Olympia Flood Aid Benefit Show

Friday, Feb. 16th and Saturday, Feb. 17th
at the fabulous Eagles Ballroom -- E. 4th & Plum St. -- Olympia, WA
Music * Food * Auction * Special Guests

Doors open at 5:00 pm - Music starts at 6:30

$10 per night

Sliding scale and volunteer options available

Saturday night

Coyote Nation Revisited

Brackish Water Band

Mudcat & Evan

Live Auction

Alice Stuart

Betsy Holt & Friends

Knotpinebox

Tender Forever

Z-Kamp Express

Sunday night

Coyote Nation Revisited

High Ceiling

Abby Blue & the Incarnations

Live People

Live Auction

Collective Love Unlimited

Gary Allan May

Heliotroupe

The Devil's Boots

About the Auction...

The auction was put together in record time and is truly a "people's auction" -- donations were solicited primarily by word of mouth, friends talking to friends.

Here are just a few of the really great things we'll be auctioning off:

* A kaleidoscope of artwork, including prints, paintings and more

* Gardening help just in time for spring

* Homemade baked goods

* CDs and other items from the musicians playing this weekend

* Gorgeous handmade jewelery

* Produce, flowers, and other items from local farms

* A brand new electric guitar

* A party in the Eagles Clubroom with Heliotroupe

* and much more....

Additional items for auction will be accepted at the door on Saturday.

To volunteer to help before and during the event, contact John at floodfarmrelief@gmail.com.

Please send out auction requests to people you know today....

If you haven't had time to write the e-mail, you can copy and paste the sample e-mail below and customize to suit you and the people you know.

(Person's name) --

I'm involved in a project that I wanted to ask your help with -- Olympia Flood Aid. I know you are already well aware of the fact that many of our local farms in south Thurston and Lewis counties were hard hit by December's flooding -- and they're still digging out, literally and figuratively, and will be doing so for some time.

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 a silent auction. 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. I'm hoping you'll consider helping build this network.

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 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!) You can send e-mail to the same address if you're interested in volunteering for the event.

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…

Thanks so much for considering this request. Let me know if you have any questions or ideas or ideas to pass on.

(Your name)

As true today as ever...

When the banker says he's broke
And the merchant's up in smoke,
They forget that it's the farmer feeds them all.
It would put them to the test
If the farmer took a rest,
Then they'd know that it's the farmer feeds them all.


When was that written -- the 1890s?


Just read Mike Peroni's journal entries on the Boistfort Valley Farm website:
http://www.boistfortvalleyfarm.com/flood/


I'm glad those folks at the Eastside are doing what they're doing tonight and glad to have the opportunity to work with you all and add to the efforts of so many. I'm also psyched to raise as much $$$ as we can within a breathtakingly short timeline! What makes it easy is that so many people in this community are committed to helping their neighbors. It's nice to see in what have been some fairly dark times.


-- Rachel

Time to get the word out!

The date is set…the bands are booked…now here are some ways you can help.

TOMORROW....Volunteer to help with the event!
We need people to assist in all kinds of ways both Saturday and Sunday, before, during and after the event. Contact John at floodfarmrelief@gmail.com to volunteer.

TODAY...Make the auction a success!
We’d like to raise as much money as possible with this event. Beyond the cover charge, we plan to do this through a very special silent auction, with goods and services you and people you know will be dying to get. But to do this, we need your help – and your friends’ help, too.

What you can do:

• Donate something… Consider what you might be able to give yourself – goods or services. Massage therapists, painters, carpenters, mechanics, and tattoo artists – your services are always in demand. Gardeners, four hours of weeding and garden cleanup can incite bidding wars. Artists and craftspeople, consider donating your work – in particular, we want to highlight local artists’ work in this auction. Also consider those precious items in your garage or house that you have not been able to part with but never use – an amp or leather jacket that’s collecting dust, that item that’s not quite an antique but might be described as vintage or retro, musical memorabilia that’s no longer your thang but would thrill someone else.

• Ask your friends….By Friday, we’ll have a sample e-mail you can copy, customize, and e-mail to your friends, but feel free to write your own. If you use e-mail to ask folks, we recommend following up in person or on the phone. This entire effort is grassroots—friends getting together and enlisting friends. Between us, we can spin a fantastic web to support our farmers and friends who were hit so hard in December’s storms.

• Ask the restaurants and stores you shop at….Many businesses in Thurston County regularly support auctions. And businesses are most likely to support the causes of customers who support them. And this particular cause really speaks to people. Our experience is that people really want to support this cause! So consider asking the owners of the restaurants and businesses you frequent to contribute to the auction. By Friday, we’ll have a letter and other materials to give to businesses when you ask them for donations. Please let us know who you ask so we don’t ask them, too.
  

Contact Rachel at floodfarmrelief@gmail.com to contribute items to the auction or let us know businesses you intend to ask for contributions.

This blog has been set up as a central location for folks involved in organizing the upcoming Olympia Flood Aid benefit concerts, February 16th and 17th at the Olympia Eagles Ballroom. If you want to be involved, please post and let us know how you can help. (we already have as many bands as we can fit)

If you have personal contact information you'd prefer not to post here, please email to floodfarmrelief@gmail.com.

We are also on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/farmfloodrelief

Recent flooding severely impacted many of our local farmers. Some have been devastated by the swollen and raging flood waters and have lost not only crops and products they produce, but also equipment, homes, barns, production facilities and much more.

Olympia Farm Flood Relief is a loose collective of musicians and friends organizing a benefit concert to help provide relief for impacted farms. We've set up this page as a sort of catch-all page for the benefit - blog, message board, musician meet-up, publicity, and so forth.

Our intent is to donate all money received to the Olympia Food Co-op's Flood Relief Fund. The Flood Relief Fund donates all money received directly to farmers, with no overhead. You can also donate now by visiting the Co-op.