By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – A few days after returning to the classroom, Alabaster’s teens will have a chance to unwind and enjoy time with friends at Municipal Park during the city’s annual Teen Fest.

The Teen Fest, which is also being billed as the Back to School Bash, will be held from 6-11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15, at Alabaster’s Municipal Park between Thompson High School and Thompson Middle School.

The event will feature competitions for grand prizes for registered teams from 6-8:30 p.m., art activities and live music by local teen bands, a professional DJ and karaoke from 8:30-11 p.m. Comedienne Joy, the Queen of Clean, will serve as the master of ceremonies for the event, and local food and beverage vendors will be available.

During the days leading up to the event, the city is encouraging five-member teams to contact the Alabaster Parks and Recreation office at 664-6840 to register for the team competitions. There is no charge for registering, and the registration deadline is Thursday, Aug. 13.

Competitions will include bubble soccer, ultimate Frisbee and basketball.

The event will be organized by the Alabaster Teen Council, which has also organized many other teen-centered events in the city this summer. The Teen Council will appear on Talk of Alabama on Aug. 14 to promote the event.

“This group of teen leaders has been very busy this summer providing teen events, while balancing other individual responsibilities, such as movies with concessions, and slip-n-slide in the park,” Alabaster Mayor Marty Handlon wrote in an email. “Some of the money they raised from movie concessions will be used for competition grand prize at this event.

“And the rest will be used in their community service project, which is helping support Charlie’s Angels – an organization providing support to families of pediatric cancer patients,” Handlon wrote. “I’m proud of their commitment to their peers and the community over the past several weeks, and would like for this event to be another successful and well attended event for their efforts.”