On Wednesday, February 25, female Essex Youth Centre (EYC) members got some company from siblings and friends.
While Girls Nights have been going strong, the party got a bit bigger on Siblings Night. EYC allowed female members to bring their siblings (male and female) down to hang out with them. Youths of all ages were welcome and many were excited about the first-ever Siblings Night.
"When I popped the idea some of the girls were like 'Oh my goodness, my sister's been asking to come down here and I told her I didn't know if she was allowed,'" said event coordinator, Sylvia Caetano. "It kind of made her really excited that we were going to do that and so her sister could come down and check it out."
Members showed up a half an hour before their siblings at 4 p.m. to make a spaghetti dinner. Those helping to make it ate for $1 while children paid $4 -to help cover the cost of activities as well.
In addition to the meal, there was plenty for children to do on the ocean-themed night: Caetano brought pages to colour, magnets to make fish bowls with, beads for crafts, movies including Shark Tales and multiplayer games for the centre's Playstation 2.
Alllergy-approved snacks and drinks were also provided for siblings and with ages ranging from four-years-old to late teens, it was a diverse crowd.
"I even said if you don't have a brother or sister you can bring a friend down," said Caetano. "If you want you can just come down because some of the girls are just going to bring two people down ...just to leave it open, just to have a good time; just to have some fun."
Attendance has been steady for Girls Nights since they began a month prior and the first Siblings Night was a success.