Pottawatomie Community Center teems with preteens on Friday nights

In musican-speak, it’s a hang – a place to meet friends, grab a slice of pizza, listen to some music, maybe play a few games. In park district-speak, it’s Friday Live! – a place where you can do all of these things, but only if you’re in grades three through six. Any older, and it’s off limits. And that means you, mom and dad.

Simply put, kids stay in, parents go out.

“It’s a great place for parents to drop the kids off, maybe go out for dinner, catch a movie or run some errands,” said Rosie Fasching, recreation supervisor for Friday Live! – as well as aquatics and youth programming. “It gives them a few hours on a Friday so they can decompress from the week.”

For the ’tween crowd, it’s a few hours where they, too, can let off steam at the end of their week – whether that means just getting together with BFFs, playing a video game or running around the gym to their heart’s content.

For both parents and kids, however, the emphasis is on fun and safety.

Held two to three times each month from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at the Pottawatomie Community Center, Friday Live! programs are closely supervised by St. Charles Park District staff. Active areas are confined to the gym and multi-purpose rooms; there is no access to either the lobby or the preschool and Adult Activity Center wing of the building. Parents must accompany their child to check-in at the registration desk and come into the gym to pick their child up at the end of the evening.

Beyond that, though, the kids get to pretty much take over the north end of the center, Fasching said. Each Friday Live! revolves around a central motif. Some are sports-related (dodge ball tournament), while others are just plain fun (show up with a crazy hairstyle and outfit). One half of the gym is set up as an activity area where kids can play basketball or take part in a game related to that night’s theme. During the Nov. 21, “Carnival Night,” for instance, kids might play ring-toss or compete in a sack race. During the Dec. 12, “Silly Sock Night,” they might channel their inner Tom Cruise and take part in a sock-sliding contest.

The other half of the gym is devoted to music, spun by DJ Rick Federici, who also bestows fun give-aways – everything from beaded necklaces and glow sticks to Frisbees and water bottles. There’s also a photo booth, where friends can mug up for shots similar to those produced by the kind of photo stations seen at malls and county fairs. By the following Monday, the photos can be found on the park district’s Facebook page.

Down the hall from the gym, one of the center’s multi-purpose rooms is set up as a concession stand, complete with kid-favorite treats, such as pizza, pop, chips and candy.

“Sometimes we’ll do food based around the theme for the night,” Fasching said. “For Carnival night, I’d like to have a snow-cone machine.”

Another multi-purpose room is devoted to games. Friday Live! guests have access to two game consoles and three computer stations loaded with Minecraft.

“Every kid loves Minecraft,” Fasching said.

Attracting dozens upon dozens of kids on a regular basis, with new participants arriving each week, Friday Live! nights are a big part of the preteen social calendar, according to Fasching.

“They usually come in with their friends or will wait for the others to get here,” said Fasching. “They really do look forward to it.”

Along with the Friday Live! programming, students in grades three through seven also have the option of taking part in Saturday Night Out, a similarly-structured program conducted in partnership with the Elite Sports Center on 220 North Randall Road near Route 64. Supervised by the Elite Sports training staff, participants can spend most Saturday nights during the school year from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. using the open gym to play games, such as dodge ball or ga-ga ball. The cost is $15 a person and includes refreshments for the kids and, of course, unlimited fun. For an extra $10, participants also have access to the center’s fully automated indoor batting cages.

Friday Live!’s unlimited fun comes with an unbelievably low price tag of only $8 for the three-and-a-half hour night out, or one can opt for the four-visit pass at $24 for even more savings.

For information on both programs, contact Fasching at 630-513-4334, or visit the St. Charles Park District website at www.stcparks.org.

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