2019 Fremont Solstice Parade - 124 (48124606798)

The Fremont Solstice Parade is an annual event that occurs each June in Seattle, Washington. The Parade was founded by Barbara Luecke and Peter Toms in 1989. Luecke and Toms were inspired by the

Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Parade Originating as a birthday celebration, Santa Barbara, California's Summer Solstice Parade began in 1974. This parade was created by Michael Gonzalez, a Santa Barbara resident and a mime and artist. The parade is the largest single-day event in ...

and Celebration. The Parade quickly grew to include thousands of participants and tens of thousands of spectators. The event is produced each June by the Fremont Arts Council (FAC), a non-profit organization based in the Fremont neighborhood of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

that supports the arts and artists in and around the city. The Parade kicks off the Fremont Fair, which for many years was a benefit for Solid Ground (originally known as the Fremont Public Association). The Fremont Solstice Parade is famous for its style and flair, political humor, energetic ensembles, and creative floats. It is also widely known for the body-painted

Solstice Cyclists The Solstice Cyclists (also known as The Painted akedCyclists of the Solstice Parade, or The Painted Cyclists) is an artistic, non-political, clothing-optional bike ride celebrating the Summer Solstice. It is the unofficial start of the ...

, who kick off the event each year by stripping nude and paint their bodies. The event is a slowly-paced music, dance and character procession where direct crowd interaction is encouraged and ensembles of actors in costume entertain with political and social commentary. The Fremont Solstice Pageant, a large-scale community play using over a hundred actors, musicians and giant puppets, was performed following the parade from 1997 to 2005 at the end of the parade route at

Gas Works Park Gas Works Park is a park located in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a public park on the site of the former Seattle Gas Light Company gasification plant, located on the north shore of Lake Union at the south end of the Wallingford nei ...

. The Parade distinguishes itself from other mainstream parades with the following unusual rules: # No printed words, signage or recognizable logos. # No live animals (except guide animals). # No motorized vehicles (except motorized wheelchairs) # No functional weapons. The 2022 parade is scheduled for Saturday June 18. The parade was cancelled from 2020-2021, as announced on April 16, 2020 by the Fremont Arts Council

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

Notes and references

External links

Fremont Arts Council Homepage

Parade Homepage
{{Fremont, Seattle DIY culture Clothing-optional events Summer festivals Pacific Northwest art Festivals in Seattle Culture of Seattle Solstice Parade Recurring events established in 1989 1989 establishments in Washington (state) June events

See also

Notes and references

External links