What’s the REC Center Up to These Days?

The REC Center in Grand Terrace is making large strides in its community, having recently hosted a Teen Night and a Princesses and Pirates-themed Parents’ Night Out event. Teens from around Grand Terrace gathered together on Aug. 20 and spruced up the center’s largest room, known more commonly as “Room C,” by getting creative and painting two large walls with their silhouettes in shades of black, teal and yellow paint provided by REC Center director Jennifer Araiza. The teens got together and painted themselves doing their favorite activities on the wall, demonstrating leadership to one another, shared Araiza. “This really was a leadership experience, because I didn’t really provide them with any instructions. I gave them the supplies and told them that I wanted artwork and I wanted it to portray their favorite things. They were really leading each other without even knowing it,” Araiza said. The idea for the sprucing up came from the teens themselves, and Araiza saw an opportunity to give the teenagers a fun activity while also including a number of participants. “The idea to paint the wall was really driven by the teens. The first thing they said when they walked in was, ‘These white walls need to go!’” Araiza laughed. “They had all kinds of ideas about what to put on the wall.” The kids worked for about three hours on the project and haven’t quite finished, but Araiza plans to host another painting session during a teen-night event, she noted. Then, last weekend, Araiza opened the doors of the center to welcome kids of ages 6 to 12 for a night of princess and pirate fun. Once a month, the center holds “Parents’ Night Out,” and invites local parents to bring their kids to the REC Center for some fun while they enjoy a date night together. From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., seven kids enjoyed a pizza dinner and themed snacks like Princess Punch and Pirate Booty snacks, and worked on projects like painting and building a castle and a ship. Araiza decided to theme the night Princesses and Pirates to dovetail with a current Pirate and Princess Summer promotion held by Disney Junior. One photo taken from last Saturday evening’s activity was submitted to Disney Jr., and was selected to be featured on the website. The photo even has a chance to be featured on TV. “They didn’t give us any details, so I’m not sure when it will show up on TV, but I keep telling everyone to look out for it,” Araiza chuckled. You can view the photo at the Disney Jr. website: www.bit.ly/17ihMk5 (This is a shortcut). The REC Center is located at 12034 La Crosse Ave. in Grand Terrace.