The End to a Perfect Summer Season

Throughout the summer, we had the pleasure of meeting so many people who had never been to the Y or Alex's Place and were thrilled to share with them all the varied and exciting events and activities that happen throughout our awesome Y. As for Alex's Place, a combination of workshops, concerts and drop in times made for a busy and fruitful summer. We were opened daily (even Sundays) Over the entire summer well over 400 teens and adults joined us for a wealth of great events and experiences.

Here is a list of what took place.

DANCES - Since June several dances took place for teens and middle schoolers - DJ Jai navigated the music and lights and the kids totally enjoyed themselves.

Workshop - Alex's held its first music industry workshop called THE ADRENALINE MUSIC PROJECT. This opportunity served over a dozen teens both from the Vineyard and off-island in which they worked with Berklee College of Music Professors, Sound Engineers, Artist Managers, Lighting Designers,local, regional and national performing artists, local business people and many more. A highlight was a workshop presented by guitar virtuoso Shun Ng from Singapore who wowed the group with his outstanding performance techniques and his compelling story. The week-long workshop was a great success and was a chance for teens to explore the music industry and meet truly remarkable world class professionals. We plan to host this workshop again this winter and then again in the summer.

Concerts - As part of our outreach to teens and the entire community, the Alex's Place Concert Series brought over a dozen live performance into The Base, Alex's Place premiere listening room and theater and helped raise funds for our operations.

Performers included:

Kathy Moser - Concert for people in Recovery from Addiction

Erich and the Luenatics ,

Jemima James,

Meghan La Roque,

Teen Band TSP.

Teen Singer Songwriter Noah Stuber,

Ellis Paul with Susan Cattaneo and teen opener Nate D'Angelo,

Amy Black and teen opener Kasey Stevenson,

Chief Swagg,

Dayna Kurtz.

Community Open Stage became a popular destination for teens and adults throughout the summer with many amazing performance from folks far and wide. Shun Ng made a special surprise performance as well.

Filming - Lots of filming took place all summer - Most shows have been filmed with a great soundtrack for each one. (We will be processing these in the near future to share) Film Truth Productions also used Alex's Place to film a music video for Caroline Sky from LA.

IMPers Comedy Improv - Teen Improv Troupe The IMPers made Alex's Place their summer home with weekly performances throughout the summer to many packed houses. Noteables such as Jim Belushi joined in the fun, workshopping and performing with the kids. LA Comedian and screenwriter Charlie Nadler also joined the IMPers for an opening set of stand-up that was awesome.

Speaking of IMP, Donna Swift, IMP Director held a week-long intensive workshop on improv for kids. They learned important technique as well as vital life skills.

Studio 57 was in full gear throughout most of the summer with many teens making use of our state of the art recording studio. Some really great moments were captured by our own Laurel Redington which we will master and share soon.

Grammy Award Winning Producer from LA, Bob Marlette (Tracy Chapman, Black Sabbath, Rick Springfield and others) visited Alex's as part of our donated “Dream” for the Possible Dreams Auction. He spent the day in studio discussing his history, pointers on good recording, and our studio set up. Much was learned and we were inspired by him and his wife, performer, Lisa Pimental of the band “No Small Children.”

Camp Terre Mare- Alex's Place was thrilled to be a part of the Y's Camp Terra Mare, offering unique experiences that we hope enhanced the kid's camp experience. We held a talent show for the entire camp population, opened the doors when it rained, and also had a special movie day for the older campers who got to enjoy Alex's Place for their first time. Kelly and her team were a pleasure to work with and the camp was incredible.

We also met with Chip Rives ( creator of the Boston Music Awards) and Matt Casey who have offered us a chance to share in the proceeds from their up coming concert at Flatbread "Behind the Curtain with the Nashville Hitmakers" which takes place September 14th. They have also opened 5 free spaces in the songwriter workshops just for selected island teens at no cost to them.

Flatbread Events- Teens had the chance to perform a Sunday afternoon concert Backyard Boogie at Flatbread this summer. Those who performed were, Nate D'Angelo, Darby Patterson, Charlotte Benjamin, Jami Belushi. Two of our teens also opened the Stars and Striped Festival (Tessa Whitaker and Darby Patterson)

Looking ahead:

Cooking and Nutrition: We also met with Melinda Rabbit Dafeo to begin discussions of our new cooking and nutrition

programs that will begin this fall. Laurel Redington and Chanda Decker  are working with folks from Island Grown Initiative through Melinda to craft a solid educational experience for our teens this fall and winter.

Adrenaline Music Project – Winter edition - Plans are in motion to hold a workshop this winter for island teens.

Digital Connectors - Due to the kindess and support of our friends at Comcast, we will hold our third Digital Connectors program which takes place twice per week throughout the entire school year. Teens are applying and will be interviewed for this important program that explores digital literacy, financial literacy and more. It is free for teens and sponsored by Comcast.

Elder Outreach – As part of HumaniTeen Service Corp, several special events in which teens and elders come together will take place including:

Elder Tech Fair – teens teaching elders how to navigate their digital equipment.

Theater of the Mind – Old time radio shows presented in The Base for elders. Monthly episodes on Saturdays.

7 Miles Out – Online multi-media magazine is currently in development with a group of teens who met throughout the summer to plan this great new project which will include journalism, videography, art, audio, and regular featured columns all created by teens.

We are honored to have had this experience. We are indebted to The Alexandra MM Gagnon Foundation for the creation of Alex's Place at the YMCA, and also to Comcast for our equipment and program support, Cronigs for our cameras, Crane Appliance for our kitchen equipment, The Beagary Foundation and many others for their support, and of course our YMCA which is home to Alex's Place. None of this would have been possible without “Team Alex” Alex's Place team of mentors

including, Asst Director, and Studio 57 Coordinator, Laurel Redington, Digital Connectors Facilitator and mentor, Ray Whitaker, Chef/mentor, Chanda Decker, mentors James Rolston, Jai Berger, Curtis Chandler, Mike Johnson, Also, Facilities Manager Matt Ferro, Human Resources, Ann Metcalf, CEO Jill Robie, CFO Brian Mackey, Membership Director Nina Lombardi and her crew. Thank you also to Allison Collaruso, Emily Galligan, Sarah Soushek, Jessica Clour for helping us spread the word and for developing opportunities for our kids. Our summer was truly a team effort and has helped bring awareness to the many programs we offer through Alex's Place, the Vineyard premier space for teens and the community.