The Union Activities Council (UAC) will host a drive-in movie showing of Grease at 8 p.m., April 7th in the Student Rec Parking lot. The event is free for ESU students and students can also bring their own snacks and beverages. Students may attend the event even if they don’t have a car. Just bring a chair or blanket to sit on.

Before the movie, there will be a 1950s-1960s costume contest. The winner will receive a pleather (imitation leather) jacket from amazon.

“We thought of doing a throwback movie because it would fit the vibe of a drive-in movie,” Kenzie Sumner, a sophomore English education major and vice-chair of the visual arts committee, said. “We were kind of in between Back to the Future and Grease. We landed on Grease because in the movie they attend a drive-in movie.”

Drive-in movie theaters used to be a popular form of entertainment in the 1950s and 1960s; however, as time went on, drive-ins became less popular. At a drive-in movie, movie watchers park in front of a screen, tune the car’s radio to a specific station (which plays the movie’s audio) and watch the film in the comfort of a car.

According to an advertisement in the Emporia Gazette in June of 1978, there used to be a drive-in movie theater in Emporia. It was near the corner of West Highway 50 and Road G.

Jamey Nicholas, a junior elementary education major and the chair of UAC’s visual arts committee, says that this is the first drive-in movie the UAC has ever planned.

“I think this event will be a lot of fun, definitely a nice stress reliever since it’s in the middle of the semester,” said Nicholas. “I think this is a great opportunity for us (UAC) to promote things and for students to come and have a good time, see what we do and relax.”