The San Benito County Youth Prevention Coalition will continue
an old tradition March 14 by sponsoring another Friday Night Live
dance at the Community Center.
The San Benito County Youth Prevention Coalition will continue an old tradition March 14 by sponsoring another Friday Night Live dance at the Community Center. The dances are open to 6th through 8th graders and are held from 7 to 9:45 p.m.
Lucia Aguilar–Navarro said since September, when she became head of the group that organizes the dances, she has increased promotion and excitement surrounding the monthly events. Most of the youths who attend the dances are from Rancho San Justo and Marguerite Maze middle schools, Spring Grove Elementary School and Tres Pinos School, she said.
“If you can imagine being in a room with 150 hormone-raging, wild teenagers, it’s a lot of fun,” Aguilar–Navarro said.
Friday Night Live was created by the California Highway Patrol to inform kids about the perils of drinking and driving, to teach an alternative form of recreation that doesn’t include drugs or alcohol.
The Youth Prevention Coalition uses the proceeds from the dances to pay for field trips and conferences throughout the year. The group’s biggest conference of the year, Teenwork, will be held April 16–19 in Orange County. About 30 youths are consistently involved in the coalition, Aguilar–Navarro said.
She said for the older kids who organize the monthly dances, “It teaches them responsibility… they themselves have to be role models.”
Admission to the dances is $4 for Club Live members and $5 for non-members. The Community Center is located at 300 West St. For more information, call Aguilar–Navarro at 636–4382.
