“Carrie Carpool Cinema” to premiere in Homestead this weekend
Rivers of Steel in Homestead normally holds tours, workshops, exhibitions and festivals in the backdrop of the historic structures like blast furnaces, pump houses and machine shops for the regional industry that helped build America. This week will be the premiere of the non-profit organization鈥檚 Carrie Carpool Cinema where people can see a drive-in movie in the area of the Carrie Blast Furnace. (Photo courtesy of Rivers of Steel)
Experience a drive-in like no other! With the Carrie Blast Furnaces as your backdrop and a lineup of can鈥檛-miss double features, the stage is set for summer fun!
Flashdance star Jennifer Beals poses at the steel mill during shooting of the 1983 movie. (Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
A remnant of the once massive, legendary U.S. Steel Homestead Steel Works, the Carrie Blast Furnaces are a vestige of Pittsburgh鈥檚 20th-century domination of the steel industry. (Photo courtesy of River of Steel)
Organizers for the first Carrie Carpool Cinema in Homestead this weekend test out the projection of one of the movies to be shown with the historic Carrie Blast Furnace as the backdrop of the drive-in experience.
Organizers for the first Carrie Carpool Cinema in Homestead this weekend test out the projection of one of the movies to be shown on a vinyl screen near the historic Carrie Blast Furnace.
Cinema, heritage and culture will come together this weekend and the rest of the year as a group is holding the drive-in-movie experience in an uncommon place.
Rivers of Steel in Homestead normally holds tours, workshops, exhibitions and festivals in the backdrop of the historic structures like blast furnaces, pump houses and machine shops for the regional industry that helped build America.
This week will be the premiere of the non-profit organization鈥檚 Carrie Carpool Cinema where people can see a drive-in movie in the area of the Carrie Blast Furnace.
鈥淭his is something we thought about for a couple of years,鈥� said Chris McGinnis, the director of Rivers of Steel. 鈥淲e just never had the capacity to make it happen.鈥�
However, due to many summer commitments scheduled at Rivers of Steel being cancelled due to COVID-19, the opportunity opened up for them to make the carpool cinema a reality.
鈥淚n spring, we talked about what we wanted to do and when we opened in yellow (phase), we started implementing the structure for it.
Even though the name of the cinematic event comes from the Carrie Blast Furnace attraction, McGinnis said the 34-by-60-foot vinyl screen was set up by the Blowing Engine House, which was a structure affiliated with the blast furnace.
It鈥檚 also abuts next to the western courtyard, which McGinnis said is the most ample space to park cars and have that drive-in experience, which includes having the vehicles tune their radio to pick up a short-range radio transmission for the movie鈥檚 sound.
McGinnis said those who show up prior to the movies can also take one of the select amount of tours of the furnaces.
鈥淣ot only can you have a fun outdoor entertainment experience, but also supporting a non-profit in charge of preserving that history,鈥� McGinnis said.
The cinema will take place one weekend a month until the end of the year, and each month will have a specific theme with this weekend鈥檚 being 鈥淔ilmed in Pittsburgh鈥� with movies including 鈥淔lashdance鈥�, 鈥淥ut of the Furnace鈥�, 鈥淭he Perks of Being a Wallflower鈥� and 鈥淜ingpin鈥�.
The premiere weekend, however, has been sold out as McGinnis said the online response with social media has been tremendous and positive.
鈥淚t鈥檚 reinforcing what a lot of us believed from the start, and that鈥檚 how exciting it is to host drive-in movies here,鈥� McGinnis said, adding that concessions by Iron Oven Catering, in partnership with Rouge BBQ, will also be available for purchase during the event. 鈥淲e always felt it would be a popular program.鈥�
Other themed weekends include 鈥�80s Family Weekend鈥� in August, 鈥淩ockin鈥� Rhythm Revue鈥� in September, 鈥淐lassic Horror鈥� in October and 鈥淐ult Classics鈥� in November. The films for those weekends will be announced at a later date.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the number of tickets sold were capped so only 250 people could occupy the outdoor event including staff.
McGinnis said they would like to do the Carrie Carpool Cinema again next year, adding they have no intention of competing against drive-ins showing the newer releases, but filling a unique demand for entertainment and heritage.
鈥淰irus or no virus, this is something people will want to do,鈥� he said.
For more information on Carrie Carpool Cinema, visit the Rivers of Steel website at riversofsteel.com