Summer Solstice Parade

If you are not intimidated by bare butts on bicycles take a look at my slide show from photos taken at the Solstice Parade in Freemont. This is a zany parade that ushers in summer every year in Seattle. Freemont has gone upscale in the past decade with a PCC Peets coffee, Starbucks, a big brew pub and a sushi restaurant. No more DB. Coopers, no more Red Door. But it still manages to attract free thinkers and free spirits. Back in the 1980s the naked cyclists would make a surprise zip through the parade, usually toward the end. Now they are a feature to START the parade. And boy oh boy, once you let these exhibitionists on the road it is tough to get them off. They spin, they strut, they wave and grin ear to ear. Then the 'constable' takes charge. Some guy dressed in a constable costume and a Charlie Chaplin mustache, turns them around at the curve to allow for the rest of the parade to commence. They comply but not until they make 3 or 4 spins past the onlookers. The newspaper said there was an estimated 10,000 people at the parade and I believe it. My guess is that at least 5000 of us had cameras. To see more from other photographers go to Flickr. Oh, and while you do see plenty of skin at this parade you won't see any motorized vehicles or floats and no written words; you are expected to find the symbolism in the costumes and floats. The Spaghetti Monster (in slide show) is a spoof on Intelligent Design.