Shhh, it's a secret
BILL BULEY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 14 years, 6 months AGO
Bill Buley covers the city of Coeur d'Alene for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He has worked here since January 2020, after spending seven years on Kauai as editor-in-chief of The Garden Island newspaper. He enjoys running. | June 11, 2011 9:00 PM
COEUR d'ALENE - Car washes, bake sales, dinners, auctions.
All have this in common: They are typical tools of fundraising.
Nothing wrong with any of them, said Alex Endo, but he wanted to do something different, something, perhaps, that hadn't been done in the Lake City before.
He believes he found it.
Flash mob.
"We want everybody in the community to be a part of this," said Endo, event organizer along with several others.
A part of what, exactly?
Well, in what is becoming, for some reason, a popular part of America's culture, a flash mob is basically a group of people who assemble, without warning, in public, and dance to a song.
T-Mobile made a commercial out of it. TV show writers are making it part of their plots. There have been underground flash mobs, pillow fight flash mobs and department store flash mobs.
The date is secret. So is the place. Communication between conspirators is via email, text or Twitter.
The point, in the end, is to come together one day, have a little fun and provide a short bit of entertainment, and give some folks something a little fun and crazy to do.
"It looks like normal people singing or dancing or both," Endo said.
In this case, though, there is a real point.
It's a fundraiser for the Kootenai County Boys and Girls Club, and for the MEB Foundation, founded by American marathoner Meb Keflezighi to promote health, fitness and education in the United States and in his native country of Eritrea.
For at least a $20 donation, anyone can participate. Organizers are hoping for 1,000 to 1,500, which might be a flash mob record.
Of course, there is the challenge of publicizing something that hinges on secrecy.
Endo and friends are not deterred.
"You can be part of a huge event in our community, help others at the same time and just have a lot of fun," he sad.
Because this is a choreographed routine, the song and a film of the dance to go with it will be emailed to those who register.
There will be a registration on July 29 at the McEuen Field gazebo near Tubbs Hill, and a dress rehearsal in August. Kids under 18 need parental OK. You can request a registration form via email at [email protected] or check out flashmobcda on Facebook.
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