Seattle Pride Parade Resumes after 3 year lapse--June 26, 2022

After a 3 year lapse because of the COVID 19 pandemic, the 4-hour Seattle Pride Parade resumed with the route down 4th Avenue from Pike St. to the Seattle Center.  At the Seattle Center, it was packed with people enjoying the first of our warm, sunny weather by enjoying the various entertainment, people watching, and celebrating Pride Week.

They estimated the parade crowds to be about 400,000 to 500,000 with over 200 different groups in the parade. Motorcyclists lead the parade which included several LGBTQ organizations and collectives, technology companies, banks and credit unions, medical, beverage, airlines, radio/TV, retail clothing, contractors, sports, politicians,  and governments. 

 

Here is a link that describes most of those 200 groups and sponsors: 

https://www.seattlepride.org/events/pride-parade-2022-update

In 2019 I blogged about the Seattle Pride Parade and an LGBTQ member and business advisor sent me information and a link that she thought would be useful for small businesses (SMBs) to become more inclusive since the LGBTQ market is one of the fastest-growing sectors right now.  Here is this guide that helps SMBs to build different strategies to be more LGBTQ inclusive: https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/smb-guide-success-lgbtq-market-best-practices/

Following the motorcyclists, this was the first group in the parade to protest against the recent Supreme Court decision that overthrew Roe v Wade and relinquished Federal protections for abortion and reverted protections to each state's decisions.

T-Mobile, Alaska Air, and McDonald's were three of the many business sponsors of the parade.

R.O.T.C--Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps With Guns was a crowd favorite.

The crowd clapped to this marching band.

And to this gymnastics group.

This group was a real crowd-pleaser with its synchronized dance moves.

The various groups wore a wide assortment of garb--or body paint for the Solstice Cyclists--as they headed down the parade route.

Seattle Pups and Handlers Group was another crowd favorite.

The Seafair Pirates, with their Moby Dick boat, were a reminder of our upcoming Seafair.  However, I did not hear them shoot off their canon in this parade.  Maybe they are saving their gunpowder for the many Seafair parades throughout the area capped with the Torchlight Parade on July 30th.

I have recently uploaded all of my travel videos to YouTube now that they allow longer uploads and you may want to see my Peru Adventures there as well as my other travel videos.  That link is https://www.youtube.com/c/huntforgold  

If you do go there, please subscribe to my video channel since it will help me eventually get some income there and help with my future travels. Fewer people are using DVDs so I am transitioning to streaming my travels on my YouTube channel.

  

Fremont Solstice Parade and Festival---June 18, 2022

The Fremont Solstice Festival is back after a 2-year suspension because of the COVID 19 pandemic. After the bicyclists entertained the crowd garbed in body paint, the parade began.  

The crowds along the Fremont Solstice Parade enjoyed the line-dancing Boot Boogie Babes. 

Here are some kids showing off their cute dragon moves as one of many unique parade entries.

This was quite an eclectic band group. The tuba player was on my #40 bus from downtown Seattle.

This group represented all types of animals from lambs to peacocks.

This was an enjoyable trailer band that was pulled along the Fremont Solstice Parade route with praises from the onlookers.

The dancers and band were festooned in sunflowers in support of Ukraine. The dancers reminded me of a Mardi Gras performance. Starting with the band decked out in the Ukraine sunflower headdresses to the Mardi Gras dancers this group was the last and favorite of the crowd of onlookers.

This juggler was having a bit of trouble carrying out his performances of juggling while spinning a ball on top of a pole. The crowds enjoyed his efforts and tipped big.

There were blocks of over 200 vendors set up in the Fremont area that sold food, handmade goods, trinkets, art, crafts, and clothing.  The bandstand featured 17 different bands that performed at full volume near the many varied types of food stalls.

I have recently uploaded all of my travel videos to YouTube now that they allow longer uploads and you may want to see my Peru Adventures there as well as my other travel videos.  That link is https://www.youtube.com/c/huntforgold.

If you do go there, please subscribe to my video channel since it will help me eventually get some income there and help with my future travels. Fewer people are using DVDs so I am transitioning to streaming my travels on my YouTube channel.