Summer Movies on a screen near you!

It’s summer, and that means that even more than usual it’s time to head to the movies!  Between the city of Soda Springs, the Idan-ha Drive-in and Idahn-ha Theatre, and other events planned for the summer, there should be plenty of opportunities to catch movies both new and classic in 2024.   

Movie in the Park

Despite unfriendly weather on the first scheduled movie in the park, about 60 people came to the rescheduled movie "Footloose" Monday evening, June 10th. The event was sponsored by Caribou Ford and Caribou Medical Center whose sponsorship paid the movie licensing fees. 

The evening's DJ was Ryan Carpenter whose adept song choices had both young and old up and dancing and showing off their dance moves. Local vendors attended as well, offering shaved ice and loaded fries to everyone enjoying a pleasant evening in the park. Evidence of the evening's success were the many big grins and squeals of laughter from kids having a great time as well as lot's of adults spending time visiting with their neighbors. 

Besides Carpenter's help, others helping were Justin Hansen and Rod Worthington. Their help was instrumental in the event seeing around 60 people attending. 

The next movie in the park will be “Emperor's New Groove,” which is planned to be shown Monday June 17, and sponsored by Soda Smiles & Dr. Matt Kunz. Gather your kids, some warm blankets and clothes, and come enjoy an evening in our city park! Vendors will be present! 

Two more movies will be shown, Monday July 1 and Monday July 15 with the movies to be shown to be determined. A movie may be shown on July 29 depending on interest and sponsorship.

Sponsors are needed for the movies in July, and anyone interested can contact Paul Gritton at 208-220-5254. The movies are free to anyone wanting to attend. If you want to see a movie in the park, plan on cool temperatures after dark, bring something to sit in or on, and an ample supply of insect spray. Music is played for a couple hours before dusk then the movie
is shown.

Idan-ha Drive-in

This year marks the Idan-ha Drive-in’s 70th anniversary, and the tenth year Alisha and Jared Davis have been running it.

According to co-owner Alisha, the Drive-In “just kind of fell into our lap. My father in law, Craig Davis, had purchased the land that the drive in was on a couple of years before we took over. When the previous owners were ready to start the process of retiring that was when the movie industry was moving to be completely digital and movie theaters we're required to move to digital projectors. Funding for a digital projector just wasn't there so there were talks of just shutting it down. With Craig owning the land and the owners wanting to retire, they came to us and asked if we would be willing to run the drive in if the funds could be raised, we said of course. The community came together and formed the "Save the Drive In Committee" and raised enough money to buy the projector. And the rest is history.”

In addition to being a historic and iconic fixture in the community, the Drive-In also provides a place to eat that scratches that, well, drive-in itch.  The grill opens before showings, and it’s a great atmosphere during the summer as a place to relax among friends and eat in the grill, on a blanket outside, or in your car.

As far as films, the Davises work with a film booking company that gives them a list of movies available during the summer. That list is not set in stone and can change up to the week of showing due to what other theaters in the area are showing and how long the films need to be shown for.

Generally, the Drive-in will show current theatrical releases.  This week’s film was “The Fall Guy,” a tribute to the 80s TV show starring Lee Majors and Loni Anderson.  Ryan Reynolds and Emily Blunt take over the iconic roles. 

The Drive-In is a family affair, with the help of local high-schoolers.  According to Alisha, “Our families are a big help in always jumping in when we are in a bind. We mainly have high-schoolers working for us. Makes a great summer job. We do have a manager, she also worked for us when she was in high school, she has been awesome these past couple of years. My husband, Jared, is the projectionist.”

The Davis family has been a big supporter of the community, stepping in to provide virtual concerts and even graduations during COVID restrictions.  While similar events were held elsewhere in the country, the Drive-in’s unique status as an outdoor screen location was almost perfectly suited to large virtual events, and made them possible in a way that many expressed a lot of gratitude for at the time.

The Drive-In is open Thursday through Saturday, memorial weekend to labor day weekend. The Grill opens at 7:30, and the movie Starts at dusk. Idan-ha Drive-In has a Facebook page and Instagram to keep everyone updated on what we are playing.

Idan-ha Theatre

The downtown Soda Springs Theatre of course offers movies all year round on Wednesday through Saturday, with discounted matinees on Saturday, and discounted admission on Wednesday.  In addition to the standard show times, though, the Idan-ha Theatre presents free Summer matinees for kids every Tuesday for the months of June and July.  

The two month program allows kids to enjoy the company of other youngsters in a cool environment, and watch family-friendly content for free.  The first showing was of “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” and future showings will be announced in the paper, at the location, or on the “Idahn-ha Indoor” theatre Facebook page.  

All seats are free for the 10 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. shows.  The matinee showing are sponsored by Baked Fresh Sourdough Bakery, Bayer, Caribou Medical Center, Collins Accounting, and Divine Dance Studio.  Information about matinees or regular showings can be found by calling
208-547-3282.