ST. LOUIS — For an excited Nancy Piper and her friends, it was a long-awaited moment worth toasting.
"Cheers! No masks!" the jubilant three friends shouted as they raised their glasses.
They sat back in their front-row seats and enjoyed a concert and movie at the Powerplex's Drive-In St. Louis mask-free on Friday.
"Yeah, I don't have to wear that mask anymore. I left it at home. It's awesome. I love seeing people's faces," Piper said.
"We're here for the fun and freedom," said Lesley Stuart of O'Fallon, Missouri.
Stuart packed up her family for the fun-filled, mask-less night.
"We've lived such a sheltered life last year, being scared of everything, so seeing everyone getting vaccinated, getting back to normal, it's great," Stuart said.
Drive-In St. Louis has expanded capacity and added more upfront seats as COVID-19 restrictions loosen.
The private turf area in front of the stage will now have 600 individual seats. Each ticket will cost $14.99 for a concert and movie. The party tent where pre-concert and post-concert parties are held will also be open.
“We’re excited to give more people these affordable, upfront individual tickets versus making them purchase a party pad for 10 as originally required by the health department,” said Dan Buck, Managing Partner of Big Sports Properties.
Masks are still optional.
"I think the biggest challenge that we will still face is making sure that those who are medically compromised, those who still have risks or still have fears, still have a nice, safe place to enjoy the concerts," Buck said. "People who were over it and done with it, can now sort of let loose and have some more fun."
"I think this will give people a lot of hope that there's a light at the end of the tunnel finally," Chad Stuart said.
Some of the top performers you can expect this summer include Wynonna, Dr. Zhivegas, Joe Dirt and the Dirty Boys, and Mr. Blue Sky. For more information on upcoming events, click here.
Anyone with medical conditions or concerns, can remain safely in their vehicle or in their private parking pad area.
“We welcomed more than 60,000 visitors, more than 130 musicians and had 50 employees at our 23 events during the peak of the pandemic in 2020. We didn’t have one case of COVID-19 reported and we received zero contact-tracing calls from the health department,” Buck reported. “Our no-transmission is consistent with the new CDC report that says outdoor transmissions were less than 1% of all cases reported.”
If you haven't been to Drive-In St. Louis, it is considered America’s largest outdoor drive-in concert and movie venue. It is located on 5555 St. Louis Mills Blvd.