The Summer Solstice Parade and Pageant is an annual event sponsored and produced by the Fremont Arts Council (FAC), an organization that supports the arts and artists in and around the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Started in 1989 by Barbara Luecke and Peter Toms, the parade quickly grew to thousands of spectators and hundreds of participants. The parade kicks off the Fremont Fair, a benefit for the Fremont Public Association.
The pageant, a large-scale community play using over a hundred dancers, musicians and giant puppets, follows the parade at the end of the parade route at Gas Works Park. Admission to the fair is free but donations (advertised to end poverty, and donated to the Fremont Public Association) are encouraged. The parade is famous for its wild and creative floats and ensembles and for the Solstice Cyclists who strip down before the parade and paint their bodies unofficially start the parade every year.
