Shimmy Mob Back for 12th Year

Shimmying the streets of Durango to celebrate National Belly Dance Day. That's what one local belly dance troupe is planning to help raise money for domestic violence charities. You're watching the local news network brought to you by Kroegers Ace Hardware and Serious Texas Bar-B-Q. I'm Connor Shreve. A local branch of the Shimmy Mob, a worldwide belly dance company will hit the streets of Durango, Saturday, May 13th with no intention of flying under the radar.

Our first location will be at 10:30 AM at the main mall. We'll be doing some dancing. And we have a wonderful person who's going to be drone videoing. At 11:15, we will be at the farmers' market, which is opening day for the farmers' market. From there, at 12:30, we'll be heading over to 11th Street where you can grab a bite to eat and get... We'll get a few dances in there for you.

The final dance is along the 5th Street block of Main Ave at 2 PM, followed by the annual end of day gathering at the Durango Rug Company.

What a wonderful atmosphere. Nadeem has welcomed us there year after year. It is so fun, you know? But at that moment, we're going to wrap up our day. But that won't be the last time you see us this year.

2023 marks Shimmy Mob's 12th year. Durango Tribe is one of nearly 1,800 teams nationwide and one of the largest with 73 members. Madison Upton joined three years ago simply to learn how to belly dance, but soon learned it was about more.

We dance to encourage our community to get together, but also to dance for those that don't have a voice. We're raising funds basically for alternative horizons here in Durango, La Plata County area, and they provide a lot of amazing resources for men, women, children and families in general when it comes to domestic violence.

She says Shimmy mob is about giving the silent a voice and raising awareness for available resources that groups like Alternative Horizons provide. Durango's Shimmy Mob Chapter will host a silent auction in conjunction with the upcoming event to help support that cause. Jennings says it's become a critical part of their programing.

I mean, I could go out of breath trying to express all the local businesses. But Maria's Bookshop, we've got Four Leaves Winery, General Palmer, Durango Train Station.

360 Salts.

Yeah, you name a few.

There're so many. We've got restaurants involved. We have massage therapists involved. We have, I mean, anything from oil mechanics. We have so many different businesses actually putting in for this auction.

The auction goes live May 12th, and you'll have a week to submit bids. You can find a link on the Shimmy Mob's Durango chapter Facebook page. Learn more about this story and others online at DurangoLocal.News. Thanks for watching this edition of the local news network. I'm Connor Shreve.