The Verde Valley Teen Center is undergoing a transformation, changing its name as well as its focus.
On Wednesday, Aug. 3, partnered nonprofits Amigos Del Verde Valley Volunteer Coalition and Verde Valley Teen Commission rededicated the facility, which for decades served as the city of Cottonwood’s old fire station building. Renamed Cottonwood Arts in the Park, the two-story structure is planned to undergo an exterior and interior transformation, creating a space for visual and performing arts for ages 12 and up.
“Cottonwood motorists and teenagers pass by the Verde Valley Teen Commission Center every day without noticing the teen center building,” Amigos Del Verde Executive Director Sherry Twamley stated in her proposal for rededication. “The bland colored, brick building … is often indistinguishable to passersby. Inside, there are a few tables and games with a row of computers, a TV, a DVD player and some old couches.
“Only a few teens can be found there, mostly on Fridays and Saturdays, using the center’s computers and playing games, activities teens often do at home. Historically, there has always been a lack of community volunteers to fully staff the center. Yet these dynamics could change after the teen center targets the local population’s creative interests.”
According to Twamley, the proposed teen center identity change shifts the facility’s purpose to the visual and creative arts “to provide a springboard to leap forward and do so much more for teens,” changing the facility’s current offerings “from mainly a babysitting service to a vibrant hot spot to engage young creatives — a place where bands, vocalists, dancers and artists can practice and perform, or form a teen band.”
Allan Marx, Verde Valley Teen Commission president, echoed these sentiments in his address to the public, saying that he would like to see the birth of the “next Jackson 5” in the new facility. If funding comes through, he added, a concrete pad may be installed behind the building to host concerts.
“There are lots of places teens can go,” Twamley added. “In consulting with teens at the teen center and youth at Cottonwood Middle School and Mingus Union High School recently, the students expressed a strong interest and passion for music.”
According to Twamley, other proposed changes include adding lighted exterior building signage on three sides of the building, adding a portable stage riser, purchasing 30 folding chairs and creating music production room — complete with a keyboard, speakers and low-cost recording equipment — to upload videos to YouTube and other popular websites.
