CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – After a long journey of overcoming problems, the Sunset Ellis Drive-In movie theater has announced that it will be opening on July 1, just in time for Independence Day weekend.
The Shinnston drive-in was vandalized over the winter, and since then, it has been an uphill battle to get its antique projector up and running. It originally opened for the season on June 10 but was forced to close due to more issues with the projector.
Even earlier this week, there were still questions on whether the theater would be able to open for the season. In an interview with 12 News on Monday, owner Anthony Ellis said, “I’m not going to hope for too much anymore, I hope we can fix it, but I don’t know that.”
Luckily, after finding a technician from out of state, the projector is ready to go, according to a Facebook post from the theater’s restaurant. “Well movie goers It gives me great to tell you that the Projector is ready to hit the screen,” said the post.
The movie showings for opening day on Friday will be posted on Facebook. Make sure to check both the Sunset Ellis Restaurant and Sunset Ellis Theater pages.
As long as the projector stays up and running, the theater should be open until Labor Day.