Back to the Drive In...
Posted Jun 21, 2026 - 22:03:29

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So anyone who has spent considerable time with me has probably learned how much I love a drive in movie theater. Crysta and I started going to them when we lived in Indiana, mostly visiting the Lakeshore Drive In in Monticello (though the now-closed MELS at the Starlight in Mechanicsburg was in our rotation too). When we moved back to Wisconsin, we started going to the Stardust Drive In in Chetek most weekends in the summer months, but it shut down and didn't open for 2025.

Last year, for our anniversary, Crysta and I went down to the Big Sky Drive In in the Wisconsin Dells for our anniversary, and then got Paul Bunyan's with my brother David and his partner Mary the day after. Because it looked like Stardust was still going to be closed for 2026, we actually did that again at the beginning of June this year as well... even if I accidentally booked a worse hotel this time around.

And while I like the Big Sky Drive In, it's not as nice as Stardust and (more importantly) too far to just do on a casual weekend.

But the universe decided to finally be kind to us, because for the first time I can remember a closed drive in movie theater reopened. This weekend, under new ownership, the Stardust Drive In in Chetek had its soft opening. They're running a bit barebones on concessions and just did one movie per screen instead of double features, but the place is genuinely, fully back.

They're still ironing out all the kinks (as I said, it's a soft open), but oh my god it was so nice to go back there again.

We'll probably still do a Big Sky Drive In weekend next year in the Dells, but mostly because it's nice to have some variety (and hang out with David and Mary). It takes a lot of pressure off of that trip too knowing that we'll have other drive in experiences throughout the summer. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if you live near a drive in movie theater, please patronize it. These are all independent operations, and seeing movies out under the stars is the best way to experience them.

Or at least I think it is.
- Traegorn