How It Started?
In early February of 2013, I began to wonder what I could do with my DJ business to give the kids in the community a place to hangout and listen to music. Since I didn't know if the kids would be interested in something like this, or not, I posted a poll on Facebook. This was the poll:
TEENAGERS: If A-Sharp DJ Service was to host a dance (a place to hang out on Friday nights in Sullivan) would you go? Details: Kids 18 & under; Cost $5.00; Possibly a place where food & drinks would be available for purchase; 6pm - 10pm Yes? No? Maybe?
2,378 people saw the post, according to Facebook, and I received an overwhelming response on the positive side. I received comments from parents stating that they thought it was an excellent idea and it would give the kids in Sullivan something to do and a place to go. In fact, people started posting about places they went similar to this when they were younger. I think it got people thinking about what it was like to have a place to hangout.
After deciding that I thought it would be a worth-while cause and people would actually attend, the next step for me was to find a place to hold these events. I had to take several things into consideration about the location. (1) I wanted it to become a popular place to hang out; (2) It had to be within walking distance for the kids that couldn't drive (inside the city limits); (3) There had to be enough room; (4) Maybe a place where food and drinks would be available for purchase; (5) A location that would donate the space; and some other small details.
I wanted to avoid paying for a location with the hopes that I would recover the money I spent (example: renting a location for $150, charging a $5.00 cover charge, buying food & drinks, and hoping enough people showed up to not take a loss). After several events, that loss could have been huge, not making sense for me to hold the events. I wasn’t looking to make money for any of these events; I just couldn’t pay for everything.
Over the next several months, during spring & early summer, I looked into a couple of locations that I thought would be a great place to hold these types of events. Without going into much detail about locations or individuals; I spoke with several people, inquired about the costs, and things just didn’t work out.
Finally, I decided that I would check about holding a couple of events at Wyman Park in Sullivan. I thought that the pavilion near the skate park would be a great location since there was a large parking lot, playground, tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball diamond and of course the skate park.
I spoke with the police chief and inquired if any permits were required to hold such an event at the park and the answer was no; no permits were required. I decided that I would hold 3 ‘Friday Night Hangouts’ during the first three Fridays in August, from 6pm-9pm, before the kids went back to school.
What Happened!
On July 22, 2013 I posted an event on Facebook, for Friday August 2nd, and invited over 200 people. I also asked others to ‘share’ the event on Facebook and invite their friends as well. Within a couple of days of posting the event, I received a message from the News-Progress wanting to interview me regarding the event. The following week, the newspaper printed an article to help ‘spread the word’ about the event. According to Facebook, 2,716 people saw the post about this event!
For the first event, held on August 2nd, I was very pleased when 30-40 kids showed up, here and there, throughout the three hour period. The event went very smoothly, kids danced, and just basically hung around. Bob Best, with the News-Progress, showed up and took several pictures of the kids dancing.
The next day, I posted another Facebook event for the next week, Friday August 9th. Shortly after posting the event, I was called by Jim Griffin (owner of BBQ Crew Catering) and he advised that he would like to get involved. Jim said he would be willing to bring his large grill to the park and cook free hot dogs for the kids and provide juice as well. I contacted the News-Progress and advised them of the event and that there would also be free food. Again, the newspaper printed another article about the event. According to Facebook, 2,359 people saw the post about this event!
Now for the second event, held on August 9th, the number of kids that showed up was amazing! Many of the same kids from the first event were there, plus many more that had heard about the first one. Jim cooked hot dogs and brought lemonade. Tawnya & Shannon Marshall brought bottled water. My wife, Venessa, and I brought several boxes of cookies. I was surprised that there were kids everywhere! Some were playing basketball, tennis, hanging around the skate park, standing in little groups, dancing, eating, etc. I was shocked that the number of kids doubled, almost tripled, from the first ‘hangout’! We took photos that night and posted them on Facebook the next day.
Again, the next day, I posted another event on Facebook for Friday August 16th. I was unsure what to do about food because Jim Griffin was going to be out of town. A couple of days later, I received a message from Pastor Grant Wade, one of my pastors at the First Christian Church in Sullivan, advising that he would like the church to be the ‘sponsor’ for this upcoming event. After speaking with Pastor Grant on the phone he advised that the church would like to offer pizzas, from TNT, to be delivered to the park at 6pm! On the event page, I posted for any individuals or businesses that would like supply items for the next event to contact me. A short time later I received a message from Tim Rose (owner of TNT Pizza in Sullivan) advising that he would like to donate some pizzas. I had several other people contact me about bringing items to the park. According to Facebook, 1,968 people saw the post!
