Young people in Cherry Valley and surrounding areas now have a place to hang out on weekends, owing to a concept sparked by Alexis Saba and brought to fruition through group effort.

The Old School Cafe, in the shop room of the old Cherry Valley school on Genesee Street, is run for students by students and will be open from 7:00 to 11:30 on Friday and Saturday nights. Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be served.

The coffeehouse atmosphere will complement other aspects of the venue, like sharing and performing, live music, poetry readings, viewing of films and exhibition of artwork.

"We have a committee of one student from grades nine through twelve so that there will be a strong core of people here to see that everything stays on track, and to help keep it up and take care of things. We're hoping to have a chess night, jazz night, it all depends on student involvement," Saba said.

The first weekend was a great success, Saba said.

"There were about fifty people there and everybody seemed to have a great time. Fourteen kids from New York City and Long Island who are doing volunteer work at the opera came. It was really fun. We had enough artwork from students that looked nice and live music. The film was wonderful, really powerful," she said.

Saba said that in the future they may maintain the coffeehouse atmosphere for the first hour and then have an open microphone or crank up music for dancing.

"This gives young people a chance to get together on the basis of something productive, not sitting around watching T.V. We'll have art and music. It means a lot to us to have this part of our old school renovated. To have kids going back into that space to do something productive is really meaningful," Saba said.

Saba said that the Old School was filled with dust and rubble and that she was amazed to see this space renovated down to the tiniest detail. Her father, Richard Saba, is the vice-president of the Cherry Valley Community Facilities Corporation, and he said that the Cafe is one of the "hippest spaces in upstate New York." Minimalism is the word he used to describe it. His daughter said it turned out better than she thought it might.

Renovation of the new space in the old school was made possible through grants secured by the Cherry Valley Community Facilities Corporation. Roofing, plumbing and general construction in this area of the building was funded by the Lippitt Foundation, the Scriven Foundation, the Otsego County Office for the Aging and a New York State Legislative Grant secured by State Senator Jim Seward.

The film program is made possible with funding from the New York State Council on the Arts. The coffeehouse was also supported through funding from the Teen Solutions Program of Leatherstocking's Promise.

This project has been the result of community support and enthusiasm, as it has long been recognized that young people need a place to be together. In addition to the professional services, many adults and teenagers volunteered on the restoration of this space.

Saba, a junior at Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School, initiated the idea of creating a place for kids in the village. She has worked with students and members of the Cherry Valley Community Facilities Corporation in the development and programming of the Cafe. It is the hope of the Old School Cafe Committee that success in this pilot program will lead to future funding for additional activities.

Admission is free and the public is welcome to attend. For more information, contact Alexis Saba at (607) 264-8052.