Teen Center Offers Safe Fun in Purcellville

by Charity Corkey

Friday, July 18, 2008

Although it was a quiet Friday evening in Purcellville, the local Teen Center was hopping.

Around 100 middle-schoolers filled the building, bouncing from one activity to the next. Robin Dezagottis, a sixth-grader at Blue Ridge Middle School, visited the center for the second time.

“I’m going to keep coming because I make new friends,” Dezagottis said, while playing at the arcade. “And because something weird could happen. [Last time] someone bumped into the fire extinguisher, and it exploded.”

Photo: Charity Corkey

John Lance, front, and John Williams compete at the Purcellville Teen Center on July 17.

Located at the Purcellville skating rink on South Nursery Avenue, the Teen Center runs two Friday evening programs: one for middle-school students from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and another for high-school students from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Besides the refreshment stand and a few arcade games that require quarters to play, the evening events are free.

Phillip Message, the director of the center, said his goal is “to provide a fun and safe place for the area teens to hang out.”

At the center, there is something for everyone: in one corner is a comfortable “social area,” complete with sofas, carpets and lamps. On the opposite side of the room, young people can play intense games of basketball.

“It’s a cool place to talk to your friends,” said Jesse Motley, a fifth-grader from Legacy Elementary. Though it was only his second visit, Motley already knew his favorite activities: playing in the arcade and shooting hoops.

The center’s volunteers — mostly older teenagers and college students — set up the area with a variety of activities: ping pong, board games, shuffleboard, foosball and even an Xbox 360 hooked up to large-screen digital TVs.

Twenty-four-year old volunteer Sarah Pride, a web content specialist at Patrick Henry College, described the place as “incredibly loud.”

“They blast music over the PA system, and there are video games with big monitor screens down one side,” she said. “There’s also ‘Dance Dance Revolution.’”

Kelsey Boughman, an eighth-grader at Harmony Intermediate School, has been attending the Teen Center since she was in sixth grade. Besides being a pro at the popular music video game “Dance Dance Revolution,” Kelsey likes the social atmosphere.

“I get to hang out with all my fabulous friends,” she said. “Plus, this town is boring.”

In addition to the Teen Center’s regular activities, the building hosts four formal dances per year and welcomes occasional performances by local teen bands.

To learn more about the Purcellville Teen Center or how to volunteer, visit its web site or call Phillip Message at 703-431-7784.

Tagged: Purcellville, teens

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