Whether they’re having fun in the sun, working to pick up some extra cash or going on vacation, most teens’ face time with their friends drops significantly in the summer from the daily interaction they usually have during the school year.
So to give teens an opportunity to see their friends one last time before school lets out for the summer, the Old Fire House Teen Center (OFH), located at 16510 N.E. 79th St. in Redmond, is holding an “End of School Bash!” (EOSB) on Friday, June 22 from 3-9 p.m.
For $5, teens can celebrate the end of school together, play basketball for a good cause and enjoy food, beverages, live music and other various activities.
“There’s a lot going on,” said OFH program coordinator Chris Cullen. “It should be good. It’s always a great party and a lot of fun.”
The annual event is hosted by the Youth Advisory Board Advocacy (YABA) and Redmond Youth Partnership Advisory Committee (RYPAC) and students from the groups have been working to organize the event.
Jasmine Kozak-Gilroy, a sophomore from Redmond High School (RHS), is a member of YABA and has been working on the event’s activities. She said her favorite part of the process has been the brainstorming sessions.
“At our dream (EOSB), there would be ponies, a Ferris wheel, a dunk tank, unicorns, jesters, a murder mystery, a t-shirt cannon, a clown, a mascot of some sort, and corn,” she said. “In reality, we’ll have one of those things.”
There may not be a Ferris wheel or any equestrian animals — with or without horns — but this year’s EOSB will definitely have corn.
Kozak-Gilroy has had previous event-planning experience helping plan other YABA events and school dances and said one of the biggest challenges is conquering herself. The 15-year-old explained that nothing is as bad, difficult or stressful as it may seem.
“As long as you enter the process with that mindset, everything will run smoothly,” she said. “Remember to be positive, but realistic. You can’t do everything, but you can make everything you do the best it can be.”
One aspect of the EOSB features clubs from RHS.
Students from these clubs will set up tables or booths at the event and teens in attendance can learn more, meet members and potentially join for next year.
Kyle Navarro, a senior at RHS, will be onsite during EOSB to promote the school’s S.P.A.M. Club. As head of the club, he said the acronym stands for Students Protesting Against Monotony.
“S.P.A.M. Club is all about kids getting together and pulling little pranks,” he said, “but nothing too troublesome.”
Navarro said this is the first time the club has been part of EOSB and he hopes to recruit some new members as S.P.A.M.’s numbers have been on the decline. Although he is a senior and won’t be around next year, Navarro said he’s participating in the EOSB because he wants to make sure his club is in good hands.
“I just want to make sure the club will live on after I’m gone,” he said.
Navarro said he is also excited for EOSB and making the best of the party because it is one of his last chances to see his friends — some of whom, he acknowledged, he may never see again.
The event will also feature summer programs, camps and events at the OFH.
This year’s EOSB is doubling up as a release party for a compilation album of 11 musicians who have recorded in the OFH media lab, including Family Band, Box, Zephyrs, Silicon Girls and more.
Josh Baez, a junior at Newport High School in Bellevue, has interned at the OFH since September and was the producer for the project. The 17-year-old said most of the artists, who represent Redmond and the greater Eastside, will perform at the EOSB. Teens can expect a little bit of jazz, surfer rock, pop, instrumental and alternative rock.
“It’s gonna be a long show,” said Baez, a singer and songwriter who is also a featured on the album and scheduled to perform at the EOSB.
He said the album will be available to download for free starting the day of EOSB and postcards with the website information will be handed out at the EOSB.
For more information, visit www.redmond.gov/ParksRecreation/Teens.
