At Teen Fest, Seattle Rapper Macklemore Headlines, Young People Flock to Sammamish Commons

With teenagers lined up at the entrance to Teen Fest 2011 in Sammamish on Friday - and with scores of young people already inside the fenced-in area at  - Lynne Handlos, city recreation coordinator, offered one observation.

"Teens want things to do," she said. "They come if you offer it."

She was right: A total of 1,238 teenagers who live in Sammamish or attend school in the city flocked to the area between the City Hall and Sammamish Library in the evening to hear music, be with friends and celebrate the end of the academic year.

Organizers released the total number of teens on Monday.

For many of them, they wanted to see Seattle rap artist Macklemore bring his brand of music and moves to the Plateau. 

The city, the Boys & Girls Club of King County Redmond/Sammamish and other community groups organized the annual event. The Boys & Girls Club is working on turning the old library site in the city into the new teen center.

"It's an end-of-the-year celebration and to recognize the teens of Sammamish," Handlos said.

She credited the pleasant weather and Macklemore for the crowd of 1,238 young people. "That's been our goal," she said, referring to the turnout.

Earlier in the day, about 50 to 60 skateboarders participated in a competition at the skatepark, near the parking lot at Sammamish Commons.

By the evening, much of the attention focused on the opportunity to be around other young people on the Plateau - and to hear the well-known musician.

"I just want to hang out with other teens," Sammamish resident Alvaro Ulargui, 17, said. "I want to see friends and Macklemore."

He also connected Sammamish to the Seattle area and Macklemore, who is from Seattle. "It's Northwest pride," he said.

Redmond teenager Katie Gonzalez, who attends  at , came with some classmates because it sounded fun.

"It's good for teens," the 14-year-old said.

Her friend, Lucas Batey of Redmond, also liked the different groups of young people he saw. "It doesn't feel like there's an exclusive group of people," the 14-year-old said.

Kirkland resident Samantha Yee, 13, observed something that many parents most likely took into consideration when they dropped their kids off at the event.

"It's pretty cool because it keeps people out of trouble," she said.

In addition to Macklemore, , a Plateau band with ties to , performed.

Editor's note: If you haven't seen it already, Sammamish Patch has a video clip of Macklemore performing at Teen Fest 2011. Also, if you have photographs of Teen Fest 2011 and Macklemore, feel free to upload them to Sammamish Patch. Just register with your name and email address. Then, add your photographs or video clips.