Travel

A New Hampshire drive-in theater will not show movies this summer

"We want to thank all of our wonderful customers, who often times span generations."

The historic entrance to Weirs Beach during the annual Laconia Motorcycle Week. JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images

May 3, 2024

A longtime drive-in at Weirs Beach will go dark this summer.

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The 12-acre Weirs Drive-In, a popular Laconia, N.H. attraction, announced it will not show movies this summer because owner Patricia Baldi is retiring, officials posted on Facebook this week. Baldi has owned the property since 1974.

“Patti Cakes is out of steam at age 86, and the rest of us have lives and careers that have brought us elsewhere,” officials wrote. “We love the Drive-In. It is a huge part of each of us, and we have loved being a part, in a small way, of your families and your family vacations.”

The property, which includes four screens and a snack bar, is currently for sale for $4.9 million, reported The Laconia Daily Sun. It has been listed for sale for years and almost sold in previous years but the deal fell through, according to the report.

“I’m going to be 86 years old, it’s too much for me to run it by myself,” Baldi told The Laconia Daily Sun. “My son has usually helped me out in the past, he’s moved to Florida; I just don’t think I’ll be able to run it.”

Weirs Beach Drive-In will still take part in Laconia Motorcycle Week in June, according to officials, and other community events organized and run by others. Over the summer, the business will “begin the process of transforming the Drive-In property for the future,” according to the post.

“We want to thank all of our wonderful customers, who often times span generations,” officials wrote. “I have always said this about you, a business couldn’t have better customers than you.”