The Fremont Solstice Parade is quickly approaching, and artists are hard at work on a line of floats parked in front of the Fremont Arts Council building.

Saturday, June 20th will be the 21st annual Solstice Parade.

Most of the floats are still in the early phases of construction.

This man is creating a big globe out of paper mache. The parade will get underway on the 20th at noon, winding through Fremont to Gas Works Park. More information on the Fremont Art’s Council site.

This Saturday night, come down to Fremont Canal Park from dusk to 11 p.m. to see an energy-efficient lighting display created by Nth Degree Creative of Everett. You can also buy LED glow sticks, lumi-loons, LED-lit balloons and fiber optic necklaces to help light up the canal. The funds go to help support Northern Lights Northwest. More info here.

Fremont Arts Council volunteers touched up the N. 38th St mural today.

The colorful mural under Aurora north of the bridge is often damaged by graffiti. (Photo by SPONeill. See more right here.)

It’s the first Friday of the month here, and that means it’s time for the Fremont First Friday Art Walk. A list of what’s currently showing is available on the art walk blog, as are some highlights for the night, including abstract paintings by Arianna Davalos at Frame Up Studios.

As reported by the P-I (note: there is a photo that may be disturbing to some readers), the man who fell to his death from the Fremont bridge has been identified, and a police investigation of how the situation was handled is to come. An excellent write-up of the incident is up at PhinneyWood, including information from the SPD Blotter about an off-duty officer who successfully negotiated with a suicidal woman on the bridge just a few days later.
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PhinneyWood also reports that members of the Seattle Mountaineers Club will be stopping in at the Fremont Library tomorrow at 12:15 during an urban hike between seven different library branches. If you get a photo of the hikers getting their passports stamped, be sure to share them in our Flickr pool!
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Last, but not least, Seattlest reports that the Seattle Department of Transportation is seeking an artist for a residency in one of the towers of the Fremont Bridge. While the artist can’t live in the tower, it can be used as studio or inspiration space, and is open to established professional artists living within 100 miles of Seattle. The artist is expected to create a work of art with the $20,000 budget, and present it publicly as the culmination of the residency. Applications will be accepted until Jan. 5, 2009.

The Fremont Arts Council has been a part of the neighborhood for nearly 20 years, and now it needs your help more than ever. “As we enter into winter this year, the Fremont Arts Council is looking at a severe funding shortfall,” wrote Nick Morse, the president of the council’s board of directors in an email. “Our ability to cover the expenses for the classes, workshops, events and public installations is, unfortunately, at risk.” The Fremont Arts Council organizes the Solstice Parade, Luminata, Trolloween and other neighborhood events, not to mention it maintains the Troll and Waiting for the Interurban. “We need your help. Please help keep art and artists in Fremont,” Morse writes. For information on how you can help, click here.

Hundreds of Patches Pals flocked to Fremont today for the unveiling of the J.P. Patches statue, “Late for the Interurban.”

There were lots of people who grew up in the Seattle area who loved watching JP Patches during the show’s run on KIRO from 1958 to 1981.

Governor Gregoire, Congressman Jim McDermott, King County Executive Ron Sims were among the politicians on hand for the ceremony.

The crowd was filled with Patches Pals who wore red noses to honor JP (chris Wedes) and Gertrude (Bob Newman).

The statue was designed by a local artist Kevin Pettelle. And… here it is…

JP and Gertrude were mobbed by the crowd as they unveiled the statue while the news media and the rest of us tried to get a photo of the pair. The permanent statue is located just east of the Waiting for the Interurban statue on 34th Ave in Fremont and is a collection site for donations to Children’s Hospital.


Hours after the ceremony crowds were still milling around and taking pictures at the statue.

You may have seen one of the new murals appearing around the neighborhood over the last three weeks, like this one on 45th and Leary.

There’s also one at 15th and Holman Road. On the Triangle Lounge in Fremont. At the Episcopal Bookstore along Stone Way. At Walt’s Automotive on 45th in Wallingford. One in Sodo. And this one on 49th, just east of the Ballard Bridge.

It’s all the work of talented artist Ryan Henry Ward, who took a quick break from his work to pose in front of his latest mural. He said he would whip up a mural for just about any business that asked for one. And in many cases, he’s doing it for free. (Although he said the Triangle paid him in beer.) “We think it looks terrific and brightens the commercial portion of our street,” writes John from the Episcopal Bookstore. (See photos of that mural here.)

When we caught up with Ward, he was even painting a mural on this truck. He said he’s doing it to get his name out there, as well as discourage graffiti. If you like Ward’s work, you can see his paintings at the Orange Splot Gallery in Fremont. And if you’d like to contact him about a mural, email him at ryan@lucibelle.com. After all, Ward says his goal is to paint 50 murals in different neighborhoods across Seattle. (Thanks John for the tip!)

A statue honoring Chris Wedes, better known as the clown who has entertained generations of Seattle-area kids, is being unveiled at a celebration from 1-3 p.m., Sunday, in Fremont.

Any kid living in Seattle from 1958-1981 grew up watching J.P. Patches and his sidekick Gertrude on TV. When J.P. and Gertrude make an appearance these days, it’s amazing to watch people 40+ years old act like giddy kids all over again.

In recognition of the pair’s impact on Seattle history, supporters have been working since 2005 to raise funds for a statue of J.P. and Gertrude. The statue sculpted by Kevin Pettelle, “Late for the Interurban,” will be unveiled next to Fremont’s “Waiting for the Interurban” near the north end of the Fremont Bridge. The event will no doubt be made all the more poignant by the fact Wedes is battling blood cancer.