Olympia Flood Aid, a loose collective of musicians and friends, is organizing a two-night benefit event, Feb. 16 & 17, at the Olympia Eagles Ballroom, with a multitude of bands and solo performances as well as an auction. The performers playing these shows include: The Pasties, Mudcat & Evan, KnotPineBox, Betsy Holt, Alice Stuart, TenderForever, Z-Camp, High Ceiling, Abby Blue and the Incarnations, Live People, Collective Love Unlimited, Gary Allan May, Heliotroupe, and DeviLs Boots -- and there may be some surprise guests, too. This is an all-ages event; kids are welcome.

All donations and profits will go to the Olympia Food Co-op's Flood Relief Fund. This fund donates all of its proceeds directly to farmers, with no overhead. Our hope is to make this a continuing initiative, with additional events in the future.

Beyond inviting you to attend the event, I'm writing to ask you to consider making a donation of goods or services to this auction -- -- any gift, of any dollar value, is welcome -- and to ask you to help get the word out about this effort. I no longer pass on e-mail petitions to my friends but this is truly a community networking project -- where friends talking to friends can make all the difference.

Please consider:

• letting others know about this event (you can pass this post on)
• donating something to the auction

Given the timing of the storm, and the holidays, this effort--like so many others in Thurston County for flood relief--is being organized with a very short time frame. With just two weeks left until the actual event, rapid responses are essential. If you or someone you know wants to contribute to the auction, please let me know or write to floodfarmrelief@gmail.com as soon as possible. We're hoping to get most of the donations in by Monday, Feb. 11. (Of course, we'll take things later than that date, but then we'll be scrambling to get everything ready by Saturday!)

Here are two websites with more information about the project and the event: http://www.myspace.com/farmfloodrelief

http://olympiafloodaid.blogspot.com/

If you are considering contributing to the auction, I’ve listed some ideas below.

Goods: handmade items—crafts, jewelry, pottery, etc.; used items in good condition—bicycles, musical instruments and equipment, antique or vintage items, gift certificates from your favorite restaurants or stores, fantastic desserts, wine, plants, baskets of bath products and other “special items” – gourmet food, chocolate, etc.

Services: massages and other bodywork, carpentry, car repair, gardening (or weeding!), housecleaning, preparation of a themed dinner at someone’s home, sailboat cruises, gift certificates to restaurants you like, dog grooming, the list is endless…

I've attached a PDF of a handbill you can distribute to people you know. I will also send out a sample letter to businesses and donation form if you request one (see e-mail address below).

To donate something to the auction or volunteer to help with the event, please floodfarmrelief@gmail.com.

I will add the show details as an event within the next day or so.

Thanks so much.

Rachel