Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Lara Kellett (left), Nathan Crosson and the rest of the South Puget Sound Community College swing dance team take over the dance floor during an earthquake benefit party Monday at Thekla in Olympia. Video clips of earthquake damage were displayed throughout the night on a screen near the dance floor.

Swinging for quake relief

'Quake, Rattle and Roll' party aids downtown

JOHN GRABER, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- "Olympia lives!"

Mayor Stan Biles made that announcement to the cheers of about 300 people, including Gov. Gary Locke, who gathered at Thekla on Monday night to "Quake, Rattle and Roll!"

Proceeds from the benefit dance, put on by the Olympia Downtown Association, will help businesses in Olympia's core that are feeling the economic aftershocks of the Feb. 28 earthquake.

"There are some people who are going to go out of business without the community's help," said Donelle Deuel, Olympia Downtown Association events coordinator.

Deuel said the closed Deschutes Parkway and Fourth Avenue bridge and a perception that much of downtown is still closed are keeping shoppers away.

"We need to get the message out that Olympia is open for business," Locke told the crowd at the dance.

But if the function was for a serious purpose, the mood was anything but.

The crowd cheered and feasted while swing dancers from the South Puget Sound Community College performed and the band Mother's Friends pumped the room full of jazz fusion.

"This is what Olympia does," said Tony Harper, lead singer for Mother's Friends. "I don't hear anything like this going on in Seattle. This is pretty cool, people coming together to support the infrastructure of downtown."

And come together, they did. The band's CDs were on sale at the dance with half the proceeds going toward the cause. It wasn't clear how much the dance brought in, but Deuel said it was a success. People who couldn't come just sent money in ahead of time, she said.

"We've got pockets full of money," Deuel said. "It looks good."

On the web:

Olympia Downtown Association.

Earthquake links.

Earthquake stories archive.

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