Sad to say, Cloverdale's Clova Theatre will be closing its doors this summer.
For the past 2 years on Sundays the Cross Ridge Church has been holding its services in the Clova and this group has purchased the building the Clova is housed in and unfortunately the Clova will be going dark this summer. I don't know yet what the last day will be.
The Clova is located on 176th Street, Cloverdale's main street, halfway between 57th and 58th Avenues. It was built in 1948. Before the Clova was built my father said he used to have to catch the train into Langley to watch movies. That was back when they had passenger train service and the station was behind the Co-op, in pretty much the same place where the train station is right now that offers rides back and forth between Sullivan and Cloverdale in the summer. According to my father, the problem with catching a movie in Langley was there was no return passenger service to Cloverdale and so they'd have to walk home or stick their thumbs out.
Growing up in Cloverdale the Saturday matinee was a weekly tradition. I've seen just about every Disney movie there - Bambi, Snow White, Lady and the Tramp, Yogi Bear, the Flintstones, and I even remember a movie about a bear named Toklat. Sometimes the theatre was giving out free popcorn in paper bags. The old stale stuff that nobody ate but instead threw it around the theatre aiming for their friends a few rows away. Who remember the pink elephant popcorn. What about the .10¢ chocolate bars? Back then you'd want to get the most bang for your dime and buy a chocolate bar that would last awhile. That usually meant getting a Pep Chew or an Eat More. There was another big chocolate bar whose name escapes me that was pretty big and full of nuts. And another bar that was pretty big and it was twisted in a lattice shape, chocolate coated toffee or peppermint that was chewy.
The Clova was also where I saw Star Wars for the first time. I still remember that night. Huge line ups around the block. By the time my friend and I got to the ticket counter the first show was sold out but they were selling tickets for the 2nd show (9pm?) and we decided to stick around. All I remember was when they opened the doors for the 2nd show there was a huge crush of people shoving their way in. I doubt the staff was able to check anyone to see if they held tickets. I got pushed in by the masses and looking around for my friend saw her getting the old squeeze play while the crowd pushed her inside too. Whew! Fun times!
And those fun times are coming to an end. I've seen hundreds of movies at the Clova ever since I was a little girl and I'll catch a few more in the next months. Then its going to mean driving to another part of Surrey or over to Langley.
The end of an era.
