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: