As students prepare for the end of their school year and the transition into the summer break, The Cove Youth Center in downtown Crookston offers a safe and relaxing environment for kids to gather, hang out, and make new friends while having fun. The Cove is operated by the Crookston Youth Foundation and its Youth Board.
Crookston High School student Summer Laundis serves as the board’s vice president and says The Cove is a great place for kids to meet up in a supervised area and engage in fun activities like ping pong, 8-ball, and video games.
“We have games like ping pong, and then we have 8-ball, which a lot of people like to play. And we recently go the PS5, so people play on that and the Nintendo Switches,” explains Laundis. “We just got Wi-Fi as well, so it’s all working well.”
Ahead of the upcoming summer break for students, The Cove will host an open house on Sunday, May 17th from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Laundis explains the reason for the open house, which is to give kids and their guardians a chance to check out the different activities available and meet members of the Youth Board. A free bunch will also be provided.
She says, “We have an open house this Sunday, and it’s just to invite people in to see how great The Cove is for upcoming ages that want to come, and it’s just to show parents what we do there and bring more of them in so they may let their kids come, too.”
Laundis says The Cove is not only a place for kids to meet new people and enjoy activities, but it hosts other events like monthly visits with staff from Alluma and volunteering for activities at the annual Ox Cart Days.
“Since I’m the Vice President (of Youth Board), I mainly run all the events there,” says Laundis. “So we have Alluma events, where kids can come talk about their feelings and have fun with activities. We also always help out with Ox Cart Days with booths to promote coming to The Cove, and we do fun activities like last year, we had face painting and everything.”
The Cove is open year-round, but Laundis says the busiest time of the year is easily the summer. She says Tri-Valley will now offer free transit for those needing rides to The Cove, and they have raised enough funds to remain open for the next year. She says the main goal for her and the other members of the Youth Board is to continue making The Cove a relaxing place for kids in Crookston to spend time with others.
“It’s just a really nice hangout place where you can go when you’re bored or something to meet new people or hang out with friends, and we always have food there for people. It’s just a nice, calm area to be with people.”
The Cove is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. and is located at 113 S. Broadway.
