John & Anne Wiley

2010/06/29

A Few More

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 20:33

Just in case you’re not already overwhelmed with photos from Solstice, here are the last I’ll post this year (though Anne might still add a few of hers).

7510 Tired Angel

7510 Tired Angel

As everyone follows the last float to the party at Alameda Park, some exhausted kids get rides.

7512 Gentle Dance

7512 Gentle Dance

Some fairies still found energy for gentle dancing in the flow of celebration.

7523 Refreshments

7523 Refreshments

Large areas of the park are given over to food and drinks, while other parts have arts and crafts on sale.

7536 Free Play

7536 Free Play

Mostly though the parade party is about music, dancing, and freedom to play. There are so many different activities going on in different parts of the park, and all of it has this easy feeling of freedom and community.

7542 Infusion Into Town

7542 Infusion Into Town

The heightened colors, sounds and moods seem to gradually disperse across the city as people walk, ride and drive away from the park festival. For the rest of the weekend you’ll often see someone in face paint or costume, and occasionally glimpse a magic wand extending from someone’s sunroof.

Observations

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 07:02

We like the anticipation of Solstice every year, then the buildup and preparations, the parade itself of course, and another thing we deeply enjoy is watching the people who are in it and those on the street and up on balconies watching.

7433 Reflections

7433 Reflections

I like to see the exuberant essence of the parade reflected in the expressions of people watching, and in the shop windows behind them.

7443 Decorated Observer

7443 Decorated Observer

There are many who come to watch quietly in the background, who find themselves noticed – and decorated – by people wielding confetti-filled eggs or simply hand-tossed confetti. It’s a way that some observers anoint other observers into becoming participants themselves, in something they may have come only to watch.

7445 Family Time

7445 Family Time

When I was a child it was rare to see fathers closely involved with children. It warms my heart to see dads sharing the parade with small children. Memories are formed that will last a lifetime, and this gives me great hope for a future when people share citizenship and community with warmth and open hearts. In such a world we can work together, even when we disagree. We can respect our different ways of expressing our common humanity.

Blog at WordPress.com.