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It's been almost a year since members of the Los Gatos community first came together to examine ways of improving communication between adults and kids and offering the youths healthy alternatives to drinking and doing drugs. On Nov. 15, the community will reaffirm its commitment to the "Alive ... and Loving Life" movement when it hosts "ALL Together," a half-day event celebrating the efforts that have been made so far while looking ahead to future accomplishments.
The festivities will run 15 p.m. at the town plaza and will feature a climbing wall, tattoo parlor, radio-car races and booths with information about ongoing projects through ALL. Activities between cops and kids include an obstacle course and exhibition of the uniforms and special equipment that police use. Participants can also indulge themselves in food and tune into the live performances of three bands.
"The purpose of the event is to inform people that we're still in existence, and we'd like more people to get involved," said Trudy McCulloch, the principal at Los Gatos High School.
The ALL movement came as a result of the death of Los Gatos High senior Eric Quesada, who was killed in a drunken-driving accident on Thanksgiving weekend last year.
What followed was a townwide meeting in March, where participants brainstormed a list of project ideas to better address the needs of youths. Some of these ideas include creating an under-21 club and finding venues to accommodate live music, poetry reading and open mic nights; running a regular police column in local publications; and offering student and parenting skills programs.
"There's such an immense need for a variety of music in Los Gatos. Our focus is to find venues to make music a more [accessible] alternative to the less positive things that teenagers have been doing," Los Gatos High junior Nicole Wasserman said about her efforts this past year. Wasserman and her friends organized a concert series at the Old Town amphitheater this summer and have lined up the local band, Indra, to perform on Nov. 15.
While not all the projects brainstormed from the March workshop have become reality, those involved in ALL continue to work toward that end.
"This is the right next step," ALL diversity task force member Marsha Palitz-Elliott said about the Nov. 15 event. "This is a demonstration of ongoing community commitment."
For more information about ALL, visit http://www.lghs.net/aliveandloving.
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