2005 Fremont Solstice Parade

A selection of most of my favorite shots from yesterday’s Fremont Solstice Parade and Festival (the best three will be coming in my next post):

Prairie and me at the start of the parade. We got a spot almost exactly where I was sitting for last year’s parade, which worked out really well — not too crowded, fun people around us, and a good view of the street.

There were a couple girls near us in really cute purple fairy costumes that we’d chat with every so often. I took a few shots of them, and gave them one of my cards with the address of my site and pictures, so hopefully they’ll find the pictures I took before too long.

Of course, one of the big draws of the parade is the naked bikers that always kick things off. Prairie and I both love this shot — a great grin on this girl’s face as she rides by, obviously having a lot of fun.

Very few of the naked bikers are actually strictly naked, most coming up with very creative bodypaint creations. This group was one of the best, though I’m not sure that Disney would be entirely thrilled with the Incredibles being presented this way (Pixar, though, I suspect would get a kick out of it…unofficially, of course)!

One of Prairie’s favorites, who we nicknamed “Windsock Boy”. He ended up stopping near us for a while to take pictures, presenting a very appreciative Prairie a view of what was declared a “very nice bum”.

One of the best costumes I saw was this marionette. The two “strings” from her back were the supports for the top, while the rest of the strings were loose enough to allow her to move around. Really nicely done.

The bellydancers are always a fun section of the parade, and their group just gets bigger every year. This shot was snapped off in a hurry as I tried not to get run over by the leaders as they walked backwards down the street, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well it came out.

The dancers were led by this girl — I love her hair!

This one makes me laugh every time I see it. He was one of a few guys prancing around in pantyhose with various oddities covering their crotches, but his graduation theme complete with “Who’s the Best” owl was hilarious.

This really cute harlequin girl kept catching my eye during the parade, but I kept missing the chance to get a shot of her. I finally caught her camped out at Gas Works Park after the parade was over, and got this shot of her.

After hanging out at Gas Works Park for a while, Prairie and I wandered back into Fremont to wander around the festival area. The booths go right by the canal, and we happened across a few kids taking advantage of a rope swing to beat the heat of what turned out to be a nice summer day.

Of course, many more (many more) shots of the day can be found in the Flickr photoset. Enjoy!

“Lady Is a Tramp, The” by Spacey, Kevin from the album Beyond the Sea (2004, 1:20).