Why i love Seattle
Today was the Solstice parade in Fremont, a neighborhood in Seattle. I went with The Mister and Em and my brother and SIL.
By tradition, the parade begins with naked people on bicycles. For the first few years of this parade, the police tried to hunt these people down and arrest them, but when they did, they were let go because it was found that they didn't violate community standards. Everyone expected it. So the police ignore them, and it is a colorful sight. They are mostly clad in wondrous body paints, bicycle helmets, and little else. Everyone along the route was grinning.
Behold:
Notice anything yellow in this picture?
Patterns, and one guy who is just naked:
Dragon Ladies:
Golden Man and his friend, Throwing Caution to the Wind:
This man is not Jewish:
And there are many more. Here is a picture of one of the coolest floats:
This man paused to show me his fabulous boots, size 12 mens:
A political comment in the end:
43 comments:
oh, how I would love to have seen this parade and cheered the riders on! imagine the *balls* these people must have to totally expose themselves! (sorry, I couldn't resist) I love the boots, they make me think of the fun people in durham at the drag queen bingo games. ah, the memories of younger days...
no way!! I'm number one?! well, two now, I reckon. I forgot to mention that my favorite picture is the last one, the parting shot, so to speak.
Hey! Did you see my mom? Redhead, sixty-something... no? How about my brother? He was the big white guy singing loudly and off-key on the ukulele float... no? Well then, what WERE you looking at the whole time???
It certainly was a 'colorful' parade. Sorry I missed it.
Ok. I can handle the naked thing, but naked on a bike? yeowch.
Oh, I LOVE IT!! NOTHING like this happens in stodgy old New England; maybe I should plan a trip to WA next year to see this parade. Can I sleep on your couch?
Thanks for sharing, what a fun way to start my day.
Looks like fun. They don't have things like that here. Not even in P-town.
Caution: Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.
That's a really nice touch framing the "not jewish guy" with the share the road bicycle sign....I'm also beginning to understand why it's so damn hard to find a bicycle seat thats' comfortable...nobody wants to pinch a hair.
That is hilarious! You have to have fantastic self confidence to do that! Paint can only cover so much!
Sounds like a great parade! Now I would have gone to that one! :)
Must agree with the others though. Naked on a bike can not be comfortable. -lol-
Peace,
~Chani
holly, we had a great time cheering! There was also a naked guy in a Bush mask, but i couldn't bear to look at a bare Bush, only a bare bush.
mignon, there was a ukulele float, but the crowd was so loud that i couldn't hear them. But i did wave, does that count? No sighting of your mum though, sorry.
lynn, colorful it was. I wonder how they get that paint off.
flutter, i know! The potential for a painful pinch is high. Many of them had some sort of extra protection on the seat, like a towel.
mrs.chili, you can sleep in the guest room, silly. No need for the couch. Hope you aren't allergic to cats.
marsha, everyone alone the route was grinning. It was really fun.
de, that's too bad, but Fremont is a little looney like this. It is the self-proclaimed "Center of the Universe."
ms.chica, exactly! Now you see why so many of them are standing up on the bikes. That, and it makes the privates more visible.
toni, not that many of them had great bodies either. Although i thought they all looked great. It would take some nerve though.
chani, one guy actually fell off his bike. Ye-ouch! But he seemed fine, just missing a little paint.
I used to go to this parade! I am glad Fremont is still indulging in fun stuff, since the last time I went there I was shocked to see the "corporatization" of an area that always seemed to be a bit more free-spirited than the rest of the city.
What fun! Thanks for some hilarious pics. I could never do anything like wander around in just body paints.
I hope that body paint doesn't cause a rash or anything.
I've never given a lot of thought to what happens to balls when pressed against a bike seat before.
Thanks, Meno.
god, I love Seattle. America, even. It's not often i feel (ok never) nationalistic. but today, god bless america.
what a fabulous celebration.
Oh, how I love this! Thank you! thank you! thank you!
I love naked people wearing helmets. excellent.
...And where were the tiny breasted women? Could I ride with them or is there a cup size requirement?
I remember that one from when I worked for Metro Transit. Also the Gay Pride Parade on Capital Hill. Seattle does have some very interesting events during the year.
