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outtahere Fast Fact Take advantage of Australia's open spaces and great weather while you get your cinema fix. During summer many outdoor venues across the country host screenings of contemporary, classic and indie films. What's not to like about watching a film alfresco while enjoying a picnic and a cold beer? Moonlight Cinema in capital cities offers plenty of opportunities to get outdoors to see the latest flicks, while people in regional areas can take advantage of Flix in the Stix, a touring outdoor cinema program. Perhaps these new outdoor cinema venues are the modern-day incarnation of the classic Australian drive-in theatre? For more information about 2014 program schedules, visit www.moonlight.com.au or www.flixinthestix.com.au . Wagga 20 In the open air Advertiser, Wagga For more information about the Lunar and Heddon Greta drive-ins visit their websites: www.lunardrive-in.com.au; www.drive-in.com.au. This page: The Sturt Drive-in Theatre was a hub of excitement for Wagga Wagga's residents in the 1950s and '60s. Images: The Daily Another drive-in cinema that closed in the mid-1980s and then re-emerged is Heddon Greta Drive-in located within driving distance of Newcastle, the Central Coast and the Hunter Valley wine region. Manager Scott Seddon, who has many years experience in entertainment, recalls the launch: "I reopened the drive-in in 1996 with screenings of Babe and Apollo 13. It was just three days after the Oscars and I was proud to be screening Academy Award-winning features." Along with these memorable opening nights, every drive-in employee has a funny story to tell. "We've had a number of amusing incidents here," says Scott. "On one occasion a family came to the drive-in while moving house. During the show their pet crayfish got out and I had everyone looking around with torches, trying to find it!" "I was usually the last person to clock off," remembers former projectionist Peter Wilkins. "Drive-ins had a bit of a reputation as 'passion pits' and I'd often have to flash my torch through car windows and tell people it was time to go home!" Passion pits aside, I wonder what a contemporary drive-in manager feels is the main appeal of the drive-in. "It's a social event," says Scott Seddon. "Seventy per cent of cars that arrive here come with children. It's very much a family-oriented outing." In this age of 3-D movies and 'video on demand' is there still a place for drive-ins? "Drive-ins will never regain their popularity of 40 years ago, but the audience is solid for the ones that remain," says David Kilderry, who considers that having the car as the movie theatre is a unique advantage. "You can talk in your car, make phone calls, sit outside, control the volume level, take in a double feature and enjoy hot food," he says. "As long as there are cars and movies, there will always be drive-ins!" Famous Australian movies with drive-in scenes include Alvin Rides Again, Proof, The FJ Holden and Stone. The futuristic Dead End Drive-in (1986) was filmed in Sydney's Matraville Drive-in, which was demolished shortly afterwards.