On Jan. 16, to start the New Year off correctly, the Salmon Bay Eagles, located at 5216 20th Avenue Northwest in downtown Ballard, celebrated the 19th year of having Thursday nights as Blues nights.

For this occasion, they had the Mary McPage Band play from 8:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. The well attended event included a lot of dancing and squirming on the dance floor.

Mary entertained as she sang, wandering through the audience at times. She handed out tiny plastic monkeys as mementos of their having been "monkeyfied" by participating at one of their gigs. The band is a popular one and is well known n the Blues community, as evidenced by their having been nominated for several "Best of the Blues" awards [also known as the "BB"s], especially in the category of Best Band. They have also entertained at various Washington Blues Society events.

The Salmon Bay Eagles is an all ages venue, and, if you are not a current member, come on down and ask for Zab or Mike to show you around the facility, then stick around for a drink and some music.

It's a friendly place, and you'll feel right at home, real quick. Hear some of the best music in one of the best kept secrets of the Seattle music scene.

You can't get more hip than that. Check out the Web site at: www.salmonbayeagles.com, or just drop in on a Thursday evening and say howdy to Zab and be his guest. There's no cover charge for the music.

The Washington Blues Society has a membership meeting every 2nd Tuesday of the month. These so-called meetings, which are also known as the Monthly "Blues Bash," are held at the Red Crane Restaurant, in the Hollywood Casino on Aurora Blvd.

The action starts at 7 p.m. and is usually over by about 9, depending on how much schmoozing you like to do. The "Blues Bash" starts off with an acoustic act for 45 minutes. The next activity is a five minute "business" section with announcements, followed with the raffling off of a bunch of CDs, T-shirts, tickets to events and other good stuff.

Then, the electric band starts up and plays for another hour. And it's all free.

A single membership costs $25 a year. If you attend meetings and win 2 CDs, you've got your money back. Volunteers get in free to events and festivals.

The Best of the Blues Awards, or the "BB"s as they are affectionately known, are bestowed annually at the Best of the Blues awards ceremony sponsored by The Washington Blues Society. This year will be the 19th Annual BB ceremony.

The Washington Blues Society sends out a nomination ballot to all subscribed members on the back page of the Bluesletter, which is the monthly magazine of the magazine. The Board of Directors compile the returns, takes the top three nominations for each category, and then mails out the final ballot to the members. The awards are later announced at the "BB"s ceremony.

The next "BB" awards will occur at the Triple Door on Sunday, April 19 but the tickets go fast. Mark your calendar accordingly, as this is a very popular and fun event. If you want to know who's who in the local blues scene, this is the place to be.

In addition to the upcoming "BB" awards, the Washington Blues Society is also celebrating its 20th year of non-profit status. The timing is perfect, because the Blues Foundation, a national music organization, has recently announced their recognition of the Washington Blues Society by awarding it a "Keeping The Blues Alive" award for it's enduring efforts at promoting and supporting the blues music for two decades.

This is an all-volunteer organization and shows a strong dedication to the art form. For more information on the Washington Blues Society go to their Web site: www.wablues.org or their My Space page at: www.myspace.com/wablues. They are a fun group and are always looking for more volunteers.

If you are interested in the history of the Blues of the northwest check out Mike Lynch's blog at http://jetcityblues.blogspot.com/ as it's a fascinating compilation of information from people who were there. Mike has been a contributor to all of this action since the early 1970's.

Dennis Zyvoloski lives in Ballard and is a member of the Salmon Bay Eagles.