by Kirby Lindsay, posted 18 July 2012
Five minutes after Fremont Arts Council (FAC) Board President Rodman Miller arrived (late) for the July meeting of the Committee Of The Whole (COW,) the assembled group of four called the meeting to order – and nearly adjourned simultaneously. That is because beyond Miller, the ‘group’ consisted of Christy Wolf and Chuck Harrison, who had arrived on-time, and this columnist…
A Date for the 25th Annual Solstice Parade Coming in 2013
Miller did want to share a recent development. He spoke with Phil Meganhardt, of Bold Hat Productions, the company that produces the Fremont Fair for the Fremont Chamber of Commerce. The conversation concerned the date of the FAC 2013 Solstice Parade – the 25th Annual.
The Solstice Parade has historically been held on the Saturday of the Fremont Fair. The Fair traditionally takes place on Father’s Day weekend – which is usually the weekend closest to the Summer Solstice – and the third weekend of the month of June.
In 2013, however, Father’s Day (and the third weekend) arrives earlier than usual – on July 16th. This puts the Solstice on June 20th/21st – the following Thursday/Friday.
To keep the Solstice Parade as close as possible to the Solstice, the Parade would be held the following Saturday – and Miller spoke strongly about supporting Saturday, June 22nd as the date in 2013.
The most recent Fremont Chamber Board meeting, on June 27th, discussed the question of a date, and asked Miller (who attended – Megenhardt did not,) to ask the FAC to decide on the date as soon as possible. The question also arose about potential conflicts on the fourth weekend with the annual Seattle Pride Festival (which has some overlap in participants as well as audience) although that parade usually takes place on Sundays. And Megenhardt brought up to Miller another potential conflict (particularly for traffic,) on June 22nd, 2013, with the Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon.
For a few minutes, the three FAC members present discussed all the possibilities they saw, but came to no decision. They did agree that the FAC Board – and the COW – need to come to consensus on the date as soon as possible. According to Miller, Megenhardt supported keeping the Fair – and the Parade – on Father’s Day weekend in 2013. That would place the Solstice Parade on June 15th, 2013.
Other Parade Matters
The July FAC meeting of the COW often serves as a recap of the Solstice Parade just past – even though the meeting turnout can be low (not usually this low) as many Parade participants are busy packing their costumes to head to Oregon Country Fair.
So, before adjourning, attendees briefly shared a few words about their experience of the 2012 Parade.
For Miller, his favorite thing about this year’s parade was the cloudy and cool climate – “I thought the weather was great!” He particularly liked that it wasn’t too hot. He also praised the Seattle Police on-duty during the Fair, “they were really friendly and great.”
During the parade, Miller walked as one of the Carnaval Clowns. For next year he said he’d like to do something, “more interactive.”
When asked her favorite part of this year’s parade, Wolf said it was, “very nice this year that I was not leading a group. I was just participating.” She took part in Pollination Nation – the Bee Ensemble – and thought the float looked great, the parade was fun and the weather was wonderful (she even got a farmer’s tan.) “I thought it was pretty smooth this year,” she said of the overall celebration of art.
For 2013, Wolf doesn’t have any firm plans – of course – but she did mention, “I have a perpetual plan for a giant giraffe.” As the leader of a few ensembles during past parades, and a dependable volunteer with the FAC, expect to see her well involved somewhere next year.
Surprisingly, Harrison didn’t appear FAC procession. “I watched a little part of the parade,” he admitted, and he really liked the articulated dragon made from water-bottles by Zero Waste Seattle. Harrison didn’t parade because he helped with the We The People Power festival at Gas Works Park, which took place immediately following the parade.
As for next year, Harrison would like to hear more music as he thought the whole parade “felt light on music.” Miller recalled his first years with the Solstice Parade (and FAC,) around 1992, and the work he did to augment the music which had become overwhelmingly dense with drumming.
The meeting adjourned there, with everyone racing off to their summer projects – and acknowledging a month off might be good. In August, expect the FAC COW to have more to say as the next projects – particularly Luminata in September – require planning.
For those who want to participate in the next FAC projects (or influence the decision on a date for the 2013 parade,) the next COW meeting will be on Tuesday, August 14th at 7:10pm-ish at the Powerhouse (3940 Fremont Avenue N). Everyone is welcome to attend – that’s what ‘committee of the whole’ means – and the more attendees, the more time will be given to discussing those future plans for the Fremont Arts Council.
Hope to see you there!
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©2012 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.