The Solstice Parade & Pageant: Expect the Unexpected

Downtown Fremont, Saturday, June 18th at 12pm; Solstice Pageant, Gasworks Park at 3:30pm

Seattle, WA - The Fremont Arts Council presents the 17th year of the largest walking PUBLIC art event in Seattle. Every year, the Seattle community gathers to create a Solstice celebration dedicated to building community through art. The canvas stretches from professional artists, and performers to community groups, schools and individuals creating beautiful, funny, satirical and often unexpected objects and performances. A free public workshop and classes held weeks before the parade gives birth to the artistic performances featured during this “universal spectacle”.

Unlike typical parade festivities, the Solstice Parade does not seek specific sponsorship for participants and does not allow logos or written words in the Parade or Pageant. The “free of all logos” rule creates an uncensored platform for some of the most engaging and provocative public art happening in Seattle. Historically, the Fremont Arts Council hosted the parade to create a venue for celebration art and public discourse that was uninhibited. The success of this endeavor is evident in the hundreds of participants and thousands of on-lookers who join the parade and pageant every year expecting the unexpected.

“The Fremont parade has quite a few things going for it that put it a step above most other parades I've been to. Specifically, three things: no corporate sponsorship, no motorized vehicles ( human powered contraptions only ), and lastly, apparently all it takes to be part of the parade is deciding you want to and showing up with whatever costume, show, or gimmick you want. It's wonderful.” 2004 on-looker.

This year, the Solstice Parade and Pageant are stretching their wings with the unveiling of a light and dark theme. Expect to see performances full of imagery, sound and movement coupled with dark luminous clouds, and eclipsed by rays of light. Witness Seattle artist, Randy Woods drawing out the crowd with pre-parade, fill-in – the blank street chalk illustrations, or vaudevillian performers, Circus Contraption, mobilize their band on a float equipped with jugglers, washboards and swinging sounds, as local artists- John, Ben and Zac- debut their artwork, "Trailer Park" while Art Patch walks the streets patching up parade participants with duct tape and band aids.

Think public art is disappearing? Think again!

The Fremont Arts Council is a non-profit organization that sponsors artistic endeavors of all kinds, public art installations, performances and classes that inspire.

Press Photographs for this event are available at http://www.fremontartscouncil.org/press/photos.html


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CONTACT:
Monica Miller, Nadine Smith
Fremont Arts Council
206-547-7440
parade@fremontartscouncil.org
volunteer@fremontartscouncil.org