Last fall, families came out to Shadow Ranch Park for Shrek. There was a trunk-or-treat and a costume contest, and once the movie ended, Game 7 of the World Series came up on the same giant screen. Council District 12's thank-you note in its November 7, 2025 Community Update called it "a perfect mix of Halloween fun, baseball excitement, and community spirit."
The 11th edition is on Saturday, November 7, at the same park, 22633 Vanowen Street. The movie is The Lorax, and the announcement lists tree and plant giveaways. Costumes and trunk-or-treat aren't mentioned. Councilmember John Lee's drive-in has turned into a tree event, and the giveaway is the one part of the night you can keep doing after the screen goes dark.
Three years of the same lawn, three different nights
The drive-in has used the same setting every year. The meal comes from Ron Ross and Wendy's of Woodland Hills, there's a short-film segment, and the parking is limited. What has changed is what the night is built around.
| Edition | Date | Feature | What came with it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | October 26 | Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory | Award-winning youth shorts; 150 cars had RSVPed by October 10 |
| 2025 | The weekend of World Series Game 7 | Shrek | Two winning youth shorts, trunk-or-treat, costume contest, festival in the park, World Series on the big screen |
| 2026 | November 7 | The Lorax | Award-winning youth shorts, tree and plant giveaways |
In 2024, CD12's own newsletter described it as the "annual Halloween drive-in." The October 16, 2026 CD12 Community Update doesn't use the word Halloween in the drive-in listing at all. Halloween at Shadow Ranch already had its own date this month. A West Hills Neighborhood Council agenda listed the park's Boo Bash for Saturday, October 24, 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.
What the RSVP actually asks for
The event is free, but only for confirmed attendees. The sign-up form asks for your email, name, phone number, number of guests, vehicle type, and neighborhood. It answers the neighborhood question with "all are welcome," so you don't have to live in the district to go. The vehicle question is there because this is a real drive-in, and the space is set up around cars.
Space is tight. When the West Hills Neighborhood Council promoted last year's edition, it said the event "fills up quickly as space is very limited in this intimate setting at Shadow Ranch Park." Two years ago, 150 cars had RSVPed more than two weeks before the screening.
Here's what to know before you go:
- RSVP: through the link in the CD12 newsletter, bit.ly/CD12DriveIn.
- Gates: the newsletter says 3:00 p.m. and the RSVP form says 3:30 p.m., so plan on the earlier one.
- Showtime: the movie starts at dusk.
- Food: a hamburger meal from Ron Ross and Wendy's of Woodland Hills, which the drive-in has served for years. Last year's meal included hamburgers, chips and soda.
- Questions: CD12's Ron Rubine, 818-882-1212 or [email protected].
The announcement doesn't cover lawn seating for people arriving on foot, parking overflow, or what to bring. If any of that matters for your group, call the number above.
The short films come out of a district-wide student festival
Before the feature, the 2026 listing promises "award-winning youth short films" without naming them. For the past two years, the shorts came from the same place. The 2024 neighborhood council minutes describe the drive-in pairing Willy Wonka with Making Movies that Matter award winners. In 2025, the drive-in screened two winning films from that festival.
Making Movies that Matter is a CD12 arts-education program. It works with artists-in-residence and partners including the city's Department of Cultural Affairs, LAUSD and Valley Relics Museum, and it's open to K–16 students in the district and the West San Fernando Valley. The 2025–26 cycle ended May 14, 2026, with 700 student filmmakers and 240 submitted films. The 2025 screening night filled the Soraya Performing Arts Center at CSUN with a standing-room-only crowd of 1,700 filmmakers and their families.
The 2026 winners page gives the John Lee Best of Festival award to "P.A.C.E.D." from Patrick Henry Middle School. "Movie Night" from Nobel Charter Middle School won Best Film Overall at the middle school level. The 2026 announcement doesn't say which films will screen on November 7. So the shorts may well be local student work, but you won't know which ones until they start.
Free trees after November 7
The 2026 announcement doesn't say who is supplying the trees and plants, how many there will be, or which species. The city's year-round tree program is well documented, though, and you can use it whether or not you take something home on November 7.
City Plants delivers free 5-gallon shade trees to Los Angeles residents. It offers more than 30 water-efficient species, with a limit of seven trees per household. It runs through a portal called FreeTreesLA, which City Plants built with LADWP and the Los Angeles Conservation Corps. The process has a few steps, and the timing matters if you want a tree in the ground before spring:
- Request yard trees through the FreeTreesLA portal. Delivery takes an estimated 8 to 10 weeks, so a request made the week after the drive-in would arrive around mid-January.
- Expect the species list to change. City Plants notes that what it can offer depends on nursery stock.
- Apply separately for a street tree in the parkway out front. A City Plants arborist decides which species fits and how far apart trees should go, and you pledge to water and care for the tree.
- Or pick one up in person at City Plants' community tree-adoption events, which it holds several times a month and posts on its calendar.
The drive-in gives away plants for one evening. City Plants keeps doing it every month, at up to seven trees per household. If The Lorax leaves your kids wanting to plant something, that's where to go next.
The rest of November's calendar at Shadow Ranch and Orcutt Ranch
A few other local dates fall close to the drive-in.
The West Hills Neighborhood Council meets on Thursday, November 5, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at de Toledo High School on Vanowen Street. That's two days before the drive-in, a short way down the same street.
On Sunday, November 22, A Faery Hunt has a 10:30 a.m. performance at Orcutt Ranch, 23600 Roscoe Blvd. Details are on the A Faery Hunt schedule.
For the drive-in, sign up early, plan on the 3:00 p.m. gate time, and list the vehicle you're bringing when you RSVP.
Trees and landscaping change how a West Hills front yard looks and how it holds up over the years. If you're deciding what to plant now or how your yard will look when you sell, Bruce Barz is glad to walk the property with you. Schedule a free consultation.
