As a rule, I'm pretty impressed with my wife. Beautiful, talented, and kind would be some of the words I could use to describe her, another would be charitable. For the last three years, Jenn has been involved with a Belly Dancing Charity called the Shimmy-a-thon.
For those who have never heard of the Shimmy-a-thon, it is a yearly event which draws local and not-so-local belly dancers from around the region to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It is a two day event that begins with a day filled with classes and workshops followed in the evening by a three act belly-dance extravaganza. I'm actually tempted to call it a "gala" or even "Rock-Spectacle" of a Mediterranean variety. Day two is the actual competition where dozens of belly dancers gather and literally shimmy. For several hours. New to the contest this year is going to be the crowning of "Miss Shimmy". The hips don't lie.
The Shimmy-a-thon began in 2005, founded by Wendy Darsey in honor of her sister who suffers from CF. In just the last few years it has grown to include two locations, Atlanta, Ga. and Houston, Tx. and has collected over $56,000.00 in donations.
Jenn has already started collecting donations for this years event. For those who would like to donate online, click here to visit her site. If you would like to mail a donation, contact me directly. We have a modest goal of $150.00, but I would like to meet that goal several times over. The first five people to donate $75.00 or more through Jenn's site will receive as a gift one of the craziest desk toys that I have come across. No geographical limitations. If you can receive mail, I will mail it to you. Did ya hear that Easter Island?
This year's event is going to be taking place at the Cobb Conference Center, adjacent to the Quality Inn on Barrett Parkway September 27th and 28th. Vendors, Workshops and the Shimmy-Spectacle are open to the public and tickets to the show are available with a pre-order discount ($15) and at the door ($18). Be sure to visit Shimmmyathon.com for more info.
