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| Blueberry-mango version |
The first day of summer in Seattle was uncharacteristically warm and sunny — perfect weather to start the new season. Blue skies, sunshine, 77 breezy degrees, and the annual Fremont Solstice Parade all promised to make the day special. I started the day with my current favorite smoothie.
Into the Vitamix goes one banana (not frozen), 1/2 cup of frozen cherries OR blueberries, 1/2 cup of frozen mango OR pineapple, two tablespoons of chia seeds, 1/2 of a small organic lemon, a handful of almonds and one cup of filtered water. All of the frozen fruit I used was organic fruit that I found at Costco. As you can see there isn't any kale or spinach or chard, but if that's what you want, just add it. I like fruit.
The Solstice parade starts out with the nude bicyclists, and it's a joyful jolt of hilarity. Most of the riders are thoroughly and creatively painted, but some are just ... naked on a bike.
The riders seem to be having a lot of fun, and they interact with the appreciative crowd. There's lots of shrieking and cheering, and sometimes verbal exchanges.
One beautifully decorated woman asked as she went by, "does riding a bike make my butt look big?"
Some of the costumes involve more than paint, as you can see in the turtle, above. I only take photos part of the time because I get so caught up in just watching.
What parade would be complete without a wizard or two?
Or a specialized costume.
After the nude cyclists — and there are hundreds of them — the bands, floats, singers and dancers take over. None of the floats are allowed to be motorized so they have to be pulled and pushed by people.
There are gigantic, spectacular creatures made from paper, as well as more "traditional" rhythm bands and musical groups. There are always pointed political performances as well.
Did I mention the dancers of every stripe?
And the fabulous singers?
I gotta tell ya, the sixties live on in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle!
What fun! I always enjoy your Fremont Parade posts. One of these years I'm going to have to get there to see it in person. It looks like everyone is having a great time.
ReplyDeleteThis year I invited a couple who've lived here for 45 years but had never seen the parade, and friends from Madison who were here visiting their daughter. They all thought it was great fun. I've really never seen anything quite like it. The closest I've come to the craziness was a gay pride parade in Barcelona, which was off the charts amazing.
DeleteWhat a rad parade! The floats look so cool. I wish we had this in Austin :)
ReplyDeleteSome day I'm going to look in on the rest of the festival — art cars, vender booths, dog parade, bands. It's just too much to take in all in one day!
DeleteHa, this is what I imagine the nightmares of Pat Robertson, Anita Bryant, Ralph Reed, etc. look like. :-) Kristin of Will Travel For Vegan Food is currently there in Seattle, and when she tweeted a photo of the tightly packed crowds and beautiful weather at the Fremont Fair yesterday, I thought of you and figured you were probably there (though I couldn't spy you guys in her photo!) Glad you had such great weather and fun times! Your pics are great - the wizard, turtles and giraffe are my favorites, though a close runner-up is the dancing sun, so appropriate for the Summer Solstice!
ReplyDeleteAnd your smoothie looks delicious and very pretty! One of my favorite things about summer is getting to hoover up all the fresh fruit (& veggies).
Love the nightmare scenario. I think you're probably right. We could occasionally smell a bit of weed drifting our way, too, which would add to their consternation. I'm very fond of the turtles, myself, but I also have a soft spot for the guy in the open-back panties. It's so hard to take photos in bright sun!
DeleteI love this post of yrs, every year. You have to wonder how hard it is to wash all that paint off.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I did wonder how hard it was to wash off the paint, and if it provides sun protection. Some people's paint seemed to be eroding while other's was totally intact.
DeleteWow, fabulous! Great way to start the summer! Love your smoothie too. I see you put the rind of the lemon in there too, I should try that.
ReplyDeleteYes, I put the rind in, and I always use organic lemons when I do that. I first learned to include the rind when I reviewed a green smoothie book, and I loved the lemon flavor. (http://bit.ly/T2fK5Y)
DeleteMy friends *finally* talked me into riding naked with them this year! I was going to roller skate, but chickened out on that and rode a bike - then was jealous of all the skaters! My paint job was awful, I learned some lessons for next year! Anyway, glad you enjoyed it, as a participant it was a blast.
ReplyDeleteDare I ask? What did your 'costume' look like? :D I wish I had the nerve to do it, but I'm afraid watching is probably it for me.
DeleteYou can't help but smile looking at those pics - not just at the creativity that goes on, but the fact that everyone looks like they've having a killer time. I salute the nude bikers!
ReplyDeleteIt's true. Everyone has a great time at the parade. My face hurt from so much laughing and smiling.
DeleteNot a bad temperature for June in Seattle - for some reason last month felt like fall, mid 60s and low 40s in the evening in Oregon. Have you tried using coconut water instead of filtered water for the smoothie? I find coconut water pretty tasty in lots of smoothies. What a fun event, the parade looks absolutely fun to attend in person, glad you had a wonderful time there!
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