Grain elevators don't usually double as cinema screens, but in Nanton, Alberta, one of them does — once a year, anyway. The Canadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centre is turning its historic tower into a giant outdoor screen for a Halloween drive-in screening of The Witches, the 2020 Anne Hathaway film adapted from Roald Dahl's novel.
The setup is simple: park your car, tune in, and watch the movie play across the side of the elevator. Because tickets are sold per vehicle rather than per person, it's an easy way to keep a family night out affordable — one ticket covers everyone you can legally and comfortably fit in the car.
A quick primer for anyone who missed it: The Witches follows a young orphan who moves in with his grandmother, only for the pair to stumble on a secret convention of witches plotting against children. It's rated PG, so kids are fair game, and it fits the Halloween brief nicely without tipping into proper horror.
The screening runs from 7 p.m. at the Discovery Centre at 2119 19th Ave. in Nanton, a small town roughly an hour south of Calgary down Highway 2. Organizers suggest arriving early for a decent viewing spot, and the basics are covered on site — indoor washrooms and a small concession stand — though bringing your own blankets, snacks and a warm drink is clearly the move.
The real point here is the setting. Alberta's prairie elevator rows are disappearing fast, and Nanton's Discovery Centre exists specifically to preserve them. Watching a film projected onto one of these wooden giants, with the plains going dark around you, beats a multiplex by some distance — even in October cold. Dress in layers; this is still Alberta, and the temperature drops quickly once the sun's gone.
If you can't make this screening, Nanton is worth the drive in its own right — it's known for its antique shops, Bomber Command Museum of Canada, and its cluster of preserved elevators along the rail line. Come early, wander the town, then settle in for the film.
For anyone in the Calgary area looking for one last outdoor movie before winter properly lands, this is about as charming and unusual as the format gets.
