by Kirby Lindsay, from 16 June 1999
This column originally appeared in The Seattle Press, published June 16, 1999.
What do you think of when I mention “Solstice Parade?” If you’ve never seen this frenzied celebration of summer, you might think of motorized floats and marching bands. That would be wrong. The Fremont Arts Council (FAC) puts on an artistic, shocking, frivolous, irregular procession unlike anything else in the universe. If you’ve seen it, and you must, you may think of a moving carnival of music, merriment and mischief.
The FAC is hoping you don’t think of nude bicyclists. They are a memorable sight and an unusual one, but they aren’t part of the parade, as everyone I spoke with reminded me. The FAC has received letters from people saying they would never visit Fremont again because they were SO offended by the bicyclists. I’ve seen people appalled and parents unwilling to bring their children because of the event.
Virginia Swanson, Chair of the City Special Events Committee, has also heard complaints. “We’ve received letters from grandmothers who sent their grandchildren to the parade.” The Special Events Committee is required to respond to neighbors’ and participants’ complaints or concerns about public events. They listen and intervene with event organizers to try to find equitable solutions. They also try to keep events within the law. Virginia told me, “It is illegal to ride around on a bicycle nude, just as it is illegal to walk around nude.”
Special Events is made up of representatives from all the city agencies an event might need the help or expertise of, like the Police and Fire Departments. Instead of getting permits from each agency, organizers can apply to Special Events. Events like the Fourth of July Fireworks and they Hydro Races go before the committee each year.
Last year they told the FAC the bicyclists must be discouraged. This year they are asking the FAC to post signs saying something like, ‘unclothed performers unwelcome,’ up and down the parade route, which will give the police and prosecutor grounds for arrest. The parade permit may not be pulled if the FAC refuses, but permit fees may be raised to amounts they cannot afford.
Officially the FAC “does not condone,” the nude bicyclists. When I asked what exactly the do not condone, they were characteristically vague. Mostly President Bradley Ehrlich is concerned about accidents. A few years ago a child was hit by a streaking bicyclist. The FAC Board of Directors has not decided if they will post the signs, which will require a huge volunteer effort to get done, or refuse, which may mean no parade in 2000. Since the bicyclists are not part of the parade, and have never contributed or helped or identified themselves, it is tricky to ‘discourage’ them.
Sandra Driscoll, an area resident, is concerned the FAC might support prosecution against any bicyclist unlucky enough to get caught. Sandra has no issue with the nudity. She is visually impaired and can’t see them anyway. She feels a ‘ban’ on nude bicyclists, and efforts to prosecute, are “symptomatic of the way Fremont is going. A little, open, free-er Fremont is getting uptight and organized The parade is getting organized and controlled and less fun.” Sandra has lived in Fremont since 1984, and has been going to the parade “forever.” She goes, “for the fun and frivolity of it all. It tends to be an environment where people are having fun.”
In fact, everyone enjoys the parade. Virginia told me it is a “great parade,” that she attends (nearly) every year. Tom Sparks, resident and a Fremont font of knowledge, has watched the Solstice Parade on numerous occasions. His wife and friends, “got a big kick out of,” the nude bicyclists. Last year Tom missed the parade and was, “mortified when I heard of the arrests. In the past, nobody blinked an eye. The police were there.”
As a parent, Tom doesn’t mind the presence of the bicyclists at all, partly because the bicyclists zoom by, showing hardly anything. He also never saw them as “part” of the parade. They just appear and disappear quickly. The “official” parts of the parade can take hours to pass. Tom plans to attend the parade, nude bicyclists or not.
Will nude bicyclists appear this year? You may see for yourself. The parade is Saturday, June 19th, beginning at Noon-ish (this is Fremont, after all.) If they do appear, does that mean the end of the parade? It could. Some think the FAC should stand up to the City, and support the right of nude bicyclists to ride. At the risk of losing the parade?
©2011 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.