Articles

Eliza, Roving reporter

Wellington Shire Youth Xpo 2008

On Saturday 15 November 2008 the usually quiet port of Sale became overrun with noisy youths. However this boisterous crowd was no mob of hooligans. They were simply the enthusiastic kids attending the Wellington Shire Youth Xpo 08!

At the Xpo visitors were able to appreciate the skill shown by four bands. There were also demos from semi-pro skaters and BMX riders from Melbourne as well as displays of the local extreme talent. Information on a wide range of topics (and freebies!) were available from various services who had stalls and displays at the Xpo.

Local musical talent

This fantastic event enabled local young people to hear some rockin' live music from four local bands: The Hod, Cell 16, The Versais and Arrowfield. The Xpo marked the occasion of the release of their compilation CD, 8ft and Falling.

The band members signed CDs and answered questions from fans before giving amazing performances later in the day. All four groups greatly entertained the crowds with their unique sounds.

A member of the Versais, Marcelle, said that the Xpo was "a great opportunity to display local talent" and it absolutely was!

Skate and BMX

One of the most popular aspects of the day was definitely the breath-taking demos at the skate park. The stunts performed by the Melbournian semi-pros had to be seen to be believed. However, the skill of our regional skaters and BMXers was equally incredible.

Josh, a skater from Sale, said that his favourite part of the Xpo was definitely watching the demos. Indeed, everyone watching the displays was left in awe of the performers' expertise and sheer guts.

A living directory

When I arrived at the Xpo I was amazed at the large number of colourful stalls in the underground car park at the port. A quick walk down to the skate park quickly revealed that there were even more services on display. Almost all the stalls were giving away goodies of some kind (wristbands, lollies, t-shirts, pens and lots more) but they were also providing exciting and important information for kids and their parents/guardians.

Many great groups and organisations for young people were on show at the Xpo.

• The Sale Christian Outreach Youth Group, U Can, provided SingStar singing competitions between friends.
• The Sale Radio Control Car Club provided demos of their remote-controlled cars.
• The Seaspray Surf-life Saving Club, dressed in red and yellow uniforms, promoted their important organisation.
• The Victoria Police had leaflets about the rights and responsibilities of young people and even had a police van on show.
• The Youth Substance Abuse Service (YSAS) and the Latrobe Community Health Service Inc both provided information about harm minimisation.
• Youth Insearch distributed information about their weekend camps and support groups designed to prevent low self-esteem.
• Centrelink was there to let young people know what assistance is available if they attend uni or are unemployed.
• The Wellington Shire was there, not only to help run the event, but to provide information about the region's resources.
• The East Gippsland Institute of TAFE and Monash University Gippsland supplied info on further education options for high-school students.
• Info about careers was available at Careers Corner, run by the Local Learning and Employment Network (LLEN).
• The Sale Specialist School showed off their great services for students with special needs.

There was also a stall for youthcentral! This was partially manned by the local roving reporters and the rover support group. By the end of the day almost everyone at the Xpo was wearing a funky glow-in-the-dark wristband from youthcentral.

A great day

I was impressed that organisers of the event had managed to amass such a diverse range of local services. I spoke to Belinda McCartney, who was doing work experience with the Wellington Shire Council. Belinda had helped to set up the Xpo.

It had taken a huge amount of hard work, but the organisers definitely achieved their goal of compiling a "living directory of all the services available to youth."

Overall, the Youth Xpo 2008 was a hugely entertaining day for young people and their parents alike. The attendance was great and no doubt an even bigger and no less enthusiastic crowd will turn up next year!

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