Moses Lake hosts 'Stomp the Yard'

Posted: Friday, Sep 14, 2007 - 09:44:29 am PDT
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By Matthew Weaver
Herald senior staff writer 

Sinkiuse Square event kicks off Saturday morning

MOSES LAKE - If the merchants of downtown Moses Lake have their way, there will be a lot more people in their area Saturday.

The Moses Lake Business Association sponsors Stomp the Yard in Sinkiuse Square Saturday beginning at 11:30 a.m., and lasting through 3 p.m.

"A lot of the merchants realized between noon and 4 p.m., downtown is pretty dead on a weekend," Moses Lake business owner Angela Clay explained. "We thought we could create our own frenzy down there, because it's weird - it's a weekend, the shops are open and it looks like there's no one down there but us. So we thought, maybe creating our own entertainment will start getting people to come downtown a little bit more and then start browsing into the shops."

The event includes step dancing from the Kappa Alpha Psi Step Dancers, comprised of dancers from a number of chapters in regional universities. The group is volunteering and taking donations.

Step dancing uses hands and the body as an instrument to project sound, Clay explained.

Clay said the group will be open to questions from the audience.

"I think it's going to be a history lesson," she said. "Stepping originated from fraternities and sororities starting in 1911, so these steps have been passed down through time. There's history, and these organizations are more than just stepping. When they get donations, they apply them to scholarships to different activities they have in their local communities where their universities are located."

Stepping has gone from the fraternities and sororities into the mainstream, Clay said, where people use it to build unity, collaboration and togetherness.

She said the idea for the event Saturday is based on the 2007 movie "Stomp the Yard."

"It was very Hollywood glam," she explained. "There's a lot of dancing and it took a lot of street dancing and mixed it in. That's not really true, of course Hollywood has to put some things in there to attract all types of audiences, but the gist of the stepping portion of the fraternity life was detailed."

Clay mentioned bringing the group to Moses Lake at an association meeting, which was met with enthusiasm, association Executive Director Sally Goodwin said.

"It just blossomed from there, like a little mustard seed," Clay agreed.

Goodwin said the event is designed to make LakeTown Landing - the name proposed by Destination Development, Inc., for the downtown area spanning Third Avenue - "the place we want it to be." A barbecue lunch will be available for purchase, and merchants will be open.

The event offers a variety of dancing styles. Area groups including the Rockin' B Cloggers, Today's Generation, Latin Essence and AIM Gymnastics open for the step dancers, who perform at 2 p.m.

Clay hopes to have youth come downtown with their parents.

"It's an event both adult and youngsters can enjoy," she said. "Just to let the younger generation know we are thinking about them, we have them in mind. It's a work in progress. We'll do our best to get some entertainment down there they enjoy as well."

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