Entertainment High at Highgrove Days 2014

Last Saturday, May 10, the community of Highgrove hosted the 29th Annual Highgrove Day at the Norton Younglove Community Center. The event was Super Hero themed and organized by the Highgrove Days Committee and provided plenty of entertainment for locals to enjoy. Awards were also given out for those costumes that stood out. Grand Terrace Mayor Walt Stankiewitz attended the festival and commented on the welcoming community that Highgrove Day has come to develop, “We have members from different communities and cities coming here today, but you would never know that from just being here.” The Woof Gang, a group of dog trainers and talented canines, were one of the first to perform for the crowds of the festival. They demonstrated a game that they called “fly ball”, where two dogs would race over multiple jumps, slam their paws on a launch board, and catch a ball in their mouths to run it back to their trainers. Soon after the dogs had finished, the Woof Gang challenged kids in the audience to participate in the same race against each other, minus the bringing the ball back in their mouth part. Hector Rabago, coach for a community baseball team, shares his experience, “The dogs have to be my favorite part and I’m glad that I was able to spend time with the kids.” Rabago’s team all jumped at the chance to participate in the race. There was also a great demonstration from the youth involved in Habu Ewing Taekwondo. The young kids broke boards with fists, elbows, and heads. E-Taekwondo from the Family Service Association also gave a demonstration of their talents; although their age range was geared more towards kids aged ten and under and Polynesian dancers from FSA performed a two-song exhibition as well. There were over thirty booths at the festival from various city organizations and businesses including The Amputee Connection, For Tails Only, Riverside Sheriff’s Department and Bomb Squad, and M n T Crafts. The festival also had freshly squeezed lemonade, bacon-covered hot dogs, nachos, and an assortment of other treats prepared for residents to indulge in. There were also two mobile services in the parking lot for of the festival that focused on bringing valuable assets to those who could not travel. Mobile Library and Mobile Fresh, a program focusing on bringing fresh produce to those residents who do not have the means to go and shop for themselves, were both running full throttle for residents to take advantage of. Sherry Morris-Logan, Manager of the FSA, comments on her own love for the programs, “The community outreach is my favorite part; we meet people every day and we see people who we haven’t seen throughout the year. We are excited about programs like Mobile Fresh and that we are able to let the community know about our little to no-cost programs that we offer.” The FSA will provide over 600,000 meals this year to families in the community and members have volunteered their time for the past three years to provide the breakfast that the festival offers. Make sure to stop by the Norton Younglove Community Center to take advantage of the myriad of programs that they are offering. From martial arts to dancing to mommy-and-me classes, there is something for everyone to enjoy!