Inaugural youth hangout aims to create safe, welcoming space in ‘coolest living room in town’

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The organizers of an upcoming “hangout” in Fort St. John hope the event for young people creates a safe place in the “coolest living room in town.”

The free 4You Youth Hangout event will take place on Saturday, February 7th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Lido Theatre, welcoming young people aged 12 to 18.

Christy Stephens, one of the organizers of the event, says the idea grew organically from a group of friends who all share experience working with youth in Fort St. John.

“It’s just a group of friends in the community who’ve lived here a long time, grown to love it and started to really see a need for youth,” Stephens told Energeticcity.ca.

Stephens explained the group includes people with backgrounds in youth camps, social work and healthcare, who have increasingly noticed gaps in safe, welcoming spaces for youth.

“The mental health of youth in this town has been an issue,” she said. “There hasn’t really been something that shows them they’re seen and that there’s a safe place to go.”

While the idea had been discussed for some time, Stephens says the deaths of two young people over the 2025 Christmas break accelerated the push to act now.

“That’s what expedited it,” she said. “It was like, ‘okay, we need to do something right now.’”

The event will offer free pizza and pop, video games – including on the Nintendo Switch, board games, icebreaker activities with prizes and live music. 

Local band Locust and Honey is set to perform, with additional musicians expected at future events.

Stephens says adults and older teens will be present, but the goal is not to interrogate or pressure youth.

“We’re not going to be asking a bunch of questions,” she said. 

“We just want it to be a safe place that maybe if they’re like, ‘yeah, I’m struggling with mental health,’ then we can also connect them with community supports.”

The Lido Theatre’s owner, Skyler Rowsell, told Energeticcity.ca the venue immediately supported the idea when approached.

Rowsell described the plan as turning the theatre into “the coolest living room in town” for a few hours, a place where youth can gather, play games and engage with music in a comfortable setting.

“The solution being promoted is to bring people together,” he said.

Organizers say this weekend’s hangout is just the beginning. If the response is positive, Stephens says they hope to expand the initiative into regular events.

“We’d love to make it monthly, if not even weekly,” she said.