Coinciding with the Fremont Arts Council’s Solstice Parade, the 41st Annual Fremont Fair will take place June 16th and 17th this year.
A collection of performances by local bands, arts and crafts shopping, food and drink, artistic expression and fun for young and old – all coming together to celebrate Fremont’s “delibertas quirkas” culture, the Fair is one of Fremont’s can’t-miss attractions every year.
The Fremont Arts Council’s Solstice Parade will kick things off at noon on Saturday, June 16. Claim your spot early, the event annually draws over 50,000 spectators to cheer on the floats, wacky characters and, of course, painted nude bicyclists.
Sunday, June 17, is Dads and Dogs Day at the Fair, featuring a pup parade. Humans can join in too so long as it’s cool with their pooch.
There’s also the Fremont Beer Garden, Seattle Art Car Blowout and four performance stages.
Fremont Fair is a benefit for Solid Ground, a local poverty-focused nonprofit who produced the Fair for nearly 40 years. The remaining funds collected in the beer gardens and onsite donation boxes go into the Fremont Chamber of Commerce’s grants program and are awarded to non-profits to fund projects that benefit the Fremont community.
Here’s some news, notes and updates about Fremont-related happenings.
Miguel Hernandez could barely speak English when he moved from Denver to Seattle in 1999. Eleven years later, he’s running Fremont’s Fleur de Lis Garden Ornaments and reviving a local landmark in the garden-ornament trade.
One of the Phish-y lip-syncers from the Solstice Parade recounts what it was like to be a part of the festivities.
And so, another Fremont Fair comes to an end. A good time was had by all in spite of Saturday’s weather and Fremont’s many vendors, bars, restaurants and coffee shops seemed to be pleased with the weekend that was.
My favorite costume? The bioshock-underwater-diver-radioactive-gator-fighting-stilted guys. How bout you?
Below find some links to the many stories and recaps about the weekend as well as some photos courtesy of Tom Wright Photography and Lucy Pearce.
All the hours you’ve spent riding your bike, preparing your stomach for massive amounts of food intake and painting your naked body are about to pay off. The Fremont Fair is this weekend and the Solstice Parade is Saturday.
Are you ready? Just in case, here’s everything you need to know.
Fremont Fair
Days & Time: Saturday 10am to 8pm, Sunday 11am to 6pm.
Cost: FREE! (However, donations are encouraged via tipping at the beer garden or making contributions at the information booths. Donations will benefit Solid Ground, a poverty-focused, non-profit, who produced the Fremont Fair for many years, as well as the Chamber’s grant program.)
Vendors: Full list here. Vendors located west of Fremont Ave North on N 35th Street and North 34th Street/Canal Street.
Special Events & Areas:
Yoga for the Solstice presented by Planet Earth Yoga and KIND Snacks - Sunday, June 19 at 10:30am
Dads & Dogs Day Puppy Parade - Sunday, June 19th at 2:30pm
Dads & Dogs Day Grilling Competition - Sunday, June 19th, 1:00-2:15pm
Fremont Abbey Arts for All (located just west of PCC and The Red Door on 34th St.)
Seattle Art Car Blowout (Burke Building Upper Parking Lot)
Parking: Yeah, good luck with that. Honestly, take the bus if you can (5, 26, 28, 30 and 31) or bike in (Bike Corrals are located along the park at 1st Ave NW and Canal Street). There is no light rail access in Fremont. If you absolutely have to drive, your best bet is to head up Fremont Ave. and park north of 41st St. in the residential areas. Folks like me who live up there won’t like it, but, we’ll deal for a weekend. Get more info on getting here at the Fremont Fair site.
Bathrooms: There are four port-o-potty areas set up so you don’t have to keep sneaking into Starbucks (N 34th St and Phinney Ave N, 1st Ave NW and N 35th Street, N 35th street by the big purple slide, Evanston Ave N).
Solstice Parade
Day & Time: Saturday, June 18th at Noon
Route: Begins at the intersection of N 36th Street and Leary Way, runs through downtown Fremont, ending at Gasworks Park.
