Kids made new friends and learned healthy coping mechanisms on Saturday during an event held in collaboration with a party on north Main Avenue.
“The Main Event” was organized by the Business Improvement District and the city of Durango as part of revitalization efforts targeted at the busy Main Avenue corridor north of 14th Street.
Students from Animas High School, with help from their peers at Ignacio High School, organized “The Voice of a Generation: Youth Resource Spotlight Event” to help teenagers meet others with similar interests, join new clubs and break away from feelings of isolation.
Tim Walsworth, BID executive director, said the kids event was one of the largest attractions at “The Main Event.”
“We just so happened to be planning events on the same date, and we were able to coordinate,” he said. “It was awesome to have that youth involvement.”
Hundreds of people flocked to a four-block stretch of north Main Avenue from 26th to 30th streets Saturday afternoon for a celebration that included live music, food and historical tours.
The focus on north Main started in 2016 when the city received a grant to do a mobility study. The city launched a survey in December 2017 asking residents to vote on a name for the corridor, which included Uptown, Animas City and North Main.
Walsworth has said the vision for the future of north Main Avenue calls for redevelopment projects, which will allow for more retail and restaurant businesses, as well as walkable sections.
On Saturday, kids danced, sang and performed tricks at a pop-up skate park in the Durango Community Recreation Center parking lot.
“The only people who can really understand us is other teens,” said AHS student Annabelle Mick, 16, who helped organize the kids event.
Communities that Care, a program of San Juan Basin Public Health, sponsored the kids event with inkind donations from Celebrating Healthy Communities.
“This is a true collaborative effort,” said Kate Jones of Communities that Care. “The kids established three rules for this event: No profanity, no politics and use respectful language. They wanted everyone to feel welcome.”
Local groups including the Rainbow Youth Center, Trails 2000 and La Plata Youth Services had booths at the event to promote resources available to teens.
Adoptable dogs from the La Plata County Humane Society romped around the parking lot, eager for ear scratches.
Mick said animal therapy, along with music and poetry, are just a few examples of healthy coping strategies for depressed or stressed kids.
“All of us involved in creating this event were alone at some point,” she said. “I made a new friend group, and that got me out of the rut. We wanted a way to get teens to talk to one another.”
Walsworth said the turnout at “The Main Event” was “more than what I expected”
“The whole point was to create something, but we needed organizations, businesses and clubs to bring the content there,” he said. “I like the feel of the three- or four-block event. Next time, we are looking at moving it up or down the corridor to showcase other businesses.”
mrupani@durangoherald.com
