by Kirby Lindsay Laney, posted 2 June 2015
On Saturday, June 6th, everyone is invited to join in a community chat – a Fremont Fireside Chat – and share stories about their experiences of Fremont in June.
Year ‘round our neighborhood hosts many most excellent events, but the fun starts each year in June with the Fremont Street Fair, the Fremont Arts Council Solstice Parade, the Fremont Chamber of Commerce Picnic-In-The-Park, the Fremont Fun Run & Briefcase Relay, and the Seattle Art Car Blowout (SACBO.)
At History House of Greater Seattle, at 3p, fans and friends can come together to share, and learn more about these celebrations – about four events that, in many ways, define our community.
A Fair For Us All
The Fremont Fair attracts hundreds of thousands of people from all over our region – and some from even farther – to our small community for art, music, food, yoga, puppies, Art Cars, shopping, and free expression. It is possible that over its now three-day span, one million people will pass through this wildly outrageous and colorfully commercial celebration.
It did not start as a draw from outside Fremont. According to Armen Stepanian, Mayor of Fremont, in its first years the Fremont Fair had tables lining our sidewalks, with social service agencies and businesses distributing information to the people of Fremont about resources available for help with hunger, safety, jobs, and substance abuse. At the January 2015 Fremont Fireside Chat, Stepanian told anecdotes about the early years – and his continued belief in having a theme for the Fair. He took particular pride in the ‘Opposites’ theme, where he organized the tables by their ideology – putting the table for the Seattle Police Department next to the local motorcycle gang, and B’nai B’rith next to the atheists.
Those first few years, the Fair also included a food drive, then a used clothing drive, to provide for those in this community in need.
The contribution of the Fremont Baptist Church fit in that mission for service. The Fremont Baptist had a table at the Fair in the first year, in 1972. The Church served water, coffee, and lemonade, at what would become the Orange Booth. “People are funny,” recalled Helen Watkins, a long-time Fremont Baptist volunteer, in a Fremocentrist column from June 2014, “they would pass us by and go pay for a coffee down the street.” To this day people still expect some catch although the Church never charges for the drinks. They do take any free will donations and give them to the local food bank.
Two years after it began, the Fair raised funds, and awareness, for the Fremont Public Association (F.P.A.) – our local service organization that assisted our poor, and still does, now as Solid Ground. The F.P.A. took over producing the fair, until 2010 when the Fremont Chamber of Commerce took the helm, while continuing to give any proceeds raised to Solid Ground.
A Public Spectacle, a.k.a. Parade
The Fair slowly grew over the years, and evolved into an event intended to showcase what this community has to offer. From 1986 – 1989, the F.P.A. had staff member Lynn Livesley (now with Literacy Source,) organize the Fair. Part of her effort was seeking out something to draw crowds, including art cars and working with Peter Bevis and the Fremont Foundry. “We did some goofy things,” she admitted during a 2013 interview with Fremocentrist.
One goofy idea was the Fremont Parade. According to an unconfirmed report, it ran two years. The Fremont Chamber organized cars (mostly donated by local landlord Mike Peck) and dignitaries to ride in them (pretty girls and local elders.) The idea went nowhere, though, when it drew few to no people to see it.
In 1989, Barbara Luecke came along to help the FPA, and Livesley, and Luecke suggested building a different kind of parade using the Santa Barbara Solstice Celebration as a model. Luecke had recently relocated to Seattle from Santa Barbara, and she’d helped organize that Celebration, so she had no trouble enlisting the newly re-formed (by the FPA) Fremont Arts Council to produce an equally art-rich procession.
Witnesses to that first parade noted, like the Fremont Parade, the participants wildly out-numbered spectators, but that phenomenon didn’t last. The Solstice Parade, with its quirky and colorful atmosphere, quickly drew huge crowds – to watch the parade and to stroll the Fair.
Spectacul-Car: The Car-tists
The Seattle Art Car Blowout first took place in 1998, but not in Fremont. The first year SACBO – a rag-tag group of car and/or art enthusiasts – gathered at Seattle Center.
Kelly Lyles, one of the best known of the local ‘car-tists’, will give her personal history of SACBO at the Fireside Chat on June 6th. Suffice to say, the pairing of the Fair and the Art Cars has proven providential with people thoroughly enjoying the free display of 50+ creatively decorated ‘daily driver’ cars/vans.
Art Car owners, many who come from across the U.S. and Canada, also enjoy spending a few days in the middle of an art bacchanal, with food and live music (plus, did we mention the Solstice Parade?)
SACBO has proven to be the second most successful draw for the Fair, after the Solstice Parade, while being one that crowds can enjoy on both Saturday and Sunday.
The Fun Of Our Fun Run
June in Fremont starts with the Fremont Fun Run & Briefcase Relay, also begun as a fundraiser for the FPA. Begun (possibly) in 1985, the Fun Run started as an evening 5K – rare among races. It took place for over a decade on the night before the Fair, before its growth (but even more that of the Fair) begged that it move a week, and then another week, earlier.
“At first, we thought it would be the kiss of death,” recalled Brian Oster, Race Director since ’91, about the change, in a Fremocentrist column from June 2010, “in the end, it has probably helped us.” The Fun Run has only recently seen a swelling of its participants (with sponsorship by Brooks Running,) but it has survived many shifts in location, route, and date – including more changes this year.
A year or two after it started, the Fun Run added a second feature – the Briefcase Relay. This came through practical considerations – the Fremont Chamber wanted to support the event but their attempt to run it ended in fears of fatal heart attacks. So, the 5K was broken down into five shorter runs, run by teams that handed off a briefcase.
Don’t Forget The Picnic
In addition to all the big, big events, the Fremont Chamber holds their Picnic-In-The-Park in June. It is my opinion that this gathering belongs on any list of Fremont’s trademark celebrations. It isn’t a party, but it does focus entirely on growing our community – and flaunting what we have to offer.
Held at Gas Works Park on the third Wednesday in June, at Noon, the Picnic takes place before or after the Fair, depending on the calendar. Begun in 1985, the Picnic provides as a candidates’ forum, in odd number years, for the Seattle City Council. It also gives our business people a place for discussion and revelations about what is best about this June, and what we want to see done better in the coming year.
Another place to discuss what you like, and what you would like to see, is at this special edition of the Fremont Fireside Chat, on June 6th. Bring your stories, and any photos you want to share, and join in on the Chat. June is Fremont month, and we do have plenty to celebrate!
Related Articles
- Why I Love Fremont, This Week: Forever Young
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- An Always Orange Fremont Baptist At The Fremont Fair
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- Solid Ground Bids Fremont Fair Well
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- Literacy Source Looks Forward With Lynn Livesley
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- Dave McKay, ‘Spiritual Father’ of the Fremont Arts Council
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- A Summer Evening’s Fun Run
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- A Picnic-In-The-Park Manifesto To Come
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©2015 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.