The Clearwater Drive In at Kyle is currently readying for a very unique season. Public health orders have movie theatres in phase 4 of the provincial reopening plan. The season of summer blockbusters is unlikely to occur in 2020. That's sad news for Saskatchewan movie lovers. But luckily drive in theatres were recently shifted to phase 2. That means you'll be able to get your movie going fix by jumping in the car and heading to Kyle.

Clearwater owner and operator Denise Kelk feels she understands why they were in phase 4, but she's happy they get to open sooner.

"I thought it was late, being in phase 4. I understood if they were categorizing facilities. I understood why we were in that group, if they were looking to avoid any sort of social gathering. Typically drive-ins are a social gathering. You're visiting with other patrons, you're in groups waiting for the movie to start. So I am glad they changed their mind, but it is going to be challenging moving forward with these guidelines."

The guidelines, like all businesses, are strict for Clearwater to be able to open. At the concession and washroom areas, they will need to ensure patrons can easily stay 2 metres apart. When it comes to vehicle spacing, Clearwater will need to ensure vehicles are 5 metres apart. The required distance between vehicles will mean Clearwater's capacity will be essentially halved. With halved capacity there may be some concerns about patrons not getting a spot to see a movie.

"Until we actually get into the thick of things I know customers are worried about being turned away. At this point in time we're not looking at pre-selling spots. If we find that it becomes a problem we will reevaluate that," Denise said. "We're hoping for the best, we're still excited to be open, it's a lot sooner then what we had expected and I think people are just ready to come to the movies!"

Denise isn't sure what movies they'll have yet this season. Studios have shifted the entirety of their release schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result they're also putting more older movies onto hard drives for the few theatres that are able to operate. Denise says they're going to try and strike a balance with their 2020 selections.

"We're still sorting out our line up. We do want to have a good balance of family orientated and adult oriented films. We want to balance by alternating with those. So everyone has an opportunity to come out every weekend."

Clearwater will play their first film of the season on June 12, though there's no announcement just yet on what that first film will be.