It's official: Aldergrove's Twilight Drive-In is permanently closed after providing classic films and the newest releases on the big screen outside for 19 years. 

Owners Jay and Camla Daulat came out for the final night and said it was "very sad."

"We've talked to many people coming by and talking to us, it's a very sad night," Jay told the Star. 

The final weekend, Sept. 28 to 30, featured 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show,' 'Jurassic Park,' among many others, and wrapped up its final night with 'Back to the Future' and 'Grease.'

"What I will miss most is all the people, the many faces," Jay shared. 

Tracey England followed the Daulat family from their first drive-in, Hillcrest in Cloverdale, to the Twilight Drive-In, and came out for its final night. 

"We are just so grateful to Jay and Camla and their sons for keeping this running," she said through tears. "This drive-in is just so special, and we're going to miss it." 

Her son, Ashton, grew up attending the drive-in theatres regularly. 

"There's a lot of good memories," the 23-year-old said. 

Among the audience was Christina Merry and Ben Fisher from the Acrophobiacs Custom Car Club, who married at the drive-in nine years ago. 

"It feels like the end of an era," Merry said. "I was really hoping for that millionaire to swoop in." 

The couple had their first date at the drive-in too, and enjoyed going for the retro-feel and older movies. 

"You can have a conversation in the car and not disturb anyone, or bring your dog," she added. 

Earlier this year, Jay posted on social media that the drive-in made a 鈥渓ast-ditch effort鈥� to save the theatre with a lease extension by the landlord, but they were told there would still be a huge rent increase.

鈥淭hey were still wanting a 2.4x rent increase. That, coupled with the exponential increase in property taxes over the last five years, has made operating the drive-in no longer viable. As such, 2024 will definitely be the last year for the drive-in,鈥� the post read.

Property taxes on the Aldergrove location, at 260 Street and Fraser Highway, have increased 260 per cent during the past three years 鈥� 72 per cent this year alone, reads an earlier post announcing the closure.

Upon hearing of the news last year, a customer-created petition was quickly launched in support of keeping the drive-in, and Township Mayor Eric Woodward won unanimous support from council for a review of options to keep Aldergrove鈥檚 Twilight Drive-In theatre open.

In a previous email to Black Press Media, Jay said overall attendance hasn鈥檛 bounced back to pre-COVID numbers.

鈥淲e all are very sad that future generations may not be able to have the drive-in experience, and ultimately we are disappointed we weren鈥檛 able to come to a viable agreement with our landlord,鈥� he commented.

Woodward told council at the time that he had met with the operators of the drive-in, who explained 16.8 per cent of their customer base is local, while more than 80 per cent comes from outside Aldergrove and 91原创, making the theatre a destination that draws people from as far away as Vancouver Island.

鈥淚t has been a challenge to find other land outside of the Agricultural Land Reserve that would be available and economic for this use,鈥� Woodward told Black Press Media.

At its Sept. 23 meeting, 91原创 Township council reviewed the report from staff in which no "reasonable alternatives" were found. 

Jay's first job in the theatre business was at Westminster, a 750-stall drive-in once located at the foot of the Pattullo Bridge and King George Highway in Surrey.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I started in an apprenticeship, to learn the trade,鈥� Jay said in a previous interview with Black Press Media. 鈥淪o I was very familiar with operating the equipment, and prior to the Hillcrest we did get involved in theatres so I was also aware of the business and operations of the drive-in as well.鈥�

Hillcrest closed in September 2003 after a half-century of business in Cloverdale.

Last night at Twilight Drive-In

鈥� Kyler Emerson (@AeKyler)

Before the movie began on Sept. 30, a video of drive-in highlights played on the screen. As it concluded with the words "Good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight," car honks from the audience echoed in the area. 

The Daulat family posted for a final time on the drive-in's Facebook page, thanking the community for its support over the last two decades. 

"Your smiles, gasps, laughter, applause, and honks will echo in our hearts. Though this chapter is closing, we hope everyone created some great family memories that will stay with you forever," reads the post. 

According to , the only remaining drive-in theatre is the Starlight located in Enderby, B.C. which opened in 1996. 

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