Michigan Woman Hopes to Bring Drive-In to the U.P.’s Cinematic Desert

Sault Ste. Marie, in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula, lost its last remaining movie theater back in 2015.

Now, one woman is hoping to bring the theater experience back to the EUP, but a little differently.

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On a personal note, I'm happy to see this happening, and it's bringing me back to my childhood.

Sault Ste. Marie's Last Movie Theater Closed in 2015

For many years, 'The Sault' had a theater - two actually. But, the largest one, the Carmike Varsity Cinema (pictured above from a 2008 Google Street View grab), closed its doors in 2015.

The theater was demolished to make way for the construction of a Meijer and Meijer gas station. Sadly, it was never rebuilt or relocated.

The Soo Theatre in downtown Sault Ste. Marie is still there, but instead of showing movies, the space is used as a performance venue. I'm not sure when they stopped showing movies there, but I distinctly remember seeing The Lion King there back in 1994.

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(Also of note, Sault Ste. Marie DID have a drive-in theater for many years. The Starlite Drive-In opened in 1953 and, by my estimation, closed sometime in the late '80s, but I can't be sure. I remember seeing a double feature of Fievel: An American Tail and Ernest Goes to Camp there with my family when I was a kid.)

So, essentially, Sault Ste. Marie became a cinematic desert.

If folks wanted to see a movie, their closest options were to go across the International Bridge to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, OR drive below the Mackinac Bridge to the theater in Mackinaw City.

Sault Ste. Marie Native Hoping to Open Drive-In Movie Theater

Charissa Passage is hoping to change all of that. She is the driving force behind what she is calling the Yooper Drive-In Cinema.

Passage says she grew up in the area and always loved going to movies when she was younger.

Her hope is to have two LED screens on site, which means that movies could be shown both day and night. She's also planning to have "Yooper Box Seats", which are pickup truck beds with bench seating.

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In addition to the regular movie theater snacks we all love, Passage is planning to have a rotation of local food trucks on-site.

She's also starting a 'Donate-a-Show' program, which will allow the theater to offer free tickets to those who may not otherwise be able to afford them.

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It's still unclear when the drive-in will open for the season (the snow needs to melt first, for one, and Passage is still working on crowdfunding for the project, which includes events like chili cook-offs). But, Passage told the Sault Evening News earlier this month that she's hoping to be open for business sometime this summer.