Those who enjoy movies or free, family-friendly activities should gather their popcorn, lawn chairs, blankets and snacks as the Yelm Lions Club’s 10th annual Movies in the Park will return this summer.
Attendants of Movies in the Park can first enjoy “Mrs. Doubtfire,” rated PG-13, at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, followed by a showing of “Matilda,” PG, at 9:25 p.m. on Saturday, July 13. At 9:10 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, a showing of “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” PG, will air in the park.
The fourth movie is “A Bug’s Life,” which will be shown at 8:50 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10, and the final movie of the five-film series, “Trolls,” will be shown at 8:25 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24. The start of each film will begin at dusk, and the showings are weather dependent.
“It was designed to be a free, family-friendly community place to just come and enjoy time together as family and friends at no cost to the community. We’ve always kept the movies PG-13 and under. We show family friendly (movies), and show five each season. It’s a fun time for the public to have,” said Christy Garcia, an event co-chair of the Movies in the Park series. “It’s our signature event for the Yelm Lions Club. Every year we’re trying to add different things to it, to add even more to it for more fun for the community. We absolutely love being able to offer this service to the community.”
Although each film begins at dusk, Garcia said different activities are scheduled at each showing for families to enjoy, beginning at 5 p.m. There will be different vendors set up in the field at Longmire Park, as well, she added.
“We’re trying to have free family activities that might go with the theme of the movie, for anybody who just wants to hang out early and just be at the park,” Garcia said. “When we show ‘A Bug’s Life,’ maybe we could have different magnifying glasses and the kids are looking for bugs. Maybe we’ll have coloring pages associated with different bugs, or stickers available and things like that. Or, with ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas,’ we could have Christmas crafts that they could be making. The last movie, ‘Trolls,’ we were thinking that’s kind of like a party theme, and maybe we could have glow sticks and different things available.
“We’re trying to build on it,” Garcia added. “We don’t have that part exactly refined yet, but we’re trying to associate a theme with each movie that would offer fun, family-friendly activities that would be going on from 5 p.m. until closer to the start of the movie.”
Yelm Lions Club’s Facebook page will provide updates on the different themes and activities prior to each showing.
With the program entering its 10th year of serving the Yelm community, Garcia said she’s seen some of the same families return each year and are looking forward to the event. She recounted a family from “years ago,” whose child’s birthday fell around the same date as one of the events at Longmire Park.
“They’d actually celebrate at the park with a cake and then watch the movie together,” Garcia said. “Some families have come back year after year and said how much fun it is for them.”
Garcia and those involved with Movies in the Park thank event sponsors Church of Living Water Yelm, FunTime Toys, Yelm’s Timberland Bank, T&P Automotive Service, Yelm Family Medicine, PTL Floors, Tim’s Pharmacy, Ken McCullough and American Family Insurance, Yelm’s TwinStar Credit Union, Steele Barrel BBQ, Yelm Veterinary Hospital and Puerto Vallarta Yelm.
Garcia said each movie “costs quite a bit” to show, and the Yelm Lions Club wouldn’t be able to host the movies if local businesses didn’t sponsor them to cover the licensing fees of the films.
“It wouldn’t be something that’s possible for our club to do. Our sponsors are critical in this. The money will be put to good use if there’s businesses that still want to donate and be sponsors for this event,” Garcia said. “We continue to welcome community businesses to sponsor this event. Even if we have the license fees paid for, there’s a lot more that goes into this event that requires funds.”
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