Joe Bob’s World Drive-In Movie Festival & Jamboree

*Children under 12 are free with a paying adult, HOWEVER adult content warning: the shows may not be suitable for children.

The 3^rd annual World Drive-In Movie Festival and Jamboree moves to the West Wind Las Vegas Drive-In this year, with three days of movies, music, live on-stage programming, vendors, dusk-to-dawn sleepovers, camping, barbecues, celebrity guests, cast reunions, and group walking tours led by Joe Bob Briggs, the world’s most famous drive-in movie critic. (Actually the world’s only drive-in movie critic.)

The Jamboree will be held October 6-8 at the drive-in, known for its famous neon archway entrance on Carey Avenue, that opened in 1966 with a Doris Day/Burt Lancaster double feature and eventually expanded to six screens that can accommodate almost a thousand cars.

Tickets go on sale today, May 22, at 1 p.m. Eastern time/10 a.m. Pacific.

Founded by Briggs in 2021, the Jamboree has previously been held at the Mahoning Drive-In in eastern Pennsylvania and the Malco Summer Drive-In in Memphis, but this year’s Executive Director Diana Prince, better known as “Darcy the Mail Girl” on the Shudder streaming series “The Last Drive-In,” said “It was time to bring the celebration out west and kick it up a notch.”

“This is a huge drive-in, and that’s enabled us to slash admission prices for fans and have a much bigger party in the city known for its parties,” said Prince. “We’ll be announcing guests and programming throughout the summer, but anyone purchasing tickets prior to June 22 will get an early-bird discount rate. We want to fill up the West Wind with the most fanatic drive-in lovers in America.”

The Jamboree opens on Friday, October 6, with a Western-Style Welcome Barbecue hosted by Joe Bob and Darcy, followed by the screening of the 10 winners in the 2023 World Drive-In Movie Festival. These 10 movies–two features and eight shorts–are the best of the year’s independent exploitation movies financed outside the traditional funding systems of New York, Los Angeles and London. The filmmakers will be present, and the films will be introduced by Joe Bob, who will also present each winner with a Drive-In Academy Award, better known as the “Hubbie” because it’s inscribed on a vintage Chevy hubcap.

Submissions for the film festival are free, and will be accepted beginning today, May 22, and continuing through July 14. Rules for the competition, and instructions for on-line submission, are at https://filmfreeway.com/WorldDriveInMovieFestival.

Saturday, which is always the most popular day of the Jamboree, will feature on-site vendors, food trucks and bands led by “Last Drive-In” musical director John Brennan and his Bigfeet band, then the traditional live double feature in the style of “The Last Drive-In,” with celebrity guests and ongoing commentary by Joe Bob and Darcy, but in keeping with the tradition of the show, the movie titles aren’t being announced in advance.

Sunday is the Sleepaway Camp 40^th Birthday Party with a cast and crew reunion of the 1983 cult classic, including star Felissa Rose, followed by a dusk-to-dawn marathon of all four “Sleepaway Camp” movies, hosted by Joe Bob and Darcy.

All “Sleepaway Camp” celebrities, including star Felissa Rose, will be available throughout the day Sunday for meet-and-greets and autograph signings, and the day kicks off with a special add-on event, an historical walking tour of Las Vegas led by Joe Bob, who besides being a movie critic was the official gambling correspondent for United Press International for several years. The usual vendors, bands, food trucks, and hijinks will culminate with the all-night sleepover stretching into Columbus Day that Monday.

Throughout the three days, camping space will be provided for vehicles that pay a $20 daily fee. Joe Bob, Darcy and special guests will be available for autograph signings, meet-and-greets, and photo ops throughout the weekend. For the first time, vehicles will not be required, but attendees arriving without a vehicle will need to provide their own chairs. There is no reserved parking—all spaces will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

For all other information, go to https://www.joebobsjamboree.com.