by Kirby Lindsay Laney, posted 14 June 2016
On Saturday, June 18th, at 3p, the Fremont Arts Council (FAC) will launch the 28th annual Solstice Parade. Participants can expect to perform before a grand audience, with plenty of opportunity to strut and preen as they fill the streets of the Center of the Universe with art.
Based on all evidence on display at the FAC workshop, the audience can expect a dazzling display as well. However, those who come with preconceived notions, particularly those notions based on recent Solstice Parade spectaculars, may find themselves disappointed (or delighted,) as the 2016 Solstice Parade may harken back to the smaller, simpler and, hopefully, more creative show that it started as in the 1980s.
‘Art For The Sake Of Art’
“There are very few paid staff this year,” Norma Baum observed about one of the biggest ‘behind-the-scenes’ changes to the Parade, “and it is working!” After eight years, Leslie Zenz did not return to direct this year’s Solstice Parade. The newly empaneled FAC Board still chose to produce the organization’s centerpiece art installation (in April, some longtime members voiced a wish to cancel) using almost all volunteers. “We are all wearing about four or five hats each,” Baum explained about the Board, on which she sits. Baum also serves as the FAC Powerhouse Coordinator, facilitating the daily workshops that the FAC hosts in the weeks before the Parade.
Tara Shuttleworth, an FAC member, is one of the few volunteers receiving some financial compensation for her work, in this instance as Community Engagement Coordinator. Shuttleworth has participated in previous Parades: helping with ensembles, delivering the FAC newsletter (The SOL,) and raising money through her company, Babette’s Events.
“I feel its art for the sake of art,” Shuttleworth observed about the work being done at the Powerhouse. With less staff (last year, the Parade had a staff of seven,) and a drastically reduced budget (last year, $76,000 to $24,000 this year,) Shuttleworth has seen creativity and inspiration bursting forth at Parade workshops. “With no money, people have to think outside the box,” she observed, “people are taking their responsibilities to heart,” and throwing themselves into creating parade.
“It’s working well,” Baum said. The new FAC Board, elected in March, began planning at a major disadvantage. “We had to work from the ground up,” Baum explained, “Preparation hadn’t been started. We’ve been working our tails off. People have stepped up.”
Baum has worked hard to keep the Powerhouse open, to allow people to drop-in and lend a hand, or launch their own ensemble, even when they may have no history with the organization or the Parade. The examples of openness, to opportunities and creative problem solving, drew admiration and praise from both women, and these tendencies do harken back to the FAC of old.
In her work, Shuttleworth talks to people about participating in the Parade, signing up floats, ensembles, bands and volunteers. “We’re using Wild Apricot,” she explained about communications, “it’s great about sending stuff to our members.” However, Shuttleworth admitted, “I’m old school,” and she’s still using e-mail, phone calls and, “what I want to see is more person-to-person relationships.” Talking to an organizer from Cascadia Now, together they networked with other artists, “because we talked. Social media is a tool,” Shuttleworth observed, “but it can’t replace one-on-one time.”
Policy Shifts, And Shimmies
Shuttleworth did note, from her talks with potential participants, “that people think, ‘I’m going to be a painted bike rider.’” She identified a growing concern raised by past FAC Board Members. More and more volunteers choose to ride with the Solstice Cyclists, before the Parade, out of a desire for an easier, individualized or less involved effort. “What they bring is so great,” Shuttleworth observed about the Cyclists, “but there are so many different ways to get involved…”
As the 2016 FAC Board struggles to assemble a Parade, missing documentation and unfamiliar with some aspects, they’ve also struggled with how to address the (over)growing popularity of the painted bicycle riders. Early in June, the FAC Board President issued a press release requesting riders pre-register, and warning of potential restrictions on the number of riders allowed next year. Just over a week later, the request had been rescinded, and the registration form removed from the FAC website.
The painted riders come from all corners of the city, although a large majority joins together each year as the Solstice Cyclists. This ad hoc organization has gathered cash donations from its participants and given the increasingly large collection to the FAC to underwrite the Parade costs. This year, the FAC Board included the projected donation into its budget for the event.
Yet, the ever increasing numbers of painted cyclists still overwhelm, and could endanger, the ability of the FAC to produce a Solstice Parade. The streets blocked off for the Parade can only contain so many cyclists, and audiences find it more and more difficult to enjoy the body art and creativity of riders when they are buried amid a critical mass of moving canvases.
Ensembles Proposed & Expected
Once again, the Solstice Parade has partnered with Honk Fest! West, a three-day celebration of brass marching bands from around the world. On Saturday, June 18th, Honk Fest comes to Fremont – and the Parade – with 20+ bands walking in the performance piece.
It could be a cacophony, but Shuttleworth was reassuring in her report, at the start of June, that enough ensembles had signed up to effectively break up the steam of brass bands. A few of the ensembles are:
- Two different teams that chose homelessness as their theme, one taking a political approach and one doing something more emotional
- The Butterfly Garden Ensemble, inspired by a theme of transformation, will bring beautiful butterflies to flutter around a mobile garden
- Cascadia Now (one of the McKay Grant recipients) have partnered with other groups, including the Cascadia Northwest Festival, for a theatrical piece about Sasquatch and nature, and a procession of white
- The Department of Clownland Security has soliciting volunteers to play clowns and help build a wall, over and over again, all along the route
- An airship with sea serpent plus other sculptures (a McKay Grant recipient)
- The Seattle Design Nerds (McKay Grant recipients) are creating the Hover Blubber, made of nylon, that rises to expose art works. It lights up, for the reverse parade, and can be reused throughout the year for other installations
- Picasso – an ensemble of models will pose for paintings, looking (by use of face painting and papier-mâché) like some of the artist’s most famous works (a McKay Grant recipient)
- a B.F. Day ensemble being produced by one of the school’s families
- a work by artist Brian Koozer, and his protégé Austin Raver, playing with the notion of there being nothing to fear
Active Participation?
On Saturday, June 18th, at 3p, the Fremont Arts Council has promised to again fill our streets with art. The 2016 Solstice Parade may be smaller or lacking something from recent years, but it seems likely it can still dazzle and delight audiences.
Certainly Baum and Shuttleworth were calm about the late start on planning. “That’s just how artist’s work,” Shuttleworth observed, “last minute. We have nothing to worry about. I think it’s helped to have the doors open.”
For those who want to do more than sit as passive audience, volunteer opportunities remain:
- Parade Monitors – have the best seat in the house, while you keep ensembles moving and attempt to see to spectators safety
- Float Movers – on Friday, June 17th, at 9p, it’s all-hands-on-deck to move floats, and other props, from the Powerhouse to the Parade starting point at 2nd Avenue NW on N 36th St
- Deco Crew – Help with set-up Saturday morning for the Solstice Celebration (to follow the parade) at Gasworks Park
- Donate – give money to fund this massive art installation, and make it more likely that the FAC will return next year. Give to the Green Hat Ensemble in the Parade, or through the FAC website
Learn a lot more about the Fremont Arts Council and the Solstice Parade through the website. Volunteer, and contact Shuttleworth, at volunteer@fremontartscouncil.org or get questions answered at parade@fremontartscouncil.org
Of course, the best way to get involved in the Parade, or the FAC, is to stop by the Powerhouse and lend a hand. Meet Baum, or one of the other workshop coordinators, and find out how your talents can be put to use. “I want to inspire people to see that this is the greatest arts organization in the city,” Baum explained, and she welcomes everyone to come and feel their inspiration!
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©2016 Kirby Laney. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.