Teen dance scheduled for Givens on Saturday

Since they’re teenagers after all, the kids who attended a dance put on by Kitsap County officials last month did have some ideas about how the adults could have made the event better.

“Well, they wanted more snacks,” said said Toni Fuller, a recreation coordinator with the county’s Recreation, Parks and Facilities Department. “And they wanted more people to come.”

But at least they gave Fuller and the other planners a big thumbs up for the most important part — the tunes.

“They liked the music,” said Fuller, explaining she was glad the dancers approved of the DJ she hired, since choosing songs kids will like and adults will deem appropriate can be a very complicated task.

“Well, the music has to be varied, because you can’t just play for one group, and you have to keep it on the clean side, which, oh my lord, is hard to do,” Fuller laughed. “But we did good.”

Other than playing “clean” versions of songs, Fuller said plenty of chaperones — volunteers, paid staff and security officers — keep an eye on the kids’ dancing moves and keep track of who leaves.

“Once they’re inside, they’re expected to stay inside,” Fuller said, explaining that parents are notified if any teens are seen leaving the dance.

About 100 kids came to the first dance Feb. 25 in Silverdale, and Fuller said she hopes to see twice that many Saturday night at Givens Community Center.

However, she doesn’t expect there to be more snacks.

“We don’t have the budget yet for that,” Fuller said, explaining that she will still only be offering a pizza and soda combination for $1, but would be happy to take donations of chips and other snacks to hand out.

Fuller said the third dance planned is April 29 in Kingston, and this fall she is planning more, but the amount will depend on how much money she has in her budget.

“Hopefully enough kids will start coming that we can afford to maybe put on dances for both the junior high and the high school kids,” she said. “But right now our production costs are pretty high up-front.”

Fuller said she is always looking for more chaperones, and anyone interested in volunteering, donating or finding out more information about the event can call her at 337-5370.

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