Three Friday-night dances for teens

IT'S FRIDAY NIGHT IN Greater Severna Park. Do you know where your teen-agers are?

Chances are, if they're middle schoolers, they're at the Severna Park Dance Club at the Severna Park Elks Lodge on Truck House Road.

In the lodge's large auditorium, the young teens listen to their favorite recorded songs and watch music videos on a big screen. Sometimes, they even practice a couple of moves like they think the older teens are doing at the Columbian Center on Ritchie Highway or the Holy Grounds Youth Center on Old B&A Boulevard.

The rules at all three venues are similar: no smoking, drinking, doing drugs or using profanity. A sign in the doorway at the Elks Lodge, put there by Jim Magliano, the man responsible for the dance club, sums it up: "Be good, or be gone."

Magliano and his wife, Donna, started the club in 1987 when their first daughter, Holly, was in sixth grade and there was nowhere for young teens to go on the weekend. With the approval of the Rev. Frederick Eichner, the first dance was held at Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, and 45 kids showed up.

When the crowd outgrew the church, Magliano turned to the Elks lodge.

"What better organization to approach than the Elks Club?" he says. "They're known for their support of young people."

The Elks liked his idea, and this fall the club begins its 14th year. The county Department of Recreation and Parks helps cover any financial shortfalls.

The first dance of the school year at the lodge will be from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Aug. 31. Attendance is limited to 300. Admission is $10.

The Maglianos donate any profits to church and athletic youth programs and to county youth and family services. Their files include plenty of thank-you notes from these groups.

Off-duty county police officers are hired as security guards at all three dance locations. Sam Brown, the DJ at the dance club, is also a police officer. Magliano also hires a nurse for his dances. Although the nurse is a shock-trauma specialist, he says, she's usually called on to administer nothing more serious than a bandage.

"We're here to protect the kids," says the Severna Park native.

He and his wife have never missed a dance. All they ask of the other parents, who he says are quick to express their appreciation for making these dances available, is that they take a turn at chaperoning once during the year.

It can take up to 50 phone calls to get the 15 to 20 chaperones for one dance, says Mrs. Magliano. An open mind and a little cotton in the ears are all it takes for an adult to make it through the night. It might be noisy, and the light show might be blinding, but, of course, this is what the kids enjoy.

For information about the Severna Park Dance Club, call 410-647-8957.

Down the street, at Holy Grounds, a renovated one-room church that originally housed the first Catholic parish in Severna Park, some participants are in middle school, but most are in high school. Sherry McCall Ross, director of youth activities at Holy Grounds, says the average age of those who attend the 5-year-old program is about 18.

The regulars, plus a few who've moved on to college but still attend, come for the live music performed every Friday night year-round, Ross says.

Local bands send a demo recording and a copy of their lyrics to Ross. Once approved, they sign a performance contract, stipulating that they will adhere to the rules governing lyrics and behavior.

The featured band at Holy Grounds tomorrow night is alternative rock band 3dB from Ellicott City, with Grant Walker, Chris Weal and Adam Burch. Unsound, their first CD, is a collection that the young musicians call a mix of "heavy riff-driven tunes" and "mellow acoustical ballads."

On most Fridays, more than one band performs, and 3dB will be joined by Velvet and 8.4. Admission on Friday nights is $5.

A first-ever Band-a-Thon is scheduled at Holy Grounds from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Aug. 25. The event is the brainchild of band members, and about 80 kids are working on what is hoped will become an annual fund-raiser for the center, says Ross. Admission will be $10. For Holy Grounds information, call 410-647-5843.

Another popular spot for older teens is the Columbian Center, where Generation Xtreme of Baltimore sponsors Friday night dances from 8 p.m. to midnight. The dances began last year, and the first dance of the new "Gen X" season will be Aug. 31.

The Columbian Center, which has been home to the Severna Park Holy Trinity Council 3413 of the Knights of Columbus since 1959, can accommodate 400 teen-agers, says manager Bob Nims.

"Only teens from 14 to 19 are admitted," adds Carl Youngman of Generation Xtreme. "The rule is strictly enforced."

"Alcohol is not permitted," says Nims. Only sodas and bottled water are sold.

His motto for the teen dances is, "They're safe as they arrive, and safe as they leave."

To reach the Columbian Center, call 410-647-3413.