Procession of the Species

Photo by Steven M. Herppich, copyright The Olympian

I love this place.

I especially loved it yesterday, when I watched my first Procession of the Species.

The Procession of the Species is held in OlyWa every April, typically (though not this year) on Earth Day. In a nutshell: It is a parade to celebrate the natural world. Sound a little hippie-ish? Well, it is (this is OlyWa, after all) -- and it isn't.

All of OlyWa is invited to participate in the Procession, and to my surprise, the entire community comes out for this event -- not just the local hippies. Everybody, young and old, takes part. Under the theme of "the natural word," people dress up as floral and fauna (or something representative of floral and fauna). Their costumes, most of which are handmade, are amazingly beautiful and clever. There were lions, wolves, fish, turtles, spiders, butterflies, trees, cacti, flowers, flamingos -- the list goes on and on.

The participants march in one of four groups: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. At the head of each group is a corp of drummers and other musicians, along with standard-bearers carrying giant batiked windsocks and banners.

There were hundreds of people in the parade, and hundreds of people lining the streets to watch the parade. No politicians handing out stickers, no firetrucks, no Shriners in tiny cars, no floats, even. Just people in costumes or hand-built contraptions, dancing, playing instruments and having a dandy time.

It was like one giant, unprententious piece of performance art. People work on their costumes and batik banner for weeks -- sometimes months -- in a public studio right down the street from our house. They take it seriously. Last weekend, we drove past a group of people "practicing" for the parade in the street. They were drumming and dancing, getting their routine down pat.

SMH shot the Procession, and I accompanied him as the "lens assistant." I almost backed out because it was cold, grey and rainy. But, I braved the elements and by the time we got to the staging area, the sky was clearing and the sun was beginning to shine. And by the time the parade started, the sun was bursting through blue skies, making the colors glow.

Photo by Steven M. Herppich, copyright The Olympian

There was really something magical about this event. The adults seemed to love it as much as the kids (maybe more), and everybody was in the best of spirits.

Check out The Olympian for more pics.