Summer fun

Summer is in full swing, and the City of East Lansing offers outdoor family fun with two popular summer events series.

"Play in the Park and Moonlight Film Festival events help develop a sense of place for people of all ages,” said Heather Surface, stewardship and community events specialist for East Lansing.

East Lansing kicked off its Play in the Park series Tuesday with magician Baffling Bill. The series continues at 7 p.m. every Tuesday through the month of July at Valley Court Park, 280 Valley Court. Featured acts include Storytelling with Karen Czarnik (July 12), Nature Discovery (July 19), and Sports Science (July 26). In the event of rain or severe weather, the show will be canceled. More information can be found at cityofeastlansing.com/450/play-in-the-park.

For movie fans, the Moonlight Film Festival starts tonight and runs through August 11. Goomba's will be on site with pizza and its signature Pokee Stix. Tonight’s event includes a community talent show at 7 p.m. followed by the classic Jack Black comedy “School of Rock” at 9:30 p.m. Signup for the talent show starts at 6:30 p.m. Each movie showing includes activities or performances prior to the film. Featured events include a late-night swim, pop-up story time, and an animal parade. This summer’s slate of movies includes family-friendly fare like “Max” and “Where the Wild Things Are.” For the month of July, all showings start at 9:30 p.m. In August, the showings start at 9 p.m. In the event of rain or severe weather, the event will be canceled. More show can be found at cityofeastlansing.com/445/moonlight-film-festival.

“These events are great opportunities for people to brag about and take pride in their city,” Surface said. “People often invite friends and family to these events to show off the cool things that happen here."