All these questions and more were flying about the Tenby grapevine. But with so many young people complaining there's nothing to do and the Youth Centre closed on a Friday night, it seemed a good idea to try out at least.
And what a night it was! Over 250 young people turned up from all over the county, aged 11 to 17, and had the time of their lives. It was a testament to the adults watching that it is possible to have a really good time without the blur of alcohol. The teenagers danced and partied hard.
CRB checked De Valence door staff helped to make sure everything ran smoothly. Toby Ellis, DJ and promoter with Circles Entertainment, provided the coolest tunes, while the foam just kept coming.
However, this taster event for under 18s proved not only hugely successful for the participants, venue and promoter, but also for local policing too. Under-age drinking and anti-social behaviour incidents were dramatically reduced that evening.
Tenby has been suffering from an under-age drinking culture for many years and regularly has upwards of 60/70 youths out on a weekend drinking under-age, inevitably leading to anti-social behavioural problems.
On the night of the Foam Party, there were no reported incidents and patrolling officers informed the De Valence that there were no young people hanging around the usual spots, as they were all in the De Valence having a great time!.
Since March 2009, the Tenby section referred 83 youths to the anti-social behavioural officer, the vast majority of these for under-age drinking within Tenby town on a Friday night.
As a result of such a successful Friday night event, Dyfed Powys Police have approached the De Valence to work with them on a Community Cashback Project funding application to host similar events in the future.
Tribute, too, has to be given to the young people who attended the event for making it such a good night and for conducting themselves so well.
Photos of the evening are available, courtesy of Pembrokeshire Photography, at http://www.pembrokeshirephotography.com">www.pembrokeshirephotography.com.
More information about the De Valence events can be found at http://www.devalence.co.uk">www.devalence.co.uk.
It would seem the De Valence is finally getting it right!