Sue Sitter/PCT The band “Jacked Up” performs during the Balta Street Dance last week in Balta.

The Balta Street Dance made the small Pierce County town a destination for fun a second weekend in a row last Saturday night.

Just a week after a demolition derby and corn feed brought locals to the Balta Dam for camping and entertainment, the Balta Bar hosted the band “Jacked Up” and set up food and drink booths around a section of Main Street that was roped off from traffic.

The street dance began at 9 p.m., just as the sun went down, but the crowd grew well into the evening, with some dancers showing off complicated steps and others simply swaying to the music.

Participants ranged in age from adults to children, and non-alcoholic drinks were available for younger participants or those not going into the bar. A food booth offered brats and sauerkraut, tacos-in-a-bag and other treats for hungry partiers.

“We figured several hundred people attended (the street dance),” Balta Bar owner Stephanie Halvorson said after the event.

Most people in the crowd saw familiar faces from Rugby, and several clustered around the street for lively conversations. Some people had come earlier in the day in their campers, which they set up near the Balta Dam camping area.

“The (event) was one of the best we have hosted,” Halvorson said. “There were families (at the dance) camping at the dam for the weekend.”

“I heard great comments (about the dance and band),” Halvorson noted.

“I think the band did a great job as they always have. It was the third time in the past six years we’ve had them.”

Halvorson said she expected to host another street dance in Balta the first Saturday in August next year.