So, Is Everyone Naked Or What?: Well, a lot of the bicycle riders that are in the parade will technically be partially or fully naked but they’ll also be covered in bodypaint, not to mention other add-ons (fairy wings, fancy hats, etc). No one’s gonna be running around shoving their private parts in your face, it’s a celebration, not a sideshow.
Do I Have To Get Naked, Too?: No, you don’t have to. Plenty of parade-goers are donning clothing and most everyone watching is clothed. Then again, nobody’s stopping you either.
Where’s The Best Place To Watch?: Pretty much anywhere on 36th Street is good. Take note, a lot of folks set up shop early with chairs and blankets. If you want a “front row” seat, get there ASAP.
Are Restaurants, Bars & Coffee Shops Open Along The Route?: Are you crazy? Of course they are. Grab an outdoor table if you can and settled in.
Can I Take Pictures Of The People In The Parade?: Sure, though please remember this is less of a “let’s take photos to make fun of these people” kind of event and more of “I gotta take a photo of that cool costume” kind of event. FYI.
Have fun this weekend and we’ll all check back here Monday for our favorite moments, photos, costumes and stories from the weekend. Happy Solstice, everyone!
Fremont’s Solstice Parade is approaching and there’s lots of things still to do, plan for and, of course, paint.
The Fremont Art Council is still on the lookout or donated materials to help them build their floats, artwork and other items for the parade.
While cash donations help us buy supplies and materials for the studio, we rely on other “scrounged” or donated materials to create fantastical art for the Fremont Solstice Parade (We can’t make all this great art without stuff!)
The place to make your donations is the The Powerhouse Solstice Studio (3940 Fremont Ave. N.) and they’re accepting through June 18th. Swing by between 6-9pm Monday through Friday or 12-5pm Saturday and Sunday. For a list of what you can donate and what they do not want (both lists are very large so read them carefully), check out their site.
What if you’re thinking about cycling in the parade but have never done it before and don’t know what to do day-of? FAC is here to help. The Solstice Cyclists will be hosting a body-painting party at corner of 3rd Ave NW and NW 36th St at 11:45 a.m. for the start of the parade on the 18th. To join the painting party, email SolCycles-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
And if you need more info on best practices for riding in the parade, check out the official rules. Well, they’re more like guidelines, but you’ll see why they’re in place:
Don’t be creepy. Seriously. Don’t stare at people. Don’t take photographs without permission. If you’re not getting painted or helping someone get painted, don’t come.
On June 18, after you’ve taken in all the many sights and sounds (but mostly sights) of the Solstice Parade, you might want to head over to Dad Watson’s for a drink. Because it’s going to be your last chance to do so in Fremont.
The McMenimans-owned pub is closing up shop June 18th and heading to a new location in the University District. According to one employee I spoke with, their lease in the current spot expired and they’ll begin the process of moving cross-town, though they won’t be opening in their new location for a little while.
The pub will be hosting an employees-only closing party before the final day but no other celebrations have been planned.
The area around Fremont Ave. & 36th continues to evolve. With the new hostel moving in across the street, expect more changes to hit the area. We’ll have to see how well it all pans out for retailers, restaurants, building owners and especially Fremonsters.
As for the Fair, it’s rapidly-approaching (June 18th, 19th). There are so many things to do at the fair, it’s hard to list them all. The folks running the extravaganza sent over this handy list of bullet points for the uninitiated to know all the must-see and artsy activities that weekend, including:
Fremont Arts Council Solstice Parade: The 24th Annual Fremont Solstice Parade takes place on Saturday, June 18th at noon. Produced by the Fremont Arts Council, the Fremont Solstice Parade is a showcase of art via human-powered floats.
Dads & Dogs Day – Dog Parade: Paralleling its human counterpart, the Fremont Arts Council’s Solstice Parade, fairgoers are invited to bring their four-legged friends on Sunday, June 19th at 2:30pm to participate in this fun pup procession. Bring your puppy in creative costume or let your dog strut his or her stuff au naturale.
Fremont Abbey Arts for All: Grow your brain on the arts at Fremont Abbey Arts for All at the Fremont Fair. Activities include a growing brain sculpture, chalk art, smell haiku, paint by neighbor and dance-a-painting. Plus, live performers and bands on the Fremont Abbey Stage!
