To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the Children’s Foundation of Guelph & Wellington is inviting residents to a COVID-safe birthday party at the Mustang Drive-in.
“Since we’ve released it, the whole community has positively responded, and we knew it was the right decision,” said Mandy Schnurr, director of community engagement at the Children’s Foundation.
Partnering with Skyline and Mustang Drive-in, residents can come watch Hotel Transylvania on June 29. Gates open at 8:30 p.m. with the movie starting an hour later. Washrooms and concessions will be on site, with COVID-19 safety protocols in place.
Schnurr explains this is the second time they have changed the date due to concerns around COVID-19 safety. The new date is when most elementary students will have their last day of school.
“I think it will be a good day to kick-off summer for a lot of the kids,” she said.
“We’re working with what we have and we’re very, very hopeful that we’ll be able to go ahead on June 29.”
Looking for a safe way to celebrate 30 years of helping children and their families within the community, Schnurr recalls the idea of a drive-in movie being pitched by their CEO, Emma Rogers.
“It’s nostalgic, drive-ins have been around for so long ... and the Mustang is a staple in Guelph,” she said, “So we called them and asked them about doing a buyout and have been really great to work with.”
The Mustang Drive-In is allowed to have up to 400 vehicles under COVID-19 capacity limits. Tickets to attend the event are $20 and can be purchased here.
All proceeds from ticket sales will support four Children’s Foundation programs, said Schnurr.
“Food and Friends, Free to Grow, Adopt a Family and Scholarships,” she said, “and all of the donations that come to us, 100 per cent of them go back to those four programs.”
There is also an option for residents to pay for a ticket that will help another family within the community attend the event.
“These are the families that access our program and live below the poverty line, unfortunately,” said Schnurr about the initiative which they have used for other Children’s Foundation events.
“It’s all about inclusion, everybody gets to go and everyone gets to have fun together.”