For the third event, held on August 16th, the kids slowly started showing up. Heidi & Ron Burgess brought bottled water, several 2-liters of soda and cups. Tawnya & Shannon Marshall again brought bottled water. Chris & Darrel Wells brought numerous packages of cookies. Amy & Mike Trussell supplied several boxes of cookies, bags of chips & plates. Venessa & I brought a 5-gallon cooler of lemonade & several boxes of cookies. Between the First Christian Church and TNT Pizza, 12 large pizzas were delivered right on time!
This night was the biggest one yet! There were people driving through the parking lot to see what was going on. I noticed several people parking their cars and just watching for awhile before leaving. There were people playing baseball, playing on the playgrounds, skating, riding bikes, walking around, etc. I guess I would say that this was the record-number of kids so far and plenty of food to go around. The kids seemed to be having a great time with each other. At the end of the night, I welcomed the kids back to school and told them that this would be the last ‘hangout’ for awhile due to football games and sports on Friday nights.
It’s kind of hard to put into words everything that was going on. To summarize the 3 events is very clear and simple to me! Each week the number of kids grew dramatically. The kids in Sullivan want and need a place to go and ‘hangout’. A place that’s fun, where there are things to do. Something they can do besides sit in an empty parking lot.
I personally think these ‘hangouts’ were a great idea! I had just as much fun as the kids did. My kids were there, along with my wife, my brother and his wife, my mom, some friends and we had a great time. These events were not just for kids. There were several adults that came out with their kids. This was something fun to do on a Friday night! That’s why I want to keep doing it!!
What’s Next?
Well, since summer has ended and the kids are back in school, I have some time to think about another location to hold these types of events. Fall sports on Friday nights would be held during the same hours that I held these events and I can’t do it after the games due to the noise ordinance hours in the park. As the year gets later, the weather will turn cold so using my equipment in the park is no option. Holding the events on Saturdays is not an option right now because I’m already booked for most Saturdays until the end of the year.
For now, I do plan on continuing the events next summer in the park like I did this year. I may not be able to do it every Friday night for the entire summer, but I still have time to work out those details.
I would like to eventually find a business, or building that could be donated, to hold the events. If it were a spacious business that had food & drinks available, they would make money from the kids that showed up.
I’m looking for ideas and if you would like to get involved please feel free to comment below. You can also contact me at 855-4064 or email me at asharpdjservice@yahoo.com.
In early February of 2013, I began to wonder what I could do with my DJ business to give the kids in the community a place to hangout and listen to music. Since I didn't know if the kids would be interested in something like this, or not, I posted a poll on Facebook. This was the poll:
TEENAGERS: If A-Sharp DJ Service was to host a dance (a place to hang out on Friday nights in Sullivan) would you go? Details: Kids 18 & under; Cost $5.00; Possibly a place where food & drinks would be available for purchase; 6pm - 10pm Yes? No? Maybe?
2,378 people saw the post, according to Facebook, and I received an overwhelming response on the positive side. I received comments from parents stating that they thought it was an excellent idea and it would give the kids in Sullivan something to do and a place to go. In fact, people started posting about places they went similar to this when they were younger. I think it got people thinking about what it was like to have a place to hangout.
After deciding that I thought it would be a worth-while cause and people would actually attend, the next step for me was to find a place to hold these events. I had to take several things into consideration about the location. (1) I wanted it to become a popular place to hang out; (2) It had to be within walking distance for the kids that couldn't drive (inside the city limits); (3) There had to be enough room; (4) Maybe a place where food and drinks would be available for purchase; (5) A location that would donate the space; and some other small details.
I wanted to avoid paying for a location with the hopes that I would recover the money I spent (example: renting a location for $150, charging a $5.00 cover charge, buying food & drinks, and hoping enough people showed up to not take a loss). After several events, that loss could have been huge, not making sense for me to hold the events. I wasn’t looking to make money for any of these events; I just couldn’t pay for everything.
Over the next several months, during spring & early summer, I looked into a couple of locations that I thought would be a great place to hold these types of events. Without going into much detail about locations or individuals; I spoke with several people, inquired about the costs, and things just didn’t work out.
Finally, I decided that I would check about holding a couple of events at Wyman Park in Sullivan. I thought that the pavilion near the skate park would be a great location since there was a large parking lot, playground, tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball diamond and of course the skate park.
I spoke with the police chief and inquired if any permits were required to hold such an event at the park and the answer was no; no permits were required. I decided that I would hold 3 ‘Friday Night Hangouts’ during the first three Fridays in August, from 6pm-9pm, before the kids went back to school.
What Happened!
