Drive-In Events

Drive-In Events

We’re happy to be part of resurrecting a classic form of entertainment this summer with Utopia Entertainment’s ‘Drive-In Nights.’

Drive-In Movie Nights

We launched our first drive-in at the Country Club of St Albans just a couple of weeks ago with the feature presentation, The Rise of Skywalker.

Projecting with a suspended 25 foot LED screen allowed us to start the movie with clarity even before sundown.

Just like the ’50s, the sound was transmitted on FM car radios. In addition, speakers set up around the lot allowed families to enjoy the movie outdoors on lawn chairs and in makeshift lounges in the beds of pick up trucks and SUVs. DJ Roe entertained the early arriving crowd scrambling for the best parking spots with an hour-long music set prior to the feature presentation. And the St. Albans team grilled burgers and dogs… and offered your favorite movie candies as well!

St. Albans Director of Special Events Laura Hodges said afterward, “Members had such a great time, they want another showing!”

Drive-In Graduations

The opportunity to bring people together in the celebration via drive-ins has provided the flexibility to revive graduation ceremonies as well.

Last week we made visits to Chicago on behalf of Quest Academy and two days later at Duchesne High School in St. Charles for the class of 2020.

Both schools were perplexed about how to celebrate graduations with respect to the pandemic. In both cases, cars filled the parking lots and families were able to watch graduates parade across the stage and receive their diplomas on the big screen. And for family members and friends that couldn’t attend the Drive-In Graduation – we streamed the entire event on Zoom so ceremonies could be enjoyed from the comfort of home. Indoor applause was replaced by blaring car horns that could be heard for blocks as graduates threw their caps in the air in celebration.

We love ‘Drive-In Nights’ that allow organizations to respect social distancing while still bringing families together in celebration. And we’re thankful to play a small part in shining the spotlight on 2020 graduates so they could still have their special moment of recognition before taking their next steps!

As an elementary school, we had to approach the process of learning in ways we never thought of before. Just as importantly, and for our students possibly, more importantly, we had to find a way to celebrate their milestones within restrictive parameters, that challenged our abilities and creativity.

The Partnership

From our annual Auction to graduation, Utopia served to help make the impossible, possible. Not only did they provide technical expertise to create quality virtual broadcasting possible, but their entertainment team also brought energy and life to our events rivaling years prior. Joey and Roe helped to make the planning and organizing of a drive-through graduation seem almost ordinary, but delivered an event that was anything but ordinary.

The Future

For many years to come, our Class of 2020 will be remembered for this wonderful, one-of-a-kind experience. They were able to experience all the wonderful traditions of graduation in the most unique, non-traditional way. We have Utopia to thank for that. Without their warm-hearted professionalism and ability to think out of the box and deliver on those ideas, Quest Academy would not have been able to give our graduates the amazing day, neither they nor their family and friends (near and far) will easily forget.

Donna Wozniczka

Executive Assistant to Head of School, Quest Academy

The group at Utopia was able to take the vision developed by our graduation committee and help turn it into a reality for our students and their families. Each of our unique requests were answered with a, “Sure! We can do that.” It was a truly special evening for our school community and I know it’s something that we won’t soon forget.

Debi Westhues

Head of Students, Duchesne High School

The Future of Drive-In Events

While Drive-in events are not a new concept, we are excited to see them as a platform to bring people together in new ways. From drive-in movies to graduations, fundraisers and Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, Drive-In celebrations provide an opportunity for organizations, families and friends to be physically spaced out without being socially isolated. Crowds small and large can come together in celebration. And everything happening during the drive-in experience can be transmitted to those viewing from home for a seamless, parallel experience.

What Hybrid Means For The Event Industry

What Hybrid Means FOr the event industry Remarkable how the word hybrid has become infused into our daily lexicon...and its many applications. Turn on the TV and IBM has an entire campaign of athletes and entertainment celebrities speaking to - hybrid technology;...

One Cause Webinar – All Things Virtual Events

One Cause VIRTUAL EVENT webinar questions AND ANSWERS Recently, Utopia Entertainment's Joey Goone was a guest on a OneCause Webinar below, helping facilitate a conversation around Virtual and Hybrid event experiences. We were joined by 2,000 of our closest...

7 Questions for a Successful Virtual Event

The 7 Questions That Will Ensure Your Virtual Event is a Smashing Success Producing a virtual event successfully is not just about nice cameras, a professional studio and a capable production team. There's so much more than that. By asking these questions,...

Duchesne Highlight Video

In partnership with Duchesne High School, our A/V, Video and Production team brought together the Senior Class of 2020 to celebrate graduation.

The Set-Up

If only it took 30 seconds to setup our LED wall! While projectors rely on light reflection to show images, LED walls function much like TV screens. With limited light pollution, and elevating the wall 15ft in the air, events can go on from sun up to sun down!