Del Oro grad hosts underage dance club for teens

Klub Dunk is sort of like a Kix cereal commercial: teen tested, parent approved.Open only to students ages 14 to 18, the club is drug- and alcohol-free and offers local youths the chance to cut loose on the dance floor. About once a month, students can groove to the latest hip-hop music, meet teens from other high schools and buy water, soda and Red Bull from the mocktail bar. Kathy Lee, 17, a senior at Placer High School, has gone to Klub Dunk six times since her friends first invited her when she was a sophomore. She and her friends love to dance, so the club is a great way to spend a Saturday night. "It's so rad," she said. The event draws teens from all over Placer County looking for something to do on weekend nights, said Alex Fay, owner and founder of Klub Dunk. "It's just a good place for kids from different high schools to come and hang out," he said. Part of the club's appeal is that it was started by a teen looking for something to do in Placer County. Fay, a 2003 Del Oro graduate, and a few friends came up with the idea while they were in high school. They passed out flyers and held the first incarnation of Klub Dunk in the Loomis Veteran's Hall, hoping to fill some of what Fay called "a social vacuum.""It came out of there being kind of a lack of things to do for kids around here," Fay said.As evidence of the need for entertainment, the popularity of Klub Dunk grew, and the event moved to Rocklin and then to the Shiloh Center in Auburn. Now the location alternates between Gold County Fairgrounds and the Orangevale Community Center, to appeal to as many local teens as possible. Fay, headed into his junior year at the University of California at Los Angeles as a history and public policy major, continues to run the business. He drives back to Placer County for each Klub Dunk event and takes a hands-on approach to running the club.It's evident to Klub Dunk's fans that Fay, who is not much older than his patrons, focuses on appealing to teens."Some of the other all-ages clubs are 21 and over, and then they give, like, the lame night to kids, like Sunday or Tuesday," Lee said. "For Klub Dunk, it's all about kids, and that makes it cool." The events, which draw about 500 teens and frequently sell out, often initially draw concern from parents worried about safety. Fay understands parents' fears, and encourages wary adults to contact him with their questions. "That's one of our most important bottom lines," he said. "We have to make it cool for the kids so they want to come, but we very much try to appeal to parents' concerns."The club has extensive safety measures, including licensed security guards who search students and monitor their behavior throughout the night, an ID check to verify the ages of participants, and staff members who check for signs that teens have been drinking beforehand. Klub Dunk also has a staff EMT and good relationships with local police departments, Fay said. He admits the security of the club isn't foolproof, but says his staff works hard to take precautions. "We do the best we can to make it safe and secure and live up to that standard," he said. "Parents are trusting us with their kids for the night and we want to make sure we take care of them." Klub Dunk also gives back to the community. Last year, Fay offered a scholarship for students with good grades and extracurricular leadership. Staff members ring Salvation Army bells during the holidays, and parking at the event is free for participants who bring two cans of food to donate to local food banks. "We'd like to make this kind of a fixture in the Placer County area," he said. Teens, meanwhile, are just happy to have a place to hang out and dance that their parents approve of. "Just having that option every once in a while makes it bearable between school dances," Lee said. "I definitely go whenever I can."Kate Carpenter can be reached at kbcarpenter@gmail.com.