{"id":3445,"date":"2026-07-18T18:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T18:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3445"},"modified":"2026-07-18T18:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T18:34:16","slug":"all-good-vibes-mecklenburg-county-hosts-free-summer-event-series-for-teens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3445","title":{"rendered":"\u2018All good vibes\u2019: Mecklenburg County hosts free summer event series for teens"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s still 90 degrees and muggy outside the Eastway Regional Recreation Center as the sun starts to set on Friday, but the teens inside aren\u2019t fazed by the weather at all.<\/p>\n

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Hundreds of them are in the air-conditioned building, where it smells like freshly popped popcorn and a DJ is playing a Kendrick Lamar song.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re here for the second of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation\u2019s Teen Summer Jam events, open to anyone between 13 and 18. The free, registration-only event series \u2014 supported by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff\u2019s Office and the county\u2019s public health department \u2014 is taking place every Friday night in July from 6:30 to 11 p.m. It features activities such as arts and crafts, video games and a photobooth, as well as snacks and food. The event also runs alongside a teen summer basketball league.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be an inclusive space for everybody, and teens are one of those groups that gets cast aside almost more than any other,\u201d said Gabe Hackney, the regional manager at Eastway.<\/p>\n

On Friday, teens were front and center. A handful were playing Madden NFL on a large TV screen. Many were simply sitting or walking around with friends, snow cones or slices of pizza in hand. All were here for the same reason: to have fun.<\/p>\n

Currently in its inaugural year, the Teen Summer Jam series was inspired by similar programming in Baltimore.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeen crime had went down tremendously [in Baltimore], and they based it off recreation programming, giving the teens something to do,\u201d said Justin Jackson, the superintendent of enterprise services at Mecklenburg Park and Recreation. \u201cSo we took a trip to Baltimore to see how we can imitate some of that programming, and we brought this back to Charlotte.\u201d<\/p>\n

The series was months in the making, starting with planning that began late last year, Hackney said. They also wanted to ensure that programming would be broadly attractive to all teens.<\/p>\n

The first teen-exclusive programming from Mecklenburg Park and Recreation this summer was a Teen Summer Pool Jam on June 26, hosted at Ray\u2019s Splash Planet in Uptown. It hosted around 200 teens, according to a press release. Another one<\/u><\/a> is planned for Aug. 7.<\/p>\n

So far, the reception has been \u201cgreat,\u201d Hackney said.<\/p>\n

Every Teen Summer Jam has now hit its 180-person capacity, with over 20 people on a waitlist for next week\u2019s event. An additional 140 teens are signed up for the basketball league, which is also full.<\/p>\n

Friday night is 14-year-old Brandon Washington\u2019s second time at Teen Summer Jam. He\u2019s a substitute in the basketball league, which he was watching from the designated second-floor overlook.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friend\u2019s dad is hosting the whole thing, and so he invited me and my brother to come out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

So far, he said it\u2019s been \u201call good vibes,\u201d and he\u2019s signed up to come back next week.<\/p>\n

His favorite activity is the Madden NFL video game, which seems to be a crowd favorite as well. Several other teens dedicated themselves to the art room, where rainbow trays of acrylic markers were laid out on the tables. One canvas, proudly displayed and signed, is a colorful illustration of a baseball cap with the word \u201clucky.\u201d Tucked in the opposite corner of the recreation center is a recording studio, where a small handful of teens have congregated.<\/p>\n

Kobe Jackson, 13, and Kylie Rios, 14, had also come to last week\u2019s event. They said they liked how it lets them get out of the house.<\/p>\n

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Jessica Locke, the recreation assistant who introduced her to the event, said Rios had been apprehensive about coming because she \u201cdidn\u2019t know who was going to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rios said she hasn\u2019t befriended anyone yet \u2014 she already knew Jackson \u2014 and wasn\u2019t absolutely sure she would come back next week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt depends on how I\u2019m feeling that day,\u201d she said, laughing. \u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Teen Summer Jams coincide with increased concern about so-called \u201cteen takeover\u201d events<\/u><\/a> that have recently popped up in Charlotte and in cities across the country.<\/p>\n

In response, Charlotte City Council is considering an extended curfew<\/u><\/a> that starts at 9 p.m. and covers everyone below the age of 18.<\/p>\n

Park and Recreation staff say the timing is a coincidence, since the programming has been in the works for months.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it does make you really proud that you\u2019re helping and providing a safe place and showing people like, ‘Hey, there\u2019s a great way to do this and partners can come together,\u2019\u201d Hackney said.<\/p>\n

Teens at Friday\u2019s event agreed that the programming was a good way for young people to hang out safely.<\/p>\n

Maliyah Miller, 17, came to the Teen Summer Jam with her cousin. She said the good intention behind a takeover event is when \u201cteens come together and have fun,\u201d and believed that the night\u2019s event was a safe alternative.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the teens don\u2019t know how to have clean fun, like without weapons or anything,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n

Washington, the 14-year-old, agreed. The takeovers \u201calways end up in something bad,\u201d like fights, injuries or stronger curfew restrictions. He wants to see more events like the Teen Summer Jam \u201cto keep people out of trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI play football, for example, and I just got my second dead period,\u201d Washington said. \u201cSo I really don\u2019t have anything to do right now. But stuff like this, it\u2019s keeping me occupied. It\u2019s keeping me from doing things I shouldn\u2019t be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sixteen-year-old Madison Rouse came with her friend from church. None of her other church friends had attended \u2014 would she recommend it to them?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d she said immediately.<\/p>\n

Jackson, the superintendent of enterprise services, said Park and Recreation is encouraged by the high retention rate. He\u2019s looking forward to implementing more teen programming with expanded collaboration from community partners and teen input.<\/p>\n

Changing or adding locations and implementing different activities could all be in the cards, according to Hackney. He believes next year\u2019s Teen Summer Jam could be \u201cbigger and better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe sky\u2019s the limit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mecklenburg County NC is hosting free \u2018Teen Summer Jam\u2019 events Fridays in July at the Eastway Recreation Center while \u2018teen takeovers\u2019 have occurred this summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018All good vibes\u2019: Mecklenburg County hosts free summer event series for teens - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3445\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018All good vibes\u2019: Mecklenburg County hosts free summer event series for teens - 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