New Friday Night Teen Center opens next month
Officials hoping latest attempt to offer safe, clean fun will succeed
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

High school teens are invited to the grand opening of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District's new Friday Night Teen Center on Nov. 16.

The first teen night, to be held at the Rancho Santa Susana Community Center, will feature a "Halo 3" video game tournament, a game room and a dance hall for all local high school students with a valid ID.

Doug Gale, park district recreation administrator, said the teen center will provide social activities in a safe environment supervised by young adults.

"This is something they've been desperately wanting for a long time," Gale said. "I believe there are a lot of opportunities for teens to be involved in the community. It's very easy to be busy, but there's no social thing for (high school students) matching what we're able to offer."

The teen center is the park district's latest project designed specifically for the high school demographic. In recent years, the district has put together events like "Dr. No" dances and "Rock the Wall" band nights, but this is the first to have a variety of activities to meet more than one interest.

"The teens have been a very weak area for recreation programming," Gale said. "They're a much more challenging clientele."

The park district plans on hosting the Friday Night Teen Center every third Friday of the month from 7 to 10 p.m. The $5 grand opening admission includes all the activities and a slice of pizza and a drink.

Dylan Gunning, a park district intern, presented the teen center concept to the park district board of directors last week. Gunning said he met with the Simi Valley Youth Council, whose members are high school students, to decide which activities to include in the program.

"They're excited about it," Gunning said. "After the meeting, they called their friends and families to tell them about the program."

The recently released "Halo 3," which had record openingday sales of $170 million, will be played by tournament participants on a 24-foot screen.

Despite its "mature" rating by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, park district officials have deemed "Halo 3" appropriate for use at the teen center.

The multiplayer game was rated for its fantasy violence but does not show any blood or gore, Gunning said.

Still, participants are required to fill out an entry agreement and have it signed by a parent or guardian before they can play.

In the separate game room, activities include karaoke, dodge ball, "Dance Dance Revolution" on Playstation 2 and other smaller games.

The dance room will have a DJ playing hip-hop and Top 40 music, Gale added.

The Rancho Santa Susana Community Center is at 5005 Los Angeles Ave.

For more information on the Friday Night Teen Center and other new teen programming, call (805) 584-4400 or visit myspace.com/simiteenevents.