CHRISTIANSBURG -- For many, summer doesn't start until 84-year-old Richard Beasley passes out the first ticket to the Starlite Drive-In.

Most customers don't know Beasley's name, but his thick glasses and tight-lipped smile represent past and future summers spent munching chili-slathered hot dogs and spending time with family and friends.

"That guy down front, he's been giving out tickets since my mom came here," said Gerri Fisher as she pulled her 6-year-old son onto her lap.

"Shrek the Third" was the summer's first feature, and about 20 cars lined Starlight Drive two hours before start-time May 18. Some drivers arrived early just to claim their favorite parking spots, while others said half the fun is hanging out before the movie. Pulling out blankets and setting up lawn chairs, the regulars waved and loudly greeted friends they hadn't seen since the drive-in closed last fall.

While the theater's speakers softly hummed Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," children played dodgeball between the screen and the first row of cars.

"You're out!" screamed a 12-year-old girl after she pelted a plastic ball at her opponent's head.

The boy gasped at the unexpected mortar, then slumped his shoulders and stomped off to join his parents, who were chuckling nearby.

Gene Dalton | The Roanoke Times

Kimberly Hiatt, 12, and Justin Craft, 10, watch the movie “Shrek the Third” at Christiansburg’s Starlite Drive-In.

Want to go?

• What: Starlite Drive-in theater
• When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Times vary
• Where: Starlite Drive, south of Roanoke Street

The drive-in is a family atmosphere, said Fisher, 30, who has attended movies there every summer since she was born. They never show movies that aren't fit for kids, she said.

"They used to show Frankenstein movies when I was 5 or 6, but they weren't scary," she added.

The theater isn't just a place where Fisher has her own memories, but where her siblings and parents have memories as well.

"My mom told me stories about how she and her friends snuck people in the trunk," Fisher said with a laugh. "But they went to church and everything, so they felt bad and ended up sending an anonymous letter with the money in it."

As movie time approached and the theater was almost filled to its 250-car capacity, about 30 people waited in line for 75 cent popcorn, $1 fries and $1 hot dogs.

One teenage couple didn't let the 40-degree weather discourage them from sharing an ice cream cone. They passed the cold treat back and forth as they leaned against the tire of a Ford F-150 and snuggled under a blanket.

The darkness and star-filled sky make the theater an ideal place for romance.

Teresa Lovern said it was about 20 years ago when she came to the theater on one of her first dates.

"I was about 16, and we'd just got our driver's licenses," she said. "I got my first hot dog -- the best hot dog in the world -- and my first kiss."

Gene Dalton | The Roanoke Times

Kori Nicely purchases the first ticket from Starlite owner Richard Beasley.

Nowadays drive-in theaters like the Starlite are few. At one time, there were eight drive-ins in Christiansburg, said Beasley, who opened the theater in 1952 with his wife, Dot. Recently, the couple gave the theater to their daughter.

In 1958, the United States had about 4,000 drive-ins, but the number declined sharply in the following decades.

Low-quality sound can damper the experience, and cold or rainy weather keeps most remaining theaters closed during the winter months.

On opening night, Starlite faced its own technical difficulties. Just after the movie's opening credits, customers impatiently leaned on their car horns to indicate that they couldn't hear the movie.

"There's no sound!" a woman yelled toward the man operating the projector.

After 20 minutes of static, the sound was fixed, but about 15 customers marched to the ticket booth to ask for refunds.

"At this point, we don't even know what's going on in the movie," a woman explained to Beasley.

Standing amid a sea of red and blue ticket stubs, Beasley grumbled as he refunded money to the unhappy patrons.

Despite drive-in downsides, Beasley said, the theater attracts customers because it offers family fun at a low cost.

Other drive-ins went out of business because they charged too much, he said.

Starlite charges $4 per adult and $2 per child. Food and snack items rarely cost more than $1.

The concession items also keep people coming back.

"We make a great hot dog, and people come from all over for them hot dogs," Beasley said.