Love it! We just don't have anything like that here. Maybe the odd event in London or the big cities but nothing where I am. I shall live vicariously through you instead! ;)
qt, it has been kind of corporate-ized, with a Tullys on one corner and a Starbucks on the other, but some free spirit obviously remains. Don't you miss this?
patches, it would be a lot easier if we were all covered in striped or spotted fur!
lee, happy to expand your horizons with regards to balls. :)
jen, it makes me proud, that is for sure. You just can't help but grin and clap at this display.
lu, there were many small, tiny and really large-breasted women. I just didn't publish all my pictures, as i took over 150 of them, so come on down and be in the parade next year!
dick, Gay Pride is next weekend, and it's been moved to around the Seattle Center. Come on down, and bring the camera, maybe i'll see you there.
platypus, that's too bad. Maybe you should start something......
love it! just love it!
Seattle is a city full of people who know how to have fun! We missed this parade, but we are definitely looking forward to the Seafair parade and pirate's landing on Alki on the 7th of July (especially Z. as he is 7!)
Have I metioned how much we love being here? ;)
Yeah, sure... when it is not raining!
San Fran, of course, puts Seattle to shame in the parade department, but then you have to contend with the fog.
Why are all the fun cities clad with foul weather?
Oh, and that Bush frame would have inspired me more on the front side of a naked girl, pun intended.
Wheeeeeeee! It's like our Fantasy Fest in the Keys! Love it!
I wonder what sitting on a bike seat naked is like? Probably more comfortable clothed.
Heelarious.
liv, it sure brings out the smiles.
schmoopie, next weekend is the Gay Pride parade, near the Seattle Center. that promises some fun things to look at. And there's always next year in Fremont.
scott, actually the weather here is mostly very temperate, just a tad damp. And have you ever seen that picture of a bunch of women holding a sign that says "We shaved our pubic hair. Read our lips, no more Bush."
ttq, that sounds like fun! fantasy Fest!
gary, well why don't you check it out and get back to us?
mamap, :)
I love the last picture. What fun.
You in the PNW are so nutty! I want to move there.
Quite interesting and creative actually...Not that I'd be doing it! I'd be afraid of falling off and hurting some tender parts!
How Fun! Sign me up for next year.
Oh, to watch- not participate- nobody wants to see me naked...besides- I'ld need a WHOLE lot of paint!
Thanks for sharing these! I wish I'd been brave enough to do something like this back hen I was young & thin. These days, instead of shouting "Take it off!",people would yell "Put it on!".
Aw, that's why I loved working in Fremont in my college days. Such a crazy day to be there, but well worth it. Great pics Meno.
Ummm.... I thought "Jewish" meant circumsized, just like most of the U.S. male population. They both looked circumsized to me. And I lived in Europe for a great many years, and I think I can tell the difference between the "Roundheads" and the "Cavaliers" as the British would put it. (Only from photos, of course!) (O.K., O.K., my husband is Mexican and he WASN'T born in the U.S.)
u-u, you should come here for next year's parade! It was a hoot!
suebob, be prepared to grow moss behind your ears.
moi, yeah, i know. The road rash would be pretty bad!
gewels, there were some larger women there, so come on.
lisa, i hear you. But back when i was young and thin i would have been too self-conscious.
egan, you can bring your baby next year. :) There was one naked small person in a bike seat, looking like they were having a great time.
ortizzle, no, no, not those guys, the one in the picture below, with the green stripes. Take your time. :)
gee....this makes our little town parade look rather, plain!
Gee, what I miss having dial up. For some reason these downloaded faster tonight, though I completely missed them last visit!
What a hoot! (and hooters, and all that other stuff....)
Great photos, so much fun. Loved them. Buying bike and body paint tomorrow.
You guys have way better parades than we do. It's so nice to see ordinary naked people, not models or airbrushed or enhanced, just ordinary people.
My husband said that it didn't look like any Fremont parade he had ever seen. Wild, painted and hippy, with an occassional streaker but not so openly nude. Course the last year we lived there was 76'. What a hoot! Thanks for sharing.
Love the pics.
I keep trying to figure out how I'd steer the bike and hold my breasts up at the same time. Can't seem to make it work.
lori, well come on over for next year's parade.
amusing, hooters indeed!
capacious, looking forward to the pictures.
deb, it was nice, and families and little kids and it was all normal. I loved that.
luckyzmom, might be time for a visit to update the memories!!
biscotto, colored duct tape!
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