Dancing up a storm to the latest beats at Cupid's KickBack 2006 was the C.I.T.Y. x1 Youth Group. |
After nearly two months worth of preparation, "Cupid's KickBack" was held on Saturday, February 10th, 2007 at Plummer Park's Fiesta Hall in the City of West Hollywood. This event was organized the West Hollywood Teen Center's Youth Advisory Board and the C.I.T.Y. x1 Youth Group. Cupid's KickBack was a free event for youth ages 14-24 in honor of St. Valentine's Day and was also an alcohol & tobacco-free activity.
Before the doors even opened at 6:00pm, youth were already lining up at the entrance of Fiesta Hall. Once the event got underway, the first youth in attendance received free gift bags filled with all sorts of goodies donated by local businesses and community organizations. Upon entering the Hall, everyone was treated to a scene filled with hundreds of handmade decorations by the Teen Center.
Brandon G., of the C.I.T.Y. x1 Youth Group, was the youth DJ and began the evening by playing a wide variety of popular music found in teenager's IPODs these days. It was not long before people hit the dance floor.
Those who were not at the dance floor were down the hall lining up for free food. With members of the Teen Center Staff and local volunteers preparing the food, the menu consisted of cheeseburgers, hot dogs, nachos, and soft drinks. There were no microwaves at this event, as everyone in the kitchen was grilling, slicing, and serving!
Cupid's KickBack 2006 activities involved plenty of food and drink and lots of safe friendship for C.I.T.Y. x1 Youth Group members and guests. |
The youth members of both organizations provided the entertainment for the evening. Matthew Fashion was the M.C. for the evening and welcomed everyone; he also made special announcements and introduced the youth acts.
The first act Matthew introduced was I.T., made up of two youth from the WeHo Teen Center. I.T. performed two dance numbers and got a loud reception form their peers. After the performance, Matthew announced the first set of raffles. Several gift baskets were raffled off with such gifts as candy, coffee mugs, Dad’s, toys, and Valentine's-theme goodies.
As the evening moved on, more people started showing up as well as several community organizations, schools, and groups. Some of these included local GSA's, SGV Pride, the TRIBE LA, APAIT, Prevention on Wheels, GLIDE, Covenant House, CSUN, CSULA, and members of the Delta Lambda Phi National Social Fraternity Alpha Omicron Chapter.
The presence of these organizations, and the diversity that they brought to the event, gave the youth in attendance the opportunity to network and bridge with their community.
There was a show and entertainment, too, at Cupid's KickBack 2006, held by C.I.T.Y. x1 Youth Group for members and guests. |
Rolling into the event's final hour, more gift baskets were raffled off and Mariah Sutlapa gave the last youth performance of the evening. At 9:00pm the last dance had ended and everyone was thanked for attending and helping out. From here, the Teen Center Staff and several community volunteers assisted with the clean up and takedown of the decorations.
In the end, over 160 people had attended Cupid's Kickback and the youth of West Hollywood (and surrounding communities) were provided with a free event in a safe place that allowed them to celebrate the St. Valentine's holiday.
For every heart that was used as a decoration, there was a smile to accompany it. And with that, Cupid's Kickback had ended.
SPECIAL THANKS
The West Hollywood Teen Center and the C.I.T.Y. x1 Youth Group would like to thank the following for their support of “Cupid’s Kickback”.
Without the help of these organizations and individuals, we would not have been able to produce this event:
Some of the acts at C.I.T.Y. x1 Youth Group's Cupid's KickBack 2006 were pretty amazing, said attendees. |
Delta Lambda Phi National Social Fraternity Alpha Omicron Chapter, The TRIBE LA, Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team (APAIT) USC’s OutREACH Group, CSULA’s LGBTQ Group, Covenant House, The GSA Network, Channel 36 West Hollywood Public Access, LAUSD’s Project 10, Prevention on Wheels (P.O.W.).
Also, San Gabriel Valley Pride, Wilson High School, Carlos Cabrera, Antonio DeRosa, Matthew Fashion, David Giugni, Joe Mannetti, M'Alyssa Mecenas, Virsil Mitchell, Alex Possner, Aaron Saenz, Yvette Sotelo, Korey Wyatt
X-TRA SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Members of the Teen Center Youth Advisory Board
Members of the C.I.T.Y. x1 Youth Group
The Plummer Park Staff
The City of West Hollywood
Friends of Project 10
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