SHOWS:  A Dr. Seuss Christmas Photobook (45 photos) This party was a benefit for Toys for Tots, the price of admission being a new toy to be given to a child who otherwise would not get one during the holidays. Andy of Recess productions organized the event, and many many people contributed their time, creative energy, and money to make it possible. We at the DC were very happy to be a part of the event, there was just so much positive energy and action surrounding the whole thing. It's very rewarding to give. Also, it was a chance to go back to all of the amazing Dr. Seuss stories and drawings. Very inspiring. The night went off. CACTUS started off in the main room. Within minutes of the beginning of his set there was a nice crowd of people groovin' on the floor. At the end of the evening, he told me it had been one of his favorite nights, and no wonder, the room was live, people a hootin' and a hollerin'. By 11:30, the floor was packed and the house was moving. At 1:30 the house stopped moving when &e turned off the music by order of the Seattle Police officers who had just arrived. The party was illegal. Apparently, any gathering over 50 people must be permitted/checked out by the authorities. I don't really know the facts of what is and is not legal. To their credit, I thought the police and fire marshal were very reasonable in the way that they handled the situation. They were not excessively harsh or commanding, even going so far as to say 'please' when they were trying to get people to leave. It only got tense when some of the kids became very combatitive and accusatory. This is my take on the situation, I was not listening to the whole thing. However, stopping this party was truly a crime on humanity and joy. I've rarely experienced such a positive evening. So many people put so much energy into the event, two of the dj's flew in from Atlanta, many people spent days making and setting up the decorations. It was very frustrating to be shut down. But, the kids who put it on were not too dissapointed, at least we had gotten a few hours of a mad party, and there was a roomful of toys gathered. Besides that, they didn't shut us ALL the way down. J-Moda and Pigpen fired up the backroom, and we continued to kick it... chillin in the empty front room discussin', slowly taking things down, and workin' some of the negative vibes back into positive to the breaks and beats in the back room. ******* It's time to get educated and organized, to liberate ourselves and make a change in the laws that make it so hard for friends to get together and play. Do you have houghts, ideas on how to do this? Post them to our message board. peace and vibes, dandelion collective