SING, skate, shop or slam dunk - kids will show off their skills at the Youth It Up Festival this weekend.
The Edgeworth Neighbourhood Centre is a home away from home for young people, and manager Richard De Martin said its Youth Week celebrations are an opportunity to have fun and connect with families.
"The neighbourhbood centre is very broad in terms of how it supports the community, we have North Lakes Youth Services with a more specific focus on child, youth and family support and a lot of the engagement we do is around creativity and having fun," he said.
"It's a soft entryway for people who need further support to access our services, whether that's youth or families.
"Most of our programs are funded by the state government so most things we do are free and that's where the need is, a lot of people don't have capacity to pay for services in the current climate."
As with most community services, COVID-19 put a strain on traditional contact, and Mr De Martin said he's looking forward to a return to normal with the festival.
"We got forced to take new approaches, try and use technology in a different way and use as much flexibility as possible which had its challenges, coming out of that we've now kept some of those connections and built new ones and new ways of working - we have used it as an opportunity to do things better," he said.
The Youth Artisan Markets will be in full swing, with live music, an open mic, skateboarding and basketball competitions providing an opportunity for kids to flaunt their skills.
A free barbecue will keep festival-goers fed, and Mr De Martin said everyone is welcome.
"Even through COVID in 2020 we had our Youth Week event in December and it was huge, because people had come out of isolation really wanting to express themselves and have fun," he said.
"Music is always a strong component of that and we have put a lot of work into our music programs in recent years."
Young people have been busy crafting live performances and recording tracks at workshops leading up to the event on Saturday.
The open mic will be their first chance in a long time to hit the stage in front of a crowd and build their confidence, Mr De Martin said.
"If it's not fun, we aren't doing our job," he said.
"It's a blend of market stalls and giving young people the opportunity to sell what they are creating, to get some handmade stuff for mum leading into Mother's Day.
"We'll also have an artist on the day doing a giant jigsaw that kids can put their own designs on."
The Youth It Up Festival kicks off on Saturday from 1pm to 4pm at the Pasterfield Sports Complex, Cameron Park.
