The Solstice Parade at the Fremont Fair is by far the best parade all year. “This parade has balls,” someone kept saying. The whole parade is great—not just the first 15 minutes, the naked ride part—in large part because of one rule: no words. No vinyl with corporate logos on them attached to flatbed trucks. No banners with slogans on them hanging from a stick in front of a group of people. Just costumes, instruments, body paint, choreography, happiness, inspiration, blah blah blah. You want me to just shut up and get to the naked people, don’t you?

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More after the jump.

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A couple riders locking their bikes up after the ride:

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One of these guys, asked how it feels to do this ride, grinned and said, “It’s awesome. It’s a good feeling. You come out and there’s a hundred thousand people going ‘Yeah!!!'” His friend said, “You going to do it next year?”

Christopher Frizzelle was The Stranger's print editor, and first joined the staff in 2003. He was the editor-in-chief from 2007 to 2016, and edited the story by Eli Sanders that won a 2012 Pulitzer...

43 replies on “The World Salutes You, Fremont”

  1. We interrupt SLOG and most of Seattle to present to you, for the first time, the genuine thing that a real heterosexual male would be interested in:

    http://www.bullz-eye.com/Models/200906My…

    Having no capacity to understand the wild underground world of Straight Men, I will occasionally allow you in to our dark and shadowy world! Be forewarned…what you see may shock you!

  4. I don’t get the naked bikers wearing helmets. If you get into a bike accident, your head is going to be the least of your worries.

  5. @1: Umm… the painted and semi-painted naked ladies weren’t hetero enough for you? ‘Cuz I’m a straight dude and I loved me the many boobies of Fremont.

  6. Paid my money at the Zodiac last night – and – it was a better show and much better tell.

    Is it the body paint or the hard dick?

    Fremont business people put up a ton of money every year for this event – check into to it half assed should be naked editors at the Stranger.

    Gay Pride, even when going down Broadway, had no such support. And now, just a tad better, ie. Macy’s.

    Need to throw the cheap digital away. Much better pix are possible….. and do you fer the close up?

  7. Well then #5 – I guess you’ll just about take anything won’t you? At least it’s not trapped behind your computer monitor right?

  9. You know what my favorite part about the Solstice Parade? The part where all the traffic and buses are all completely fucked up within a four mile radius. I love it taking nearly two hours to get home from Fremont. Shit is awesome.

  10. naked people painting themselves
    and parading in public!

    this is a real cultural advance

    unless you’re from New Guinea

    or the Stone Age

  12. @9: Critical mass should totally cork the solstice parade to make everyone aware of bicyclists. Seattle would implode from the suck of douchebagery.

  16. Agree, let’s fly together Dear Capt. America …..

    However, “no words” is total censorship in such a large public event … but … Christopher who is a supposed newspaper editor is thrilled with censorship. Go figure.

  23. Yay!!!! I love this parade so much. People who object to the naked stuff need to get over it and loosen up! Seriously, people, it’s ok, our bodies are not bad, having fun isn’t bad, we can all relax and enjoy the fact that some people decide to amuse themselves and us by shedding their clothing and inhibitions for one day out of the year.

  24. And some people will always gripe! Sorry about your long bus ride home for one day out of the year. Maybe you didn’t know about the parade before you moved to Fremont? Oh well, a whole lot of people had a really good time, too bad you didn’t.

  25. Yeah, Massive Attack, because your dick is always so awesomely long and worthy of lady-fucking, right?

    People on these comments can be such shit suckers.

    What a fantastic time. I’m pleased kids were there to learn that being naked isn’t all that bad (and, by the way, I’m not sure I have the guts in our puritan-based society to do this, but kids should learn it’s natural to be naked and that there is even a time and place for a public celebration of the human body).

  29. 450+ bicyclists this year! Some damn creative paint jobs, and some damn hot people! And despite the even 6am prediction of rain: Glorious Sun all day long! Props to Nature for pulling a joyous prankster move like that. Awesome parade and festival… does Seattle proud.

  30. @4: If you hit the pavement and get road rash, you’ll heal up. If you smack your head, you could die. It’s a kind of ‘hedge your bets’ thing.

  35. My fave was the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

    Ugly – wow, you weren’t at the same parade that I was.

    P.S.: Thanks for not littering much this year, really appreciate it!

  37. So many sad, uptight men. Stupid White Man, your name speaks for so many. Frank, You don’t like ‘fat, ugly, naked hippie chicks’? No sweat, they don’t like you either, they see you’re ugly on the inside. Stupid White Man, you don’t like bush? Then don’t eat it. Greg, you are on the ball!

  38. “Stupid White Man, you don’t like bush? Then don’t eat it.”

    Oh, I’ll bury bury nose in a bed of curls anytime, I just prefer my women less ape-like and not with hair starting a 1/4 inch below their navels and ending 1 inch above their knees as was the case with at least 70% of the mingers on parade this weekend in Fremont. The other 30% could have been men, it was hard to tell from my position at Peets.

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