“Despicable Me” Shows in Grand Terrace,Gru and His Minions Take Over Rollins Park

Minion mania hit Richard Rollins Park Saturday, Aug 10. Universal Pictures’ “Despicable Me” was the movie of choice for this year’s Movie in the Park event, hosted by the Grand Terrace Lions Club (GTLC). The Movie in the Park event has been around for years but this is the second year in a row the Grand Terrace Lions have hosted. The event is always held at Rollins Park and is the one time each year that families can come out for the park screening. Parents brought their children where they were able to enjoy various forms of entertainment and food options before the movie started. Attendees flocked to the park as early as 6 p.m. to get a good seat and enjoy the entertainment provided by various city-based organizations. “We made [it] more of a community event for the local organizations,” said Wayne Whipple, GTLC president and main coordinator of the event. Whipple added that seven or eight organizations from around the city came out to participate in the event. The organizations lending their time and effort to the event were the Boy Scouts, the Grand Terrace Leo club (a youth extension of the GTLC), Cal Skate, Grand Terrace Community Soccer Club (GTCSC), Friends of Blue Mountain, the Foundation of Grand Terrace, the Humor Maintenance Organization (HMO), and the GTLC. Each organization brought something to the event. For entertainment the HMO provided the face-painting and balloon animals, and the Lions brought in a mobile gaming station free of charge for children. The food options included Shaved Ice provided by Kona Ice, while the Foundation of Grand Terrace provided the popcorn, and the GTCSC was in charge of the snack bar. “This year is more of a community event and the Lions have funded the whole thing with zero fees to get in and watch the movie,” said Whipple. “It’s just a thing we can do to give back to the community without trying to make money at the same time.” “Despicable Me” is the story of a super-villain named Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) who adopts three girls from an orphanage, all while fighting against rival super villain Vector (voiced by Jason Segel), who steals the Great Pyramid of Giza, and trying to outdo his evil nemesis by shrinking and stealing the earth’s moon. Whipple and the Lions will continue hosting the Movie in the Park event and hope to improve with each year that goes on.