On July 22, 2013 I posted an event on Facebook, for Friday August 2nd, and invited over 200 people. I also asked others to ‘share’ the event on Facebook and invite their friends as well. Within a couple of days of posting the event, I received a message from the News-Progress wanting to interview me regarding the event. The following week, the newspaper printed an article to help ‘spread the word’ about the event. According to Facebook, 2,716 people saw the post about this event!
For the first event, held on August 2nd, I was very pleased when 30-40 kids showed up, here and there, throughout the three hour period. The event went very smoothly, kids danced, and just basically hung around. Bob Best, with the News-Progress, showed up and took several pictures of the kids dancing.
The next day, I posted another Facebook event for the next week, Friday August 9th. Shortly after posting the event, I was called by Jim Griffin (owner of BBQ Crew Catering) and he advised that he would like to get involved. Jim said he would be willing to bring his large grill to the park and cook free hot dogs for the kids and provide juice as well. I contacted the News-Progress and advised them of the event and that there would also be free food. Again, the newspaper printed another article about the event. According to Facebook, 2,359 people saw the post about this event!
Now for the second event, held on August 9th, the number of kids that showed up was amazing! Many of the same kids from the first event were there, plus many more that had heard about the first one. Jim cooked hot dogs and brought lemonade. Tawnya & Shannon Marshall brought bottled water. My wife, Venessa, and I brought several boxes of cookies. I was surprised that there were kids everywhere! Some were playing basketball, tennis, hanging around the skate park, standing in little groups, dancing, eating, etc. I was shocked that the number of kids doubled, almost tripled, from the first ‘hangout’! We took photos that night and posted them on Facebook the next day.
Again, the next day, I posted another event on Facebook for Friday August 16th. I was unsure what to do about food because Jim Griffin was going to be out of town. A couple of days later, I received a message from Pastor Grant Wade, one of my pastors at the First Christian Church in Sullivan, advising that he would like the church to be the ‘sponsor’ for this upcoming event. After speaking with Pastor Grant on the phone he advised that the church would like to offer pizzas, from TNT, to be delivered to the park at 6pm! On the event page, I posted for any individuals or businesses that would like supply items for the next event to contact me. A short time later I received a message from Tim Rose (owner of TNT Pizza in Sullivan) advising that he would like to donate some pizzas. I had several other people contact me about bringing items to the park. According to Facebook, 1,968 people saw the post!
For the third event, held on August 16th, the kids slowly started showing up. Heidi & Ron Burgess brought bottled water, several 2-liters of soda and cups. Tawnya & Shannon Marshall again brought bottled water. Chris & Darrel Wells brought numerous packages of cookies. Amy & Mike Trussell supplied several boxes of cookies, bags of chips & plates. Venessa & I brought a 5-gallon cooler of lemonade & several boxes of cookies. Between the First Christian Church and TNT Pizza, 12 large pizzas were delivered right on time!
This night was the biggest one yet! There were people driving through the parking lot to see what was going on. I noticed several people parking their cars and just watching for awhile before leaving. There were people playing baseball, playing on the playgrounds, skating, riding bikes, walking around, etc. I guess I would say that this was the record-number of kids so far and plenty of food to go around. The kids seemed to be having a great time with each other. At the end of the night, I welcomed the kids back to school and told them that this would be the last ‘hangout’ for awhile due to football games and sports on Friday nights.
It’s kind of hard to put into words everything that was going on. To summarize the 3 events is very clear and simple to me! Each week the number of kids grew dramatically. The kids in Sullivan want and need a place to go and ‘hangout’. A place that’s fun, where there are things to do. Something they can do besides sit in an empty parking lot.
I personally think these ‘hangouts’ were a great idea! I had just as much fun as the kids did. My kids were there, along with my wife, my brother and his wife, my mom, some friends and we had a great time. These events were not just for kids. There were several adults that came out with their kids. This was something fun to do on a Friday night! That’s why I want to keep doing it!!
What’s Next?
Well, since summer has ended and the kids are back in school, I have some time to think about another location to hold these types of events. Fall sports on Friday nights would be held during the same hours that I held these events and I can’t do it after the games due to the noise ordinance hours in the park. As the year gets later, the weather will turn cold so using my equipment in the park is no option. Holding the events on Saturdays is not an option right now because I’m already booked for most Saturdays until the end of the year.
For now, I do plan on continuing the events next summer in the park like I did this year. I may not be able to do it every Friday night for the entire summer, but I still have time to work out those details.
I would like to eventually find a business, or building that could be donated, to hold the events. If it were a spacious business that had food & drinks available, they would make money from the kids that showed up.
I’m looking for ideas and if you would like to get involved please feel free to comment below. You can also contact me at 855-4064 or email me at asharpdjservice@yahoo.com.
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