Joe Bob’s Drive-In Jamboree Schedule Released, Tickets on Sale This Week

Earlier this month, Shudder brought back The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs for its third season, but for fans who aren’t content with merely watching the horror host on their TVs, tickets for the inaugural Joe Bob’s Drive-In Jamboree will be going on sale on Friday, April 23rd at 12 p.m. ET. The schedule for the three-day event at The Mahoning Drive-In Theater in Lehighton, Pennsylvania has also been released, with the festivities set to include double features, zombie takeovers, and even a live taping of an episode of The Last Drive-In. You can head to The Mahoning Drive-In’s official website to purchase tickets.

Each day of the Jamboree is a separate event on the grounds of the iconic Mahoning Drive-In, situated in the Appalachian foothills, which has become a destination for genre film fans from all over America. Besides the movie events each night, daytime activities will include live music, sideshow acts, vendors, merchandise tables, “tent screenings,” meet-and-greets with celebrity guests, photo ops, and special seminars for low-budget filmmakers.

“The Mahoning was born out of pure fandom and an undying love and appreciation of drive-in culture,” Virgil Cardamone, Partner at the fan favorite venue shared in a statement. “For the Mahoning team to join forces with The Last Drive-In crew is purely a match made in Mutant Heaven. We are honored to be the meeting ground for like-minded fans to come together and experience this once-in-a-lifetime drive-in event with the king of the drive-in, Joe Bob Briggs.”

Briggs added, “The American drive-in is a special institution that’s one-half about watching movies, and one-half about having a communal experience. So our Jamboree is a combination film festival, TV show, haunted house attraction, concert, horror convention, campout, and summer barbecue staged in honor of that tradition. We hope the Jamboree is also a sanctuary for our fans who have been cooped up for a year, waiting to be released from the Plague. We may not be able to shake hands yet or to hug one another, but we will at least be able to hoot and holler.”

The schedule of events is as follows:

Friday, July 16th: Joe Bob’s 1st Annual Mutant Fest

• Honoring his long-standing commitment to guerrilla filmmakers, Joe Bob will host two feature films and ten shorts, the winners of an ultra-low-budget competition that attracted hundreds of entries from across the globe. Winners will receive the coveted Drive-In Academy Award, better known as the “Hubbie” because it’s engraved on a Chevy hubcap. Joe Bob will also present the Lifetime Achievement Hubbie. Past winners of the Hubbie include Roger Corman, Stephen King, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Entries for Mutant Fest are still being accepted through May 1st at FilmFreeway.com/MutantFest. The festival is devoted to transgressive films financed outside traditional distribution networks.

Saturday, July 17th: The Last Drive-In Live!

• For fans who have asked to be on the set of Joe Bob’s hit streaming show, this day may be their one and only chance. Joe Bob, Darcy, and the rest of the gang who appear regularly on Shudder.com will be onstage to host a classic double feature in The Last Drive-In style, with the entire show projected onto the massive Mahoning screen. Which celebrity guests will show up for the festivities? There’s only one way to find out, because nothing will be announced in advance.

Sunday, July 18th: Joe Bob’s Drive-in of Dread

• For the final day of the Jamboree, the Mahoning will be transformed into a landscape with set pieces that come alive with ghouls, zombies, and monsters. While Joe Bob hosts two iconic 1950s horror classics from the projection booth, undead redneck mutants and other sinister creatures will attack the cars and frighten the festival-goers (in a COVID-aware family-friendly way).

Joe Bob’s Drive-In Jamboree will be following all COVID protocols to ensure the health and safety of the guests in attendance.

You can head to The Mahoning Drive-In’s official website to purchase tickets and stay tuned for more details on the exciting event.

Will you be heading to the Jamboree? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!