a name just like you do at trivia and it’s based on whether or not you get the answer correct and how long it takes you to arrive at that answer.”
Old-school fans can also enjoy drive-in bingo.
“There’s a machine that draws the numbers and it comes up on the screen,” Dex said. “When everybody comes in, they’ll get a bingo card, everybody gets an individual bingo card, and then if you win the prize, you come up and you get tossed the prize.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a drive-in without movies. This week’s film lineup includes “Mean Girls,” “The Fast and the Furious,” “The Purge” and “Grease.”
“They’re tried and true movies that everyone loves,” Dex said.
The experience can be as socially distanced as you want.
“We keep it under the 300-[car] range, just so that we can keep everybody spaced out, we keep everybody a safe distance apart, and we’ve still got enough room so that everybody can see the screen regardless of where they’re parked,” Dex said.
Tickets start at $39 per car.
“Bring a bunch of people, have everyone chip in, everybody pay their way … or come solo,” Dex said. “We do have a limited capacity, we’re only in town for a week, word travels fast and we do sell out, so make sure you get your tickets online.”
