We love to just come up here and hang out. I usually meet a bunch of friends up here and we all watch the movie together.”Dorothy Conley
CULLMAN – The Cullman Wellness & Aquatic Center held its first Dive-In Movie of the summer this week, when “Minions” was shown on the big screen by the outdoor pool just after the sun went down on Thursday. The cost was free to all CWAC members and only $5 per person for non-members. People of all ages enjoyed the movie as they either swam or lounged around the pool eating snacks from the concession stand.
“This is our first Dive-In Movie so far this year,” said Taylor Evans, assistant aquatics manager. “Every now and then we’ll get out our big blow-up screen and set it up in the back corner of the pool. Non-members are able to come and swim for $5, which is half of the normal cost to get in. Members get in free, obviously,” he grinned. “Tonight we are showing “Minions;” all the movies we show are kiddie movies, which is awesome; I love kiddie movies. We block off half the pool area and use the other half for swimming or sitting in the chairs. We also have the kiddie pool blocked off and the inside pool will close at its regular time.
“We usually have a really good crowd, especially if we are showing a particularly popular movie,” he added. “The lifeguards have a good time with it and concessions have a lot of fun on movie nights, too. We all really love it.”
It is great that the CWAC staff loves movie nights, but what about everyone else?
“A friend of mine invited us to come up here tonight,” said Dorothy Conley. “We came to the Dive-In Movie several times last summer. We will most definitely come back and do it again. We love to just come up here and hang out. I usually meet a bunch of friends up here and we all watch the movie together. I used to be a member of the Aquatic Center, but not anymore, so the discounted price really helps.”
“This is our first time to come out and watch the Dive-In Movie here at CWAC,” said Sabrina Payne, who was standing in line at the concession stand with her daughter Summer. “We live here in Cullman but are not members. We found out about this from a friend of my daughter’s that is on the swim team here. We got together with a few of our friends and came out. The price is not bad at all; it’s totally worth it. We will probably come up here and do this again; we actually came one day last week when it was $5 swimming after 6 p.m.”
“I usually come up here quite a bit during the summer; I used to be on the swim team,” Summer chimed in. “It is really crowded up here tonight though. I know they (CWAC staff) took the rope in the pool down because there were so many people in the one section so they had to let everyone spread out,” she laughed.
“I love to swim and I love the Minions,” squealed 3-year-old Sydney as she splashed around in the water. “I don’t want to go home!”
The night was loads of fun and most of the crowd stayed until the movie ended, well after 10 p.m. If you didn’t make it to Thursday night’s Dive-In Movie, don’t worry, there will be another chance to go on July 21 and August 11. Again, the cost is free to members and only $5 for non-members. Use of the water park begins at 6 p.m. and the movie by the pool starts at dark (around 8:45 p.m.).
The Cullman Wellness & Aquatic Center is located at 1636 Field of Miracles Drive SW in Cullman. For more information, call 256-775-7946.
