Happy Summer Solstice! In Seattle, that means one thing: The Fremont Solstice Fair and Parade.
Fremont is the polka-dotted sheep of Seattle neighborhoods and proud of it. Where else will you find a larger-than-life-sized statue of Vladimir Lenin, which gets strung with lights every Christmas? There’s also the Fremont Troll, clutching a VW Beetle underneath a bridge. The Solstice Parade is an extension of this eccentricity. There are several rules for the Parade:
All floats are human-powered.
No written signs.
No corporate sponsorships (Lenin would not approve).
Put some spare change in the baskets that are passed around during the parade, as the collection benefits non-profit organizations in the area.
The “highlight” of the Fremont Solstice Parade is the armada of over 1,000 naked bicyclists. They’re body-painted and otherwise decorated, so it’s not meant to be a lewd display. In the early years of the parade, Seattle Police would arrest the naked bicyclists. Currently there’s a truce (there aren’t enough police vans to arrest them all), as long as the bicyclists behave themselves. The photo below was taken two years ago, when our friend Bruce lived near Ground Zero of the parade route.
Bicyclists at the Fremont Solstice Parade, replenishing their vitamin D stores after a long winter.
The guy in the vest was the self-appointed traffic cop for the parade.
In addition to the Parade, the Fremont Solstice Fair includes an art car show, concerts, and assorted arts and crafts vendors. In a city that seems to have a neighborhood street fair every weekend, Fremont’s is undoubtedly the biggest and one of the best organized. Not bad for a neighborhood that features statues of Lenin and a troll.
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