Running from this Friday, April 4 to Sunday, April 13 2014, the organising team Manning Youth Action Team (MYAT) and Greater Taree City Council have been hard at work to develop a program of events and activities that will appeal to a large variety of local young people.

The MYAT team is confident that these events will provide local young people a great opportunity to get out and enjoy the best of what the local area has to offer.

The week begins on Friday, April 4 with an Amazing Race around Taree Foreshore. Six teams of ten will follow clues to a variety of challenges. There are great prizes on offer, but teams must register prior to the event.

The Amazing Race leads into an outdoor movie being held at Harry Bennett Park (the old Taree Pool site). This year, the movie screening will be the surprise hit horror/comedy “Warm Bodies”. Everyone is encouraged to come down to the park with some blankets and chairs to enjoy the film.

Saturday, April 5 is the YMCA open day from 11am to 2pm. On this day, all young people aged between 12 and 18 will get access to the Manning Aquatic Leisure Centre for $2.  There will be gym and pool access as well as some fitness demonstrations. This will be a great chance to come along with friends and see all the YMCA has to offer.

Tuesday, April 8 is the first Live’n’Loud for the year. Live’n’Loud is a once-a-term event that sees young local musicians play for an audience of their peers at Taree Library. The event runs from 6pm - 9pm, is fully supervised, and don’t miss out on the free pizza!

Friday, April 11 is a major event, the “Our Voice - Our Impact” Youth Forum. Local schools have been invited to send student representatives to the forum which will have prominent local speakers as panellists in a Q&A style format.

The final local event is a skateboarding hub being run by Skateboarding Australia. Please see the www.sba.org.au website for more information on this event.

In conjunction with local activities, a number of local people are representing the Manning Valley at state-wide events.

Carly Walker from St Clare’s High and Kaitlin Brown from Taree High gained selection to attend the “Mind Your Mental Health” Youth Forum at NSW Parliament House on Tuesday, April 1, while local bands S.O.A.R. and Eleven Eleven are finalists in Youth Rock to be held at Sutherland on  April 10.

Youth week is funded by both Communities NSW and Greater Taree City Council and is celebrated nationally.

For more information about any of these events please contact Jane Lynch at Greater Taree City Council on 6592 5338, 0428 4016 146 or Jane.Lynch@gtcc.nsw.gov.au.  

More information is available on the Manning Youth Facebook Page or www.taree.cc/youth.