Slackhopper goes to dance-a-thon, saves a baby (photos)

Before venturing to the "Good Times" Dance-A-Thon this past Saturday night, a pit stop was made to say goodbye to a dear friend.

The Downbeat Lounge.

The lounge was swarming with familiar faces, crazy tales and cheerful smiles in true Irish wake fashion.

On stage, the Inner City Surfers in various formations, rocked the house and kept the mood light and fun.

As I was about to take my leave and head to the Oddfellows Hall, I was enjoying some fresh air with an old friend, Wayne Barnes, when I informed him his pocket was ringing.

With his wife Sheila at home, nine months pregnant, this announcement caused a look of panic to drape across his face.

After he finally retrieved his cell phone from its hiding place, he noticed there had been four missed calls, all from Sheila.

"This is not good," he stated as he frantically dialed his home number.

Needless to say, my arrival at the Dance-A-Thon was delayed as I broke land speed records driving Wayne home to his wife, who was now in labour.

The Dance-A-Thon was well under way by the time I arrived as the attendees danced under the disco ball to the music of DJ John Yun and the ever-popular drum circle.

Darn, I missed the live musical chairs.

Organizer, Robbie Adamson, was decked out in all his referee gear including striped shirt, roller skates, whistle, feather boa and bull horn and was pleased as punch with the large and diverse turnout.

Looking around, I noticed the numbers on the backs of some people were in the 400 range and the age of the crowd varied from 17 to 40, an obvious indication of the appeal of such a unique event.

And as promised, the "Good Times" Portrait Studio was a hoot, allowing the guests to pose as the graceful trophy-topping dance couple.

Speaking of trophies, congratulations are in order for the 2006 award winners:

Marguerite Lippert - Lifetime Achievement
Scott Hill - Overall Merit
Caroline Boivin - Most Endurance
Sarah Madore - Musical Chairs

Adamson assures me the event will continue to be annual and hopes it will persevere and flourish in years to come, although he may leave the fog machine at home so as not to set off the smoke alarm again.

(EDITOR'S UPDATE: After the events described above, Sheila gave birth to a bouncing baby girl and Wayne is reportedly still alive after missing four very-important phone calls.)