Seattle Art Car Blowout: See more than 50 funky decorated art cars on display in the Burke Building parking lot (35th and Evanston). Cars travel from across the country to create the largest gathering of Art Cars in the Northwest! You can see them parked at the Fair, but want to see the art cars in motion? The Seattle Art Car caravan leaves Macrina Bakery in SODO at 10:00am on Sunday, June 19th and will head along the viaduct, past the EMP and crawl up the counterbalance and Queen Anne Avenue before crossing the Fremont Bridge into the neighborhood. Have you cameras ready!
Arts & Crafts Shopping: The Fremont Fair also features boutique shopping throughout the streets with over 300 booths filled with original arts and crafts, imports and opportunities to tie dye a t-shirt or get a henna tattoo.
The Fremont Fair is free and open to the public and runs from 10:00am to 8:00pm on Saturday with the Redhook Main Stage and Redhook Main Stage Beer Gardens open until 10:00pm. On Sunday, the Fair is open from 11:00am to 6:00pm. For more information and a complete schedule of activities, visit fremontfair.org. For the up-to-the-date announcements, follow @FremontFair on Twitter or find us on Facebook.
We told you about Beyond Naked, the documentary that will explore what happens when four first-time participants accept a challenge to ride naked in the 2011 Fremont Solstice Parade. Of course, it takes a lot to put together a documentary and that means you need some money to make it happen. Director Dan McComb and producer Lisa Cooper are using the fundraising site Kickstarter to find the help needed to make the documentary happen.
Your donations will be used to cover expenses that include renting camera stabilizers, purchasing hard drives and specially outfitting bicycles to allow filming cheek-to-cheek with our naked riders. Feeding the crew, buying paint and renting cameras, sound gear and even a radio-controlled helicopter—it all adds up. When it’s all done, we’ll hire a broker to help us get the film on Netflix.
The filmmakers are hoping to raise $13,500 by June 12th and offer a whole range of benefits for those interested in helping them out. Pledge enough and you can even get access to a VIP Suite the day of the parade and an Executive Producer credit. Check out the fundraising page to see how you can help.
All you need to do is a provide a donation (suggested $10, but you can always give more). Then, sit back, relax and enjoy a night of great music, poetry, comedy and more.
Beyond Naked explores what happens when four first-time participants accept a challenge to ride naked in the 2011 Fremont Solstice Parade, Seattle’s annual celebration of summer and self-expression. The film will also explore our deep-rooted fear (and awkward fascination with) nakedness and what we can learn about ourselves when we dare to drop trou.
I chatted with the film’s director, Dan McComb, about the project, how it’s being filmed and what he’s hoping to get out of the experience.
FremU: What is Beyond Naked about and where did the idea come from?
DM: If you ask someone on the street whether they’ve heard of the Fremont Solstice Parade, the frequent reply is: “You mean the naked bikers?” How is it that a rogue group of loosely organized, unpaid individuals have managed to become synonymous with the parade? And why here, when cities like San Diego have blocked rides from starting by threatening participants with arrest?
As the title implies, we hope this film (in addition to being a lighthearted adventure) can shift the conversation about artistic nudity from one focused on whether people should be allowed to be naked in public, to a deeper exploration of self-expression, artistic license and personal freedom.
I became fascinated with the Fremont Solstice Cyclists in 2003, when, after much arm-twisting from my friends, I accepted a challenge to ride naked in the parade with a group of about 60 other cyclists. It was a scary, exhilarating and transformative experience that made a lasting impression on me. Last year, an estimated 650 cyclists rode, and if the weather’s good this year, some organizers predict as many as 1,000 cyclists.
I attended Werner Herzog’s Rogue Film School last year, where the legendary director told me: “if something fascinates you, you must do it.” I gave myself two additional requirements for finding an idea for my first feature-length film: It had to be about something I have a personal connection to. And it had to be reachable within walking distance of my house in Fremont. As I watched last year’s Solstice Parade with Herzog’s words ringing in my ears, I realized this was my story.
