DanceMode Sessions: Benefit Birthday Bash! feat. The Sportin' Lifers

**🎉 DanceMode Sessions: Benefit Birthday Bash!** 🗓 **Wednesday, August 6, 2025** 📍 **Alberta Abbey Ballroom** 126 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211 (Located in the King neighborhood, Alberta Arts District) 🕖 **7:00–10:00 PM** 🎟 **Suggested Donation: \$15–\$25 sliding scale** (All proceeds support Portland Blues Experience through DanceMode Education) --- **Celebrate. Dance. Support.** We’re throwing a **Benefit Birthday Bash** for **Brenda Jean Russell** and **Shelly (Hallsted) Shepherd**, and you’re invited! This midweek dance party is also a fundraiser to support the future of **Portland Blues Experience** — our city’s grassroots dance and music festival. **🎶 Live Music: The Sportin’ Lifers** Portland’s swingin’ jump blues band brings two full sets of toe-tappin’ vintage soul! Listen here! (https://www.sportinlifers.com/at-last-our-new-album/) **💃 Dance Lesson with Brenda Jean Russell** Start the night off with a fun, beginner-friendly lesson to get you moving. **🍰 Cake Break + Birthday Cheers** Celebrate two community pillars and help keep our festival thriving! --- **🎭 Full Schedule:** * 6:30–7:00 PM | Doors & Sound Check * 7:00–7:30 PM | Dance Lesson with Brenda Jean * 7:30–8:30 PM | The Sportin’ Lifers – Set 1 * 8:30–9:00 PM | Cake & Announcements * 9:00–10:00 PM | The Sportin’ Lifers – Set 2 * 10:00–10:30 PM | Clean-up & Cool-down --- 💙 Why It Matters This event helps fund Portland Blues Experience 2026, a free, inclusive, outdoor dance and music festival that showcases live bands, local artists, and the soul of Portland’s dance community. 📣 Invite your friends, bring your dance shoes, and help us keep the Blues & Jazz alive! --- **Hosted by: DanceMode Education** 📧 [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) 📱 IG: @portlandbluesexperience\_pbex 💙 Can’t make it? Donate here: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/KDHLHRXJCDTBY