How a New Mexico Town Kept Its Drive-In Alive After COVID-19

What began as a community engagement experiment has since become a lasting fixture in Los Lunas, New Mexico.

An aerial drone view shows a temporary drive-in movie theater at the Rose Bowl stadium, in Pasadena, Calif., on July 4, 2020. David McNew/Getty Images

LOS LUNAS, N.M.—It wasn’t much to look at—just an old BMX park, hard-packed dirt, and open sky—but it held a kind of promise: enough space for cars, enough distance for a crowd.

In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic drove people apart, organizers with the Los Lunas Parks and Recreation Department reached for something familiar with a twist of necessity.