Open day on fifth birthday

The Umina Police and Community Youth Club (PCYC) held an open day promoting the club and celebrating its fifth birthday on February 18.

It was a day of entertainment for the local community with a mixture of events catering for those of all ages and backgrounds.

In the morning, entertainment included performances by the Peninsula Indigenous Performing Arts group (Pipa) and also a barber shop chorus.

The Nambus was present and there were many stalls, including face painting and temporary tattoos for young children.

In the afternoon, the scene catered for more of a teen audience with performances by bands Vetna, 3 Days Ago, All That Bleed and The Jimmy.

PCYC manager Mr Tim Keogh said that there was a "really good response to the open day" and estimated that around 400 people attended the event.

The day was used to promote the many activities and courses run by the PCYC and affirm their commitment and importance to the community.

Mr Keogh said that the prevention of youth crime was the core principle of the PCYC and that the police worked alongside young people to achieve this aim.

They organised Oztag and ran a fishing program called "Hook, Line, and Sinker" to help broaden mainstream youth activities.

The PCYC also fulfilled many other functions within the community including gym facilities and aerobic boxing that catered for all ages, he said.

On the last Friday of every month, the PCYC runs dance parties for young people aged 10 to 16 which include lots of music and a large video screen.

These dance parties run from 7pm until 10pm and are safe and drug-free events.

A drop-in area is open for young people and provides a pool table, an air-hockey table and an X-Box.

This is open after school hours up until 8pm on weekdays and on Saturday mornings from 9am until 12pm.

There are also drama and tiny-tots classes on Saturday and Monday to help develop young children's singing and acting.

A wide variety of courses is run for all ages including computer courses for seniors, a work opportunity course for women, and first aid courses.

Mr Keogh said that there has been a steady flow of memberships at the PCYC following the open day, and the hope is that this will continue.

Aaron Goldsmith, February 23