Thomas Beck
Fort Coulonge July 10, 2021
The conditions were perfect on a calm Saturday night for a drive-in movie night at the Centre Récréatif de Fort Coulonge. The municipalities of Mansfield et Pontefract and Fort Coulonge collaborated to bring families out to watch Sonic the Hedgehog.
The night was spearheaded by Mansfield councillor, Sandra Armstrong and Fort-Coulonge councillor Christine Francoeur; they had hosted a drive-in movie event previously in the fall and had decided to bring it back this summer due to its popular demand.
“They asked for it…the people asked that we should continue, so that’s what we did,” said Armstrong.
A donation of snacks was made by Pierre Bourque and his family for the event. The Bourque’s sent 300 bags of chips, juice, and cookies and every child attending was able to get one bag to enjoy during the movie.
Both councillors acknowledged how this event all came together and what the organizing process was like.
“It’s been sponsored by the municipalities but how it really happened is that one year, the MRC sponsored a drive-in movie for Culture Pontiac and after that, we said, ‘Why don’t we do that?’ and so after the one in the fall we’ve decided to try it again,” said Armstrong.
Fort Coulonge mayor, Debbie Laporte and Mansfield mayor, Gilles Dionne, attended the event and supported Francoeur and Armstrong in hosting this event. Laporte touched on the importance of having community events once again.
“It’s very important, especially after a pandemic. We’re having more activities just to show people that we still exist and to motivate people to participate in any activities that we offer to the public,” said Laporte.
The next drive-in night is scheduled to be in September. The evening’s event was free of charge and was accessible in French and English by tuning into designated radio stations.
Eight-year-old, Ariel Jones was in attendance to have an amusing Saturday night with her mother.
When asked why she wanted to come to watch the movie, she responded with “I wanted to get out and spend time with my family.”
