Procession Of The Species

The Procession of the Species was MUCH larger than it was last year. It was wonderful to see all the participants. Everyone was having a great time. For those of us watching the procession, we had to grab a spot on the sidewalk early. There were hundreds of people camped out in chairs in prime viewing areas. There was quite a bit of percussion music and lots of dancing! Costumes included monkeys, bees, whales, shrimp, the ocean, herons, jellyfish, corals, wolves, native plants, a praying mantis, a virus, rhinoceroses, lions, zebras and more! It was difficult to photograph all of the moving, dancing people. There were quite a few children in the procession including my own. We had a great time. We will definitely go again next year!

Oh, Olympia! You amazing little city, you!
The Procession of the Species is unlike any parade I’ve ever seen before, and I’m pretty sure this is a uniquely Olympian event unequaled anywhere else on this planet. It’s kind of a peoples’ parade in tribute to the animal species of the world. It’s not the biggest, the loudest, the flashiest, the weirdest, the sexiest or anything of that sort, but… there’s a real heart and soul that goes into this spectacle that just needs to be experienced. Awesome.

If I could describe the Procession of the Species in one word?
WEIRD.
Oh, but weird doesn’t really tell you anything about it, right?
The Procession of the Species is an annual celebration commemorating all of the animals on the planet. The big yoo-​ha, takes pace around Earth Day.
Not knowing what to do when in Washington, I had the bright idea to take up on the suggestion of one of the tourist magazines I got at a Seattle convention center. I had a rental car, so why not rack up the mileage on it?
So, on a sunny/​rainy/​dry/​wet Saturday in Washington, I force-​dragged one of my coworkers to drive down to Olympia with me — a little over an hour drive from Seattle.
Olympia, wow. Where the heck am I? Pretty, but, um??? Let’s save those comments for a separate review.
We get to downtown Olympia, and after driving around a bit we finally find parking and walk over to the festivities. Again, why I wear 5″ heels to a parade is beyond me! Anywho, WOW! No, I mean… WHERE THE HECK AM I… kind of, WOW!!!
Being born and raised in San Francisco, the best way for me to describe this to those of you who are familiar with San Francisco is…
Imagine if you took Haight Street, the busy part of Haight Street… but Haight Street was an entire town of people… a town full of parading people dressed like animals and fairies and cheese and fish and, and, and… and that is what you get in Olympia for their annual Procession of the Species. It is all very weird, but all very interesting… to say the least.
As weird as it was, everyone was really cool and seemed really nice. I would highly recommend you see it, at least once, when you are in the area. Why? Because it is an experience! A weird experience, but an experience! LoL!
I did buy a very cool hat at this event… I will take a picture of it soon, and add it to my review. =P
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