Naked Bike Parade Returns To Seattle’s Fremont Neighborhood

This weekend marks the return of an annual tradition in Seattle's artsy Fremont neighborhood.

The 33rd annual Fremont Solstice Parade will take place at what festival organizers call the "Center of the Universe" on Saturday.

Admittedly, the event's most notable inclusion - a parade of naked bicyclists - sounds more like something that would be found in a Benny Hill skit or a Queen song than a family-friendly fete, but there's more for revelers to enjoy than just body-painted nudity peddling from the saddle of an old Schwinn or a Peugeot with too many gears.

The festival also includes a variety of bombastically-decorated floats and, on Sunday, there'll be plenty of four-legged friends that are used to being seen without clothes but who'll probably be wearing more than their owners at a dog parade (non-service animals are not allowed at Saturday's parade).

The Fremont Fair's craft market will also be in full swing and is the perfect place to find that one-of-a-kind bauble of eclecticism to make yourself feel even more hipster or revenge gift to your straight-laced father- or mother-in-law.

Get our free mobile app

In addition, there will also be a cavalcade of street performers on hand offering entertaining fancies that include everything from juggling and trickery with flaming batons to pantomime and puppetry.

And if all that wasn't enough, there's also a giant slide to get your live-action Chutes & Ladders on, and of course no festival involving public nudity would be complete without copious amounts of alcohol, which will be widely available at the area's bars, a beer garden, and nearby Gas Works Park.

Like most municipalities, the Emerald City does have a standard ordinance prohibiting conspicuous dishabille, but officials have apparently learned to look the other way (perhaps in more ways than one) during the Solstice Parade, so festivalgoers are encouraged to strip down and bear it all to experience the full spirit of the occasion.

Longtime Solstice attendees advise to bring and use sunscreen, especially when planning to expose parts of the body that are more used to being where the sun doesn't shine.

The parade route will follow North 36th Street before turning right onto Evanston Avenue, and then right again onto 35th Street.

The parade does not allow corporate sponsors, printed words and logos, or motorized vehicles (other than electric wheelchairs).