It’s Procession Time!

Artists, community members and volunteers are getting ready for Bellingham’s 8th Annual Procession of the Species Parade, scheduled for Sat., May 7 beginning at 3:30 p.m. in front of City Hall.

To gear up, Start Here Community Arts and The Bellingham Storytellers Guild is presenting “Metamorphosis: Stories of Transformation & Other Wonders” as a fundraiser for the Procession of the Species Parade. The fundraiser will take place on Sun., March 13 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Firehouse Performing Arts Center in Fairhaven and feature Doug Banner and the Storytellers Guild, poetry by local poet Kevin Murphy and music by Noisy Water. Admission is $15; free for children under 12.

If you would like to help out and get involved in this year’s Procession of the Species, volunteers are needed to assist with workshop setup, transporting materials, organizing artwork and other helpful tasks in the next several weeks and on parade day. Send an email to the Bellingham Procession folks at info@bpots.org.

Three rules guide Procession Parades: 1) no written or spoken words; 2) no live animals are allowed in the parade; and 3) no motorized vehicles are part of the parade (guide dogs and motorized wheelchairs are permissible).

The Procession of the Species Parade was first organized in Olympia in 1995 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Earth Day and support for the Congressional renewal of the Endangered Species Act.

Bellingham decided to get on board several years ago and now it has become an annual tradition in the spring, inspiring the community to celebrate the connection with nature and each other through fun, imaginative and noncommercial activities.

For more information: http://www.bpots.org.