Jeff Hedgepeth is one of the brave souls featured in Beyond Naked.
Clean out your closets and garages, lighten your load & feel great while helping your favorite community organization…The Fremont Arts Council.
The Arts Council’s Monster Rummage Sale is April 2-3 and April 9-10 at the PowerHouse (3940 Fremont Ave N) between the hours of 9am and 4pm.
This annual rummage sale is always a fun event to kick off the parade season by raising money for glue, scissors & supplies. Prior rummage events have raised nearly $3000 and this year the council is looking to double that. That’s where you come in.
How can you help?
1. Donate - Household items, gently used or unusual items are gladly accepted…furniture, clothing, books, household items, linens, lamps, sports equipment and other goods. Particularly rare or valuable items are needed for the silent auction department.
2. Volunteer - Help receive donations, set-up parties or act as sales staff.
3. Communicate - Email Sonia to let her know you are interested in helping: soniatelesco (at) gmail.com or call 206/384-2717.
Join the Fremont Arts Council, the group that produces the annual Fremont Solstice Parade. “All are welcome to come and find out more about this eclectic, artistic collective of artists.”
Meet at 7:10 p.m. at the Powerhouse (3940 Fremont Ave. N.) for this Committee of the Whole meeting.
Our friends at our sister blog in Wallingford have posted photos from the end of the Solstice Parade at Gas Works Park.
The big highlight — besides the naked cyclists, of course — was this giant inflatable ball that bounced around Gas Works after the parade.
Raindrops and overcast skies didn’t keep thousands of people from crowding Fremont’s sidewalks for the annual Solstice Parade.
The nude bikers led the way encouraging everyone to stand up and yell.
After a delay between the bikers and the parade itself, and a few verbal confrontations from people in the crowd jockeying for a good view, the first band made its way through the heart of Fremont.
From bellydancers to street performers to elaboarate floats, this year’s parade had plenty of colorful entries to brighten up a dreary weather day.
Almost all of the parade entries took time to mix with the crowd and pose for pictures. One band even performed two songs for the appreciative crowd.
The crowd was also in a very giving mood, opening their wallets to make cash donations to make sure there will be a parade next year.
Earlier, we posted a few photos of the naked bicyclists warming up for the event. And here are photos from the Fremont Fair, as well. Our sister site MyWallingford also has a photo gallery of the parade from the Wallingford side and from Gas Works Park. Oh, want more naked cyclists? The Kozy Shack has posted a bunch on Flickr.
Hundreds of cyclists headed to Fremont this morning and braved the chilly weather to prepare for their annual naked ride at the Solstice Parade.
As is customary, many got painted up at Hale’s Palladium.
Then they jumped on their bikes and headed to Ballard for a warm up ride, surprising unsuspecting drivers and whooping it up down Market St. before returning for the noon start of the parade.
We’ll post more parade and fair coverage throughout the day…
Finishing touches are being put on the floats for Saturday’s Solstice Parade.
We met up with Rodman Gilder Miller of Fremont who was finishing up this float, which will be quite musical during the parade.
The Beatles will be represented along with the yellow submarine. Artists have only been working on the submarine for a few weeks but we’re told they’ve spent countless hours constructing it in that short amount of time. Music will be blaring and The Beatles themselves will be there.
The floats will be moved into position on Friday night for the start of the parade on Saturday, which gets underway at noon.
Coinciding with the Fremont Arts Council’s Solstice Parade, the 41st Annual Fremont Fair will take place June 16th and 17th this year.
All the hours you’ve spent riding your bike, preparing your stomach for massive amounts of food intake and painting your naked body are about to pay off. The Fremont Fair is this weekend and the Solstice Parade is Saturday.
Fremont’s Solstice Parade is approaching and there’s lots of things still to do, plan for and, of course, paint.
On June 18, after you’ve taken in all the many sights and sounds (but mostly sights) of the Solstice Parade, you might want to head over to Dad Watson’s for a drink. Because it’s going to be your last chance to do so in Fremont.
Hosts:
Clean out your closets and garages, lighten your load & feel great while helping your favorite community organization…The Fremont Arts Council.
