All summer the Lathrop Parks and Recreation Department has been providing the community with the chance to come together through its Movies in the Park program.

And now that summer is winding down and Manteca Unified students are back in the classroom, they want to make sure that families will have one last chance to socialize with their neighbors and enjoy themselves.

On Friday, August 17, the Parks and Recreation Department will be welcoming residents for the third annual End of Summer Family Fun Night at Mossdale Landing Park starting at 6 p.m.

With a number of different food trucks, inflatable bounce houses for the kids, carnival games, face-painting, rides and live music, the event is geared towards giving families the opportunity to enjoy the warm weather while it lasts and do something fun without having to leave town.

“This started with a few hundred people, and it’s grown significantly larger of the last two years,” said Lathrop Recreation Supervisor Jon Thomas. “We wanted to do something that is family focused, and it’s an event where families can come out with the community and engage in activities and quality programming.”

According to Thomas, every event that the Parks and Recreation Department hosts in the city serves as an opportunity to hear directly from residents about what it is that they want to see in their own community. And rather than waiting for feedback from individual residents and neighborhood groups, the department structured its summer movies events to give residents the chance to enjoy a community activity within their own neighborhood.

While some travel to all four of the movies regardless of where they are held, a number of residents, Thomas said, come out simply because it is being held at their local park and that gives those residents the chance to offer the sort of input that allows for larger events like the end of summer party to be put into motion.

“We most definitely want to attempt to do as many things as we can around our community to make things easier for people to enjoy,” Thomas said. “If you look at what we have had this summer, this family fun night will be at Mossdale Landing while we’ve had things at Sangalang Park and the Generations Center – the parade at Christmas is down 5th Street and through Historic Lathrop.

“We try and get all of the community involved in the activities, and it’s the entire community that we’re inviting out to this event next week.”

Admission to the event, which will run from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, August 17, is free to the public, and will include live music from The Undercovers on the event’s main stage. Food will be available for purchase from a number of independent vendors. For additional information about the Lathrop Parks and Recreation Department, or for upcoming information about community events, visit the City of Lathrop’s website at www.ci.lathrop.ca.us.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.