this put the BIGGEST smile on my face this morning...

Teenagers showcase talents in S.J. show

ANTI-SMOKING EVENT CELEBRATES HEALTH
By Linda Goldston
Mercury News

It was billed as ``Flick It: A World Tobacco Free Day Event.''

But the gathering inside the MACLA Art Gallery in downtown San Jose was really more about ``shake it'' and Monte Emmer stealing the show with his polished belly dance.

The 16-year-old Palo Alto student has only been belly dancing for about three years but had several dozen teens rocking in their seats as he twirled and danced before them.

And that, the organizers said, made all of their efforts for the three-hour Memorial Day event worthwhile. To have a group of teens having fun in such a safe, healthy way.

``We have a lot of stuff for you today,'' said Jasmine Askew, 15, one of the coordinators of the non-profit Coalition Against Teen Tobacco and a sophomore at Silver Creek High School in San Jose. ``We have singing, we have dancing and we have rapping.''

There was even literature in the next room about the dangers of smoking and information about how to quit. But the real focus of the second annual event was on empowering teens and showcasing their talents.

``It's free, and it's musicians and artists,'' said Leticia Antonio, 23, of San Jose, who said she was one of the first students to join the coalition when she was in high school. ``There aren't too many negative, anti-tobacco things. It's about positive things.''

And the formula seems to work just fine. About 200 teenagers attended the first ``Flick It'' event last year, and a similar crowd was expected by 6 p.m. closing time on Monday. By 4 p.m., more than 50 teenagers and a few adults were already clapping for Emmer and others -- content as could be on Memorial Day, the traditional kickoff day to summer and a day many of their friends go to the beach.

Coalition Against Teen Tobacco, or CATT, was formed in 1997 as a countywide youth advocacy group. Funding for the group's activities comes from the 25-cent tax levied on each pack of cigarettes for tobacco education and prevention programs under Proposition 99.

``The event is just to have fun and maybe educate a few people,'' said Adrian Arredondo, 16, a countywide coordinator for the coalition and a sophomore at Mountain View High School. ``It lets teens hang out and be smoke-free for a day.''

Another coordinator, Rudy Contreras, 17, a junior at Yerba Buena High School in San Jose, said coalition members know they are not going to stop smoking. But they would like to prevent tobacco companies from targeting such groups as women and youth in massive advertising campaigns.

``We're not anti-user,'' Askew said. ``We're anti-big tobacco. We want them to cut down on their marketing.''

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Contact Linda Goldston at lgoldston@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5862.
the article!
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The printed article which was in today (mondays) paper, has two color pictures as well. one of monte, our lil' shakira belly dancer. woohoo. SUPER HAPPY.