Southern California
This week was a bit frazzled but highly productive. From Barstow I headed south into the Imperial Valley, genuine desert, though they irrigate it and grow crops, with temperatures hitting 113° or 114° in the afternoon and passing 80° by seven in the morning. The Sky theater in Yucca Valley has become a swap meet, with no theater structures standing except the tall marquee out at the highway. The Motor Vu in Imperial is still working, with two screens standing surrounded by a large tank farm. From there it was on to the San Diego area, then up to greater Los Angeles, where there are still four operating drive-in theaters. There are only a few drive-ins left in the rest of the state. I'm taking a "not on the road" day today to catch up on all sorts of things like correspondence with contacts at theaters in the Pacific Northwest and into Idaho, working on the digital capture files, and writing up the postcards that will be mailed soon to sponsors as I move up the west coast.
Back east, some theaters double as "flea markets" to find another income stream. Out here the term is "swap meet" and the events seem quite different, with more of a carnival atmosphere than I've seen at the flea markets. One of the venues I visited, in Santa Fe Springs, has stopped functioning as a theater altogether and is used only as a full time swap-meet location, though the giant marquee structure and screen tower are still standing. Here's another thumbnail page of pictures from this week's theaters.
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$17,292
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Funding period
Mar 27, 2012 -
Apr 26, 2012
(30 days)
- First created · 2 backed
- Carl Weese 302 friends
- Website: carlweese.com
Pledge $10 or more
63 backers
A handwritten thank-you note mailed from the road, on a custom postcard with a picture from one of the project theaters.
Estimated delivery: Jul 2012Pledge $25 or more
59 backers
A handwritten thank you note postcard, plus two 5x7 color photos showing two of the most interesting theaters from this road trip.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $50 or more
38 backers
A handwritten thank you note postcard, plus a set of six 5x7" color photos showing some of the coolest theaters visited on the trip.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $75 or more
2 backers
A handwritten thank you note postcard, plus an American Drive-in Theater project 12-month calendar with color pictures from 12 of the theaters on the road trip.
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $100 or more
40 backers
A handwritten thank you note postcard, the custom drive-in calendar, plus one archival exhibition quality 8x10 print from the project, and a fun souvenir from one of the theaters. (popcorn fork, refrigerator magnet? Won't know till I get there).
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $175 or more
21 backers
A handwritten thank you note postcard, the custom drive-in calendar, plus one archival exhibition quality 11x14 print from the project, and a fun souvenir from one of the theaters.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $250 or more
0 backers
Special Reward: Are you a drive-in theater owner in the regions I’ll be traveling? You'll get an 11x14 print (color or monochrome) of your theater, the custom calendar, plus I'll do documentation of your theater in color and provide you with files you can use to update and enhance your theater’s web site.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $350 or more
8 backers
A handwritten thank you note postcard, the custom drive-in calendar, and a portfolio of six 11x14 archival exhibition quality prints from the road trip.
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $375 or more
3 backers
A handwritten thank you note postcard, the drive-ins calendar, plus one contact-size monochrome archival print from a theater on the trip, on heavy cotton paper, scanned from a panoramic 7x17 inch negative, and one 11x14 inch print scanned from an 8x10 negative.
Estimated delivery: Jun 2012Pledge $800 or more
0 backers
A handwritten thank you note postcard, and a portfolio of six 15x20 archival exhibition quality prints from the road trip.
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $800 or more
0 backers
Special reward: are you a photography enthusiast and live in the region I’ll be traveling? You’ll get the portfolio of six 11x14s from theaters on the trip, plus meet me on the road and take a private photography workshop on view camera technique, digital capture, or both.
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $1,300 or more
0 backers
A handwritten thank you note postcard, and a 22x28 inch monochrome archival exhibition print from a theater on the trip, on heavy cotton paper, scanned from an 8x10 inch negative.
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $1,300 or more
0 backers
A handwritten thank you note postcard, plus a 16x40 inch monochrome archival print from a theater on the trip, on heavy cotton paper, scanned from a 7x17 inch negative.
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $2,000 or more
0 backers Limited (10 of 10 left)
The handwritten thank you postcard, and one hand-made platinum/palladium contact print from one of the 8x10" photographs, and one from the 7x17" photographs, each in an edition limited to ten prints and two artist's proofs. Signed and numbered by the artist.
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012
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