Happy Solstice

Happy Summer Solstice! In Seattle, the longest day of the year means daylight for as long as you could want it, with twilight peeking in the late four o'clock hour, kicking into bright white by 5am, and fading into dusk approaching ten at night. It also signals a far scarier phenomenon slash freak show: The Seattle Solstice Parade!

The fun begins with a dream come true (or nightmare, if you're me) parade of Fremont locals on bicycles, totally naked. Naked. They're mostly painted head to toe with body paint, some with a costumey effect that looks like complete outfits, some with pathetic swirls and smears only pretending to cover their most delicate parts. While the shock of it all was fun AND exciting, this section of the excitement was longer than it needed to be, the hundreds of bicyclists making unnecessary laps along the parade route, bouncing and jiggling with every turn and shout.
The remainder of the parade is a caravan of Fremont crazies in their most homemade and celebratory costumes, dancing and cheering. There was no rhyme or reason to the 'floats' on display- most memorable to me were several sets of belly dancers, a group in red handing out free hugs and love and one group manning a paper mache volcano on wheels that periodically erupted a litter of stuffed kittens. (Pics at your own risk)
I'm traumatized. And so glad I'm female. But how fun!