Seattle! @colleengreen420 is cool and will be performing COOL at the @clockoutlounge on July 22, so be there and don’t be square—be cool instead! x
This cutie patootie’s got a piece up at @abbeyarts called RED that you should go check out and maybe purchase. I am very proud and ever grateful for her endless care and support, so give her a follow and show her some love immediately: @christine.bingham.art
This was the first time I’d ever been to the Fremont Solstice Parade, and, of course, I found myself in the thick of it on my first try. x
Christine was telling someone that this is her first time at the Solstice Parade too, even though she grew up here, and was told: “that’s so hard to believe.” What can we say. She’s unbelievable. x
We didn’t just wander into the parade, btw. Christine and I were there as part of the “People’s Puppet Art Crew,” one of many manifestations of the collective known by many names, such as Samovar, i.e. the new friends we made through that collab at NW Folklife.
I must admit that I thought we’d be more like faceless bodies in a procession, just like at Folklife, so I had to giggle at the absurdity of all that attention I had volunteered to receive as we made our way out the staging area and into the avenue stuffed with spectators on both sides. How are we even here, I laughed out loud more than once.
But of all the possible configurations of the sequence of events that led me to my very first Solstice Parade as a would-be performer, I’m very glad it was with the artwork: a statement about collective grief tearfully metabolized as collective hope and resistance. God knows my body groks that message well. x
The best part about being in a parade is seeing all the different types of people gathered to watch you walk by. While most cheered for the artistry or yelled out “happy solstice,” I was very pleased to see a handful of folks with Palestinian flags scattered along the route whom I acknowledged with hearty shouts of “FREE PALESTINE!” x
I am definitely not the most animated of parade performers, but it was fun to do “crowd work” with a kid who yelled out that we should fist bump our fist puppets. So, I gave him one 🤜🤛 x