Seafair!

From Olympus, the gaze of Neptune, King of the Sea, turns to the western margin of the oceans — just north of the forty-seventh degree of latitude — the eyes of Neptune trace the course of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

In the days of summer, Neptune approached Jupiter to request: “Brother and Chief, I beseech you to grant me liberty to hold a carnival for those who love the sea in the seaport of my choice — Seattle, where dwell on seven hills a salty citizenry who pledge their allegiance as Loyal Subjects of King Neptune. Here, in this Port of Pleasure, I will bid welcome all the mortals of the Seven Seas.”

Neptune, King of the Seas then declared: “Each year during the seventh month, shall begin a grand and glorious summer festival for the purpose of celebrating the bountiful wealth and beauty which has been bestowed upon the port city of Seattle: the emerald in the crown of my beloved Pacific Northwest. This festival shall be called Seafair.”

Presiding over Seafair as his representative on earth, was designated a man and woman of honor and accomplishment, King Neptune Rex and Queen Alcyone. They protected the city from Captain Kidd and his rowdy band of Pirates. The Seafair Pirates, Captain Kidd and Davy Jones annually storm Alki Beach and battle King Neptune and his Royal Court in a theatrical display of swashbuckling sword play for control of the Seafair Festival.

Captain Kidd, Davy Jones and the boisterous buccaneers’ attempts to capture the Seafair Festival are successful. However, in a summertime gesture of goodwill on Torchlight Parade Night, Davy Jones and Captain Kidd reach an accord with King Neptune and agree to be Royal Protectors of the Seafair Festival and dubbed Seafair Guests of Honor.

To personify the goodness and pageantry of the celebration, a Miss Seafair was selected from among the most talented and charitable young women of Seattle’s surrounding communities. And from these communities rose a kaleidoscope of sights, sounds and flavors — Seafair!

To appeal to the diverse nature and interests of the salty citizenry, the festivities included games of sport and skill, pomp and ceremony, and celebrations of heritage and culture. To inspire laughter, there were the court jesters — Seafair Clowns. There was jubilation, music, dancing, art and parades with flourish of trumpet, with beat of drums, with flying colors, a glittering toast to their lives so enriched by the sea.

Neptune further proclaimed: “Seattle shall open her arms to visitors during Seafair time. My festivals shall be a display of warmth and community spirit. All worldly cares shall be put away and smiles and celebration shall reign.”

Thus spoke Neptune, and so began the annual tradition of Seafair, premier festival in the Northwest for all people to enjoy.

The Legend of Seafair...  Before we went to the parade that was getting ready to happen down the street, I found this on the official Seafair website.  Legends like this always make fairs seem more fun.  It adds a bit of imagination and "history" to the celebrations.

And so we walked down the street (about three blocks) to the staging area of the parade.  Several of the floats representing the huge international community in Seattle were here waiting for the call to be given for the parade to officially begin.

We continued on our way down the street to find a good spot to watch the parade, finding a place in the shadow of the Space Needle.  Before too long, the parade started.  The various floats celebrated the cultural diversity of the city itself and displayed the festival royalty of the surrounding communities.  There was also a prominent showing of the festival clowns and pirates and, of course, marching bands!

But, instead of just trying to describe the parade itself ... some pictures!

Marching band from Calgary

One of my favorite parts of the parade: a marching band made up entirely of old people!

Firefighters with bagpipes?  Yes, please!

Mexican dancing horses.

Seafair clowns!

The China Town Dragon Team, another one of my favorite parts of the parade.

Overall, the parade was ... well, it was a parade!  It was a lot of fun, and I think I learned a thing or two about Seattle and the surrounding areas.  One thing is for sure, I'm definitely looking forward to next year's Seafair!