It's a yearly art celebration that takes part in the streets of Olympia - one of the liveliest parades imaginable, emerging purely from the soul and artistic talents of the community. Folks have the opportunity to develop and awaken their inner art spirit, then build and portray an image in the guise of an animal. Through the parade they show the world their talent while helping them envision the impact of what we do to our planet from nature's perspective.
It all began in Olympia eight years ago and is now an international event.
There are only three rules and the rest is up to participants' creativity:
(1) No written words,
(2) No pets, and
(3) No motorized vehicles.
Events begin this week in preparation for the parade, so if you're interested it's time to get in gear and begin your art piece.
This Week's Workshops
Folks of all ages find common ground as they gather to discover their species, then let art guide them through the process of sharing who they are. Volunteers gather to get the process going and folks are invited to "discover their species" at a guided imagery workshop on Monday. Bands and dance groups join in and Planet Percussion is leading the pack the first day.
Tuesday, Animals at the Outer Edge show their stuff in paper mache. Folks are invited to build a bird silhouette under the guidance of the Bowerman Basin Shorebirds, or make their own instruments with Sounds Around Town, if desired.
Other bands are invited to join in the celebration on Wednesday. Fairie Kingdom Drum Dance is the sound of the day.
Artists-in-the-making build Windswept Silhouettes on Thursday, which are cut silhouettes of nature. The Elephant Rhythm Stomp Band invites you to join in their celebration.
Friday get involved in Giant Bread and Puppet Creations and hear the band Geese in Flight. There's also a special reception for the Santo Tomas, Nicaragua, exchange visitors here to create a mural. Drum Beat for Mother Earth, a video portraying the organic pollutants threatening indigenous peoples, runs in conjunction with the other activities.
Saturday begins with more activity from the Giant Bread and Puppet Creations, then basic paper mache is taught for those wanting to build masks or other creations for the parade. If you are musical and artistic and just want to get your hands into the clay, you'll have the opportunity to build an ocarina flute under the guidance of Musical Clay Nature Totem Ocarinas. Or you may join a herd of grassland animals in the Savannah Stampede if that's your calling.
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