Despite ongoing construction at Phelan Community Park, families and friends turned out for the district’s annual Summer Movies in the Park. The last movie night is Friday, Juy 31, 2026 and will be the movie Twisters.

A typical movie night begins with Tri-Community families and couples gathering at the Phelan Community Park at around 7:00pm for the annual outdoor movie experience. Soon as the “movie” crew finishes setting up music begins to lay as guests mingle, kids play on the swings and playgroung equipment, impromptu basketball games take shape, and games of catch and soccer are seen on the grass. All waiting for the sun to go down, getting dark enough to start the movie. This seasons movies included a mix of children’s animated favorites and even a few live actions movies with some geared toward older audiences with movie ratings from G to PG-13.

Each Friday night the Tri-Community Kiwanis serves up popcorn, candies, drinks and water for a nominal fee to help support thier community service endeavours. The “snack bar” is staffed by Kiwanis volunteers and local youth groups that the Club supports such as the Serrano Key Club, Heritage Builders Club, and the Miss Phelan Pageant. Friday night movies are co-hosted by the Kiwanis and the Phelan Pinon Hills Community Services District Parks & Recreation Department.

I’t has been a pretty suceesful event with the park filling up with between 80 and 120 eager movie watchers. The execption being the first night when it was announed just as the movie started, “Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize; give us a few minutes, we’re experiencing technical difficulties,” there was no sound from the movie. No one seemed worried, the music kept playing and kids kept playing. “We had everything working except for the audio,” said Matthew Abner, a parks and maintenance worker for PPHCSD. “We were trying to find an audio cable that we didn’t have, so that delayed us about 20 to 30 minutes.”

As the community came together this season to watch their annual summer flicks, they were surprised with new movie equipment. This year’s event featured newly upgraded audio and projection, replacing an older system. Before receiving the new equipment, Matthew said, “The older equipment was integrated with a couple of different pieces of equipment, so in a sense it kind of looked a bit Frankensteined together.” Matthew explained, “With the new equipment, now it all flows together.”

Matthew said preparation for the event begins well before attendees arrive.

“When I come to set up for the park, it’ll be like 6-ish; I’ll just come by and check the bathrooms and check the trash to make sure that all who come to the park have a nice and clean environment “ says Matthew.

“For the movies in the park, you’ll normally have people set up around 7ish “ says Joshua, a resident of Phelan for almost 10 years now. “People will normally come and set up on the grass area with their lawn chairs and blankets; some even bring their own water and snacks.”

Ricardo Alazate, a resident of the Tri-Community, described the audio saying, “The audio sounded a lot nicer, fuller, and way better than it used to be.” He and his family have been attending the event for nearly four years now, and look forward to the summer tradition.

Longtime resident Denis, who has resided in the Tri-community for nearly 62 years, also says, “The speakers sounded louder than before, and the projector looked clearer.”

Even though there is ongoing construction in the park right now, the movies in the park event wasn’t stopped. The district is now nearing completion of the first phase of its park enhancement project, which has focused on expanding the current park for improved usability, accessibility, and the overall experience for all park users. The enhancements include the following: Pickleball courts, Community Teaching Garden, ADA-accessible pathways, outdoor exercise equipment, new corn-hole equipment, picnic areas, and new landscaping.

For many residents, however, the highlight of the movie nights isn’t the upgraded equipment or the expanding park, it is spending time together. Ricardo Alazate says, “The great thing about the movies in the park is it’s a free event and a great way to gather the community together and even meet some new people or even your neighbors!” Mark you calendars now for next years movie nights which will run roughly just after schools get out for summer break and just befores the new school year starts, June through July.