by Kirby Lindsay, posted 6 June 2014
This year, the Fremont Arts Council (FAC) Solstice Parade production team has held weekly meetings, on Mondays, to provide more public access to the process, for the awesome army of volunteers that put the parade together to regularly touch base.
At the meeting on June 2nd, three weeks before the annual celebration (on Saturday, June 21st at 3p) of the summer solstice that is the Solstice Parade, the meeting attendees covered nearly all the general details that go into the parade. Yet, even touching on nearly all, they still managed to break up after an hour, to provide time for papier-mâché and float hammering, costume assemblage and mask making…
The meeting particularly touched on four aspects of the FAC Parade. For Solstice veterans or newbies, these details need attending – particularly if we want to see more Solstice Parade in the future.
Volunteers:
The Solstice Parade requires a massive marshalling of volunteer labor. It seems that people have less time to give these days, and yet the FAC needs anyone willing give a few days, hours or even minutes.
The FAC needs safety monitors. These folk get the best view in Fremont to all the wonder that is the Solstice Parade – as they stand between the parade and the public. They encourage the audience to stay out of the street, and they clear any potential congestion within it. They also encourage the slower ensembles to move it along.
For 2014, the City of Seattle Special Events Committee requested, and the FAC agreed to, a huge increase in the number of monitors – to keep everyone safe. Please, consider volunteering – or finding people you know that would enjoy taking on this exciting job.
According to Volunteer Coordinator Florence, the FAC also needs people to work the hospitality tent at Gas Works Park at the end of the parade, sell parade merchandise, and boogie-woogie through the parade with the fundraising Green Hat.
Experienced health care professionals are also needed to staff the First Aid tent at Gas Works.
All potential volunteers (more jobs are available – just ask) need only contact volunteer@fremontartscouncil.org or 315/751-2796.
Fundraising:
Every year money is an issue. The FAC is a 501(c)3 non-profit with no significant funding source, and for the 2014 Parade the need for funds has grown acute.
At this meeting, Parade Director Leslie Zenz reported that the Fremont Chamber of Commerce has pledged $8,895. They’ve also come up with a plan to approach area businesses, particularly the bars, about donating directly. The FAC does need more – the last reported budget for the 2014 Parade was $70,000.
During the Parade, the Green Hat will be ‘passed.’ This is one of the parade ensembles, where volunteers walk the streets with green baskets, collecting donations from the audience. A smaller discussion, after the meeting, generated the idea of warning audience members about the imminent arrival of the Green Hat, and encouraging them to extract their wallets in preparation.
The meeting also, briefly, discussed the Solstice Parade merchandise for sale. A site for the merch booth, selling t-shirts and temporary tattoos, has not been settled yet. Some discussion took place about when the merchandise would be sold on the street – perhaps as early as Noon.
Finally, VIP seating has been selling well. For $60 per person, those who want a reserved seat but don’t want to arrive early and camp out, can have it. Parade Communications manager, Kudra Migliaccio, reported that she’s getting daily requests for this. As of the meeting only one site had been set, but another could be created, and buyers will be informed of the location of their seat in the days just before the Parade.
Float Move:
A little known part of Parade prep is moving the floats on Friday night, from The Powerhouse to the parade starting point at 2nd Ave NW & 36th St NW.
Due to the new Fremont Fair Solstice Concert Series, the usual route for the Float Move (also called the Reverse Parade) is blockaded. Now the FAC will use a route along an arterial. “We are painfully aware that there is more traffic on N 36th Street,” Solstice Parade Security Director Shawn Murphy acknowledged about the new route, often considered but never before attempted.
Murphy, with Board Member Maque daVis, has worked hard to make this move, “both safe and legal.” Murphy has attended safety classes and has been coordinating with other area event planners. He described the plan as, “a tight column of floats, like moving trailer-ed homes.” It will mean slowing traffic, dramatically, around 10p at night through West Fremont, but it could also boost interest in the Parade – and become an event of its own.
Ensembles & Solstice Cyclists:
Those who want to ride in the pre-parade event, with the Solstice Cyclists, can visit their website. Migliaccio organizes the Cyclists, and she reported that a ‘ride guide’ will run in area newspapers just before the Solstice Parade.
Some important points for novice riders, according to Migliaccio, include, “paint! This is an artistic event.” She reported that a ‘renegade attitude’ still exists among some riders – the first naked riders did so in protest/demonstration – but she hopes to create recognition among the riders of the infrastructure the FAC provides to the huge numbers of people that take part these days.
Meanwhile, at The Powerhouse, and around the city, members of 45 registered ensembles have been working hard on costumes, masks, floats and dance routines. A few naked float bases still remain to be creatively dressed for the magic. Last-minute ensembles can register to participate up to the day of the Parade. Director Zenz expects to have fewer participants than last year, but with 17 HONK! Fest West bands also in the procession, it looks to be as loud and lively as ever!
Consider getting involved – as a volunteer or even just as a donor – in the 2014 Solstice Parade. Questions on all things Solstice Parade can be answered at parade@fremontartscouncil.org – or stop by The Powerhouse (3940 Fremont Ave N) evenings or weekends between now and June 21st and lend a hand!
Related Articles
- A Solstice Parade For Everybody
- by Kirby Lindsay, April 18, 2014
- Giving All To The Green Hat
- by Kirby Lindsay, June 10, 2013
- FCC Highlight Reel: An Obsession For Parade Funding
- by Kirby Lindsay, May 30 , 2014
- Will This Be The End Of The Solstice Parade?
- by Kirby Lindsay, June 16, 1999 in The Seattle Press
©2014 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.