SACO — The show will go on. The Saco Drive-In has won digital projection equipment through a national contest, which will ensure that it can continue to bring entertainment to carloads of people into the future.

The local theater was one of five drive-ins to win the equipment through Honda’s Project Drive-In, a nationwide contest sponsored by Honda Motor Company.

On Wednesday, the Saco Drive-In was the first of the winners announced, and the rest of the winners will be announced one a day, through Sept. 15.

Winners were determined by the number of votes made online and by text message. Saco Drive-In Manager Ry Russell said Honda has not yet announced the number of votes the drive-in received.

The Saco Drive-In, located on Route One, has been in operation since 1939, and is the second oldest operating drive-in in the United States. With the film industry requiring a conversion to digital projection, the drive-in would have been forced to close if it didn’t acquire the $75,000 equipment.

“I’m so overwhelmed with emotion,” said Russell, Wednesday. “It’s surreal.”

Russell said he was notified earlier that day by Honda officials.

“It caught me off guard,” he said, and admitted that he “balled like a little girl.”

Russell said that the small, seasonal drive-in won a national competition up against larger, year-round theaters shows how much the community loves the drive-in and the experience.

“It’s like, ”˜pinch me, this is a dream,’” said State Rep. Justin Chenette, who worked on the campaign to save the drive-in. “My head is spinning. It was a long shot.

“The community came together,” he said. “People care, and it shows.”

Russell addressed a crowd of people who came that night to celebrate the win and watch “Grown Ups 2.” He thanked the voters, his staff and all those who supported the drive-in.

“I didn’t do this alone,” he said.

Russell and a group of supporters of the Saco Drive-In had a fundraising drive, raising $5,000, all of which was spent on advertising for the campaign.

“Obviously, it was well spent, because we’re here today,” said Russell.

Eric Holsinger and his 11-year-old son Delsin Holsinger, sat in outdoor lounge chairs by a radio and ate sandwiches as they waited for the movie to begin.

Eric Holsinger said one aspect he likes about the theater is that when he walks into the concession stand, it feels like he’s walking into the concession stand at the drive-in from his childhood in Pennsylvania.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].