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Teen venue ‘Club Mist’to open November 13
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Nov 6, 2009 13:33 UTC
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PHILIPSBURG - Club Mist, a non-alcoholic teen night club, will open its door on Friday, November 13, and will cater to young people ages thirteen to seventeen every Friday after that from 9:00pm to 1:00am. The brainchild of Sakir de Castro, son of Bernardo “Luli” de Castro, Club Mist will offer teenagers a safe, clean environment to hang out with their friends, socialize and have a good time.
The club will be located at The Alley in Simpson Bay and it is being supported by one of the island’s biggest corporate citizens, United Telecommunication Services (UTS) through its “Chipster” brand.
Sakir, a 15-year-old VWO 3 student at the Milton Peters College, explained that non-alcoholic teen clubs have been popping up throughout the United States and other parts of the world.
“This age group tends to spend the majority of their allowance on clothing, food, and entertainment,” Sakir said. “Their primary entertainment options are limited to going to the movies, listening to music and going out with friends. I personally surveyed a sample of 150 teens on St. Maarten and found that 40 per cent of teens go out with friends at least once a week. Since this age group has a need for entertainment, Club Mist will provide a place where they can bring their friends to dance to the hottest hits and hang out in a safe environment,” he added.
Club Mist will have a variety of entertainment which includes DJ’s like House DJ T-Rod, DJ Outkast, performances by local young artists and contests for best looking couple, best dancer and best dressed. Only sodas, frozen drinks and fruit juices will be served. Entrance fee to the club will be US $5.
While not a new concept to St. Maarten, teen night clubs of the past never lasted longer than two months because of youth violence around or in the club and less-than-appropriate venues. Therefore, extra attention has been placed on securing Club Mist on the exterior as well as interior. The venue of The Alley, along the lively Simpson Bay stretch that is well lit and populated will also benefit security efforts.
Checkmate Security services has been contracted to control the entrance and the cooperation of the police force and the police organization Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) has also been secured. The age limit will also be strictly enforced with ID cards having to be presented at the entrance.
Sakir had a simple message to his peers: “The message of the club is no violence, no drugs, no alcohol. We finally have something for us to do. It’s time to put all differences aside and keep this one. We’ve had two before that didn’t work. It’s time we should be grateful for what we have.”
Chief Operations Officer of UTS Eastern Caribbean Glen Carty said as a father of teenagers, he dreads weekends because his girls always complain they are bored because of the lack of activities for young people their age. He also said that UTS would not have gotten involved in the initiative had it not seen areas for positive growth.
“There is nothing really for young people in this age group to do. There are the movies, the bowling alley closed down, we have dilapidated sport complexes. The club will not only offer a place for them to have a good time in a clean and safe environment, but Sakir could use it for educational purposes like pushing themes against crime, safe sex etc. So we are looking forward for the whole island to support this, parents especially,” Carty said.
He said UTS and Chipster will be promoting the grand opening through ads and radio spots on Laser 101
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