Drive-in movies close to downtown Chicago promised this summer

A temporary drive-in movie theater close to downtown Chicago is in the works by a team of local event curators.

Bucket Listers, which produces social media event guides in Chicago and eight other North American cities, says it has set up an outdoor movie venue that will fit 300 cars a night and show films six nights a week this summer.

Some details are not yet public, notably the location, but it is said to have “close proximity to the downtown area.”

And while no films have been announced, Bucket Listers is accepting email votes on future titles at drivein@bucketlisters.com and promises “classic, nostalgic, American films that will transport you back in time,” citing “Back to the Future,” “The Sandlot,” “E.T.,” “Grease” and “When Harry Met Sally” as examples.

Tickets prices will begin at $40 per car. Details on tickets will be sent to people who RSVP at at DriveInSummer.com. Bucket Listers says more than 60,000 people already are on the wait list for the drive-in plans in its various cities.

Drive-in concerts are also planned at the venue, where clean bathrooms and “contact-less concessions” are promised.

While conventional indoor moviehouses have been closed since mid-March in conformance with the state’s social-distancing restrictions, outdoor drive-in theaters have been given the go-ahead to operate with some adjustments in their protocols. Among those re-opening in the area in recent weeks have been the McHenry Outdoor Theater in McHenry and the Route 34 Drive-in in Earlville.