Ruby Dance 2009, a celebration of the annual homecoming of Hylebos Creek salmon, brought together 200 guests for an elegant dinner and enjoyable evening to benefit Friends of the Hylebos.  Thanks to our many sponsors and to the generous underwriting by Café Pacific, all proceeds from the benefit – a record $38,000 – went directly to support local conservation in the Hylebos watershed area.  Thank you, Hylebos supporters!

The success of this year’s Ruby Dance underscores the generosity and dedication of our community. We rely on community support – through donations and volunteering – to pursue our mission.  There are many ways to contribute to protecting and restoring our watershed!

Ruby Dance is one way to support the Friends, learn more about our conservation programs, celebrate our award winners, and enjoy a great party.  We put together a silent auction, live auction, and a program that featured a great keynote speaker and an awards presentation for notable conservationists. This year’s speaker was Gene Duvernoy, president of the Cascade Land Conservancy. Past speakers have included Congressman Adam Smith, internationally renowned marine scientist Elliott Norse, and Federal Way Schools Superintendent Tom Murphy. Add to that the tasty hors d’oeuvres, delicious dinner and selection of wines, and fabulous décor and you will understand why each year Ruby Dance becomes more popular and successful!

For a closer look, enjoy the photos of Ruby Dance taken by Seth Bynum and Joni Atkinson, and check out the photos of this year's award winners.  And plan to come to Ruby Dance next year for another wonderful evening.

“I had a number of colleagues at Ruby Dance who live outside the area, who commented on the energy and spirit of the guests as well as the remarkable mixture of the crowd, which included volunteers and the purely conservation-minded, educators and artists, business executives and elected officials from local, county, and state government.

My out-of-town colleagues recognized that we’ve got something special here in the Hylebos. There’s a sense of community that is as important as any money raised in supporting the Friends or any of Federal Way’s other community causes.”

Chris Carrel, Executive Director

See our list and photos of this year's award winners.