The fifth annual Movies & More series at Camp Helen State Park offer a family fun series will on Wednesdays June and July.
The evenings begin at 5:30 p.m. in the park’s Recreation Hall with a brief interpretive program led by a Camp Helen Park Ranger or other expert. The program will be followed by an old-fashioned campfire cookout of hot dogs and s’mores provided by the Friends of Camp Helen. Each evening will conclude with a family-oriented movie in the Recreation Hall, where seating will be provided.
A parent or guardian must accompany all children.
These special movie nights are sponsored by Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection, Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Friends of Camp Helen State Park.
Admission into the park for this event is free, although donations are accepted. Donations will go directly to the Friends of Camp Helen State Park to benefit the park’s resource management projects and interpretive programs.
The movie on July 11 is Madagascar (Rated PG)- A pack of not-so-wild animals experience some serious culture shock when they move from the Big Apple to the Mighty Jungle in this computer-animated comedy. Alex (voice of Ben Stiller) is a lion who enjoys a charmed life as one of the leading attractions at a zoo in New York City’s Central Park. While Alex and his pals Marty the Zebra (voice of Chris Rock), Gloria the Hippo (voice of Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (voice of David Schwimmer) are happy with their lot in life, they occasionally have a certain curiosity about the outside world, and when the zoo’s penguins decide to make a break for it, Marty follows them into the city. Alex, Gloria, and Melman set out to find Marty before he gets into trouble, but they’re a bit too late, and soon the zookeepers have decided that the animals are restless and need to be returned to the wild. Soon the critters find themselves living on the coast of Madagascar, where they quickly discover they aren’t quite suited for living in the wild.
Gulf World will be presenting the interpretive program using an animal ambassador.
More information is available at facebook.com/FriendsOfCampHelenStatePark, by calling (850) 233-5058 or by emailing CampHelenFriends@gmail.com.
Camp Helen State Park is located at 23937 Panama City Beach Parkway (Highway 98), Panama City Beach, just west of the Lake Powell Bridge.