The McHenry Outdoor Theater is trading its usual family-friendly crowd for a 21-and-older audience this Sunday, hosting a private, ticketed cannabis-themed movie night that pairs Dazed and Confused and Pineapple Express with raffles stacked with marijuana products. Tickets run $20 per car, and the event is bring-your-own-cannabis, meaning nothing is sold on-site.
The drive-in, located at 1510 N. Chapel Hill Road, sits within the Village of Lakemoor despite carrying a McHenry mailing address, following a 2020 municipal annexation, according to Shaw Local. The event is sponsored by Otto's Smoke Shop, a McHenry business at 3411 W. Elm St. known for Venetian-style hand-blown glass products and public glassblowing classes. Otto's owner Cameron Clark said the private event allows attendees to legally consume cannabis outdoors, though cannabis products cannot be sold outside a licensed dispensary.
Attendees must be 21 or older and present a valid driver's license, state ID, or passport at the gate. Advance ticket buyers are automatically entered into a raffle that includes $800 in marijuana oil-based products, $750 in smokable cannabis, and a $1,000 shopping spree at Otto's. The event will also feature vendors selling marijuana accessories alongside the cannabis giveaways.
Why the Theater Suspended Its Own Bar
The McHenry Outdoor Theater renovated its concession building in 2023 and added a beer and wine liquor license, creating the Bremer Team Tap House and Snack Bar. But owner Scott Dehn said the bar will not be open during Sunday's private event, and outside drugs and alcohol will not be permitted on the property. Dehn described the event as a chance to reach a demographic the theater does not typically attract.
Clark, who said he is a recovering alcoholic and has turned to marijuana, told Shaw Local that he wanted the night built around something other than drinking. “Everything is centered around alcohol,” Clark said, explaining his motivation for shaping the event around cannabis instead. He said bad vibes will not be allowed at the drive-in, and organizers are recommending attendees bring chairs to sit outside during the screening.
Navigating Illinois' Cannabis Driving Laws
Illinois law allows marijuana to be transported in a vehicle, but it must ride in a child-resistant container and stay inaccessible to any occupant while the car is moving, per the state's Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. State law also prohibits consuming marijuana inside a vehicle at any time, whether it is moving or parked, under Section 10-35 of the same act. Attendees are advised not to drive for at least one hour after using marijuana, and organizers noted that those without a designated driver can call an Uber to and from the drive-in.
The legal path for Sunday's gathering hinges on a narrower rule: the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act only permits on-site social consumption when a municipality or county has specifically opted in with a local ordinance authorizing it, since state law otherwise leaves municipalities free to restrict or opt out of allowing such consumption altogether.
A Drive-In That Keeps Reinventing Itself
The McHenry Outdoor Theater opened on July 20, 1951, as the Skyline Drive-In, screening “Rogues of Sherwood Forest” on a six-story screen, and marked its 75th anniversary in July, according to CBS Chicago. The theater survived a scare in 2013 when it won a new digital projection system through Honda's nationwide Project Drive-In contest, sparing it from the industry-wide collapse that came when theaters had to abandon 35mm film. Nationally, operating drive-ins had fallen to just 280 by late 2025, down from more than 4,000 at the industry's peak in the late 1950s, per the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association.
The venue typically draws families largely from McHenry County, though the theater has also seen more attendees from Lake and Cook counties in recent times. Starting Aug. 15, the theater will switch to Friday and Saturday operations only, though it plans to stay open all of Labor Day weekend.
Tickets and Details
Dazed and Confused, the 1993 film starring Matthew McConaughey, and Pineapple Express, the 2008 film starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, will screen at the private event, set for this Sunday. Tickets are available at Otto's, by phone, or through Instagram, and organizers can be reached at 815-403-2075. Otto's opened in McHenry in June 2022, offering marijuana smoking accessories alongside its glassblowing classes and retail glass art.
The event arrives as Illinois' adult-use cannabis market continues to expand; dispensaries statewide brought in $2.007 billion in sales in 2024, generating more than $490 million in state tax revenue across 244 licensed shops, according to WAND TV. Municipalities across McHenry County, meanwhile, tack on a 3% local sales tax on top of the county's own 3% cannabis tax, reflecting how thoroughly local governments have built cannabis commerce into their budgets even as venues like the drive-in test the boundaries of where and how legally purchased cannabis can be enjoyed.
