{"id":750709,"date":"2026-06-21T11:20:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T11:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/750709\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T11:20:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T11:20:06","slug":"this-is-huge-mlb-selects-mchenry-outdoor-theater-as-1-of-only-4-drive-ins-in-country-for-america250-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/750709\/","title":{"rendered":"‘This is huge’: MLB selects McHenry Outdoor Theater as 1 of only 4 drive-ins in country for America250 celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\" <\/a>Dylan Gallardo and Hailey Koenig, both of Algonquin, play catch before the movies start on a recent weeknight at the McHenry Outdoor Theater in Lakemoor where Major League Baseball will host an America250 event July 4. | Provided Photo<\/p>\n

Major League Baseball has selected the McHenry Outdoor Theater to be one of only four drive-ins in the United States to host an America250 celebration on the Fourth of July.<\/p>\n

Festivities at the McHenry Outdoor Theater on July 4 will include a showing of the classic childhood baseball film \u201cThe Sandlot,\u201d a live screening of the evening\u2019s Cubs vs. Cardinals game, Ballpark Bites, baseball-themed activities like wiffle ball, a pop fly scramble and virtual batting cages.<\/p>\n

A fireworks display will cap off the night.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a community standpoint, this is huge,\u201d McHenry Outdoor Theater President of Marketing and Promotions Joe Cicero. \u201cTo be recognized by Major League Baseball doesn\u2019t happen every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Major League Baseball (MLB) is in the midst of a multi-tiered America250 campaign and selected McHenry Outdoor Theater to be one of four sites for the Fourth of July Summer Drive-in Celebration.<\/p>\n

The others are the Delsea, Swan and Paramount drive-ins, which are respectively located in Vineland, New Jersey; Blue Ridge, Georgia; and Paramount, California.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s more American than baseball and drive-ins?\u201d said Scott Dehn, owner of the McHenry Outdoor Theater in Lakemoor.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/a>Dylan Gallardo and Hailey Koenig, both of Algonquin, play catch before the movies start on a recent weeknight at the McHenry Outdoor Theater in Lakemoor where Major League Baseball will host an America250 event July 4. | Provided Photo<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think we got on the map for this sort of thing because of what we did during Covid, with the alternative events we had, like concerts, and I hope it just keeps opening up more and more doors,\u201d Dehn said.<\/p>\n

Both Dehn and Cicero said their excitement has been building ever since MLB reached out to them in early March.<\/p>\n

MLB crews will set up a large LED screen, over 43 feet wide and over 24 feet tall, in front of the theater\u2019s big screen for the Independence Day event, Dehn said, adding that the LED screen will be bright enough for daylight viewing.<\/p>\n

The movie is scheduled to start at 5 p.m., with the Cubs vs. Cardinals game\u2019s start time at 7:08 p.m.<\/p>\n

Admission will be free but only those who secure one of the limited carload tickets available by MLB on Eventbrite or those who win a ticket in a special theater-driven drawing will be admitted, Dehn and Cicero said.<\/p>\n

Gates will open at 4 p.m., as will the MLB\u2019s Ballpark Bites stand, Play Ball Zone and Keepsake Dugout.<\/p>\n

Cicero and Dehn said they anticipate tickets to get acquired quickly.<\/p>\n

Dehn lauded his theater staff, most of whom are high school or college-aged, and said they should take a bow for their dedication to maintaining the McHenry Outdoor Theater\u2019s reputation as a \u201cwonderful spot for family fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI told them, \u2018Because of your hard work, this place has attracted the eyes of Major League Baseball,’\u201d Dehn said. \u201cIt\u2019s very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dylan Gallardo and Hailey Koenig, both of Algonquin, play catch before the movies start on a recent weeknight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":750710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[360365,64,63,360366,360367,5882,171866,360368,591,85],"class_list":["post-750709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-america250","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fourth-of-july","tag-lakemoor","tag-major-league-baseball","tag-mchenry","tag-mchenry-outdoor-theater","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=750709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/750710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=750709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=750709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=750709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}