The Youth Arts Market (YAM) was a great place for kids in Parksville to get together because it had many groups and activities for local teens.
There have been limited places for young people to go in Parksville. The people who ran the YAM were extremely loving, friendly and wanted to open it to anyone who was interested.
Although many of the people who hung out at the YAM had alternative lifestyles, the YAM opened its doors to anyone. They were also hugely supportive of local young artists so they can have a chance to perhaps pursue a career in art.
The dance nights were another great thing about the YAM.
Kat Wawryko, a young artist in Parksville who attended the YAM for multiple activities said, “The YAM wanted it to be a drug free and alcohol free dance that would be open to all young people.
“This was awesome, because the school dances are extremely lame and these dances were so much better,” Wawryko said. “Before the idea went viral, the dances were still popular among the ‘yammers’ and it was for the most part clean and fun.”
Since the first dance went so well, everyone told their friends about how great it was. Of course it went viral and too many kids came to the next dance, many of whom were drunk or stoned. The YAM did a mandatory bag check and clearly advertised how they did not want that kind of thing within the building.
When found intoxicated, the ‘yammers’ would escort them out with the help of the police. Based on how the co-ordinators handled the people who were under the influence, the problem may not have been the YAM.
The fate of the YAM is coming down to the wire; hopefully in the future the YAM will be able to maintain all activities and again hold safe events and dances.
— Andrew Nixon is a students at KSS.