- Turn off and tune in. These being modern times, a dedicated radio station will provide the movie’s audio. Don’t worry, your battery can take it. Probably.
- While fashionably late indoor moviegoers can use the “It’s just the previews” defense, not so for outdoor audiences, who should be parked and well into their Raisinets an hour before showtime. Nothing is more distracting than a tardy car crunching over gravel.
- If you plan to sit outside your car in lawn chairs (or if you don’t want to use your car radio all night), bring along a portable AM/FM radio.
- No van-spreading. Assume every drive-in movie is a sold-out show. Park inside your designated spot and pull forward. Even if you “accidentally” take up more than your share of space, an attendee will likely come by and make you correct your botched parking job—while everyone watches.
- Visit the snack bar. In this break-even business, it’s probably how the drive-in makes most of its money. And please, do not bring a grill.
- Lights off. This goes without saying, of course. But some newer-model car headlights automatically turn on at dusk when the radio is running off the battery. Believe us when we say it’s better to dig out that owner’s manual and find out beforehand.
ROAD SHOWS
Indiana was once home to scores of drive-in movie theaters. Though their numbers dwindled over the decades, a few relics still illuminate the Hoosier sky.
13-24 DRIVE-IN (Wabash)
Opened: 1951 | Screens: 1 | Tune in: 88.9 FM | Schedule: Open Thursday–Saturday
49’ER DRIVE-IN THEATRE (Valparaiso)
Opened: 1956 | Screens: 1 | Tune in: 88.9 FM | Schedule: Open daily
BEL-AIR DRIVE-IN MOVIE THEATRE (Versailles)
Opened: 1952 | Screens: 1 | Tune in: 105.5 FM | Schedule: Open Friday–Saturday
CENTERBROOK DRIVE-IN (Martinsville)
Opened: 1950 | Screens: 1 | Tune in: 94.3 FM | Schedule: Open Friday–Saturday
CINEMA 67 DRIVE-IN THEATRE (Spencer)
Opened: 1957 | Screens: 1 | Tune in: 93.5 FM | Schedule: Open Friday–Saturday
GEORGETOWN DRIVE-IN THEATRE (Georgetown)
Opened: 1951| Screens: 2 | Tune in: 95.1 FM (front screen), 91.1 FM (rear screen) | Schedule: Open Friday–Saturday
M.E.L.S. AT THE STARLITE (Thorntown)
Opened: 1946 | Screens: 1 | Tune in: TBA | Schedule: Open Friday–Saturday
MOONLITE DRIVE-IN (Terre Haute)
Opened: 2018 | Screens: 1 | Tune in: 101.5 FM | Schedule: Open daily
THE SKYLINE DRIVE-IN THEATRE (Shelbyville)
Opened: 1950 | Screens: 1 | Tune in: 89.9 FM | Schedule: Open Wednesday–Sunday
THE STARLITE DRIVE-IN (Bloomington)
Opened: 1955 | Screens: 1 | Tune in: 97.5 FM | Schedule: Open Thursday–Sunday
TRI-WAY DRIVE-IN THEATRE (Plymouth)
Opened: 1953 | Screens: 4 | Tune in: TBA | Schedule: Open daily
