2025 Solstice Parade Photos and Videos!

Santa Barbara Summer Solstice was back in a big way for 2025! The 51st Anniversary! The theme was “Wild Things”, which inspired a wide range of animals as well as other wild things!

As usual I was one of the official Solstice photographers as well as being a performer in the parade. As usual in recent years I performed on my unicycle with my dear friend Pali and his latest incredible inflatable creation: A multicolored 25 foot tall elephant! In years past, Pali was placed at the end of the parade as the Grand Finale. But last year there was a medical emergency in the crowd that delayed Pali’s ensemble from finishing with most of the rest of the parade. Perhaps to make up for that, our ensemble was placed right in the middle of the parade this year. As a result, I was able to photograph more of the parade than usual.

Here are all of my Solstice Parade Day photos! Organized in galleries for each of the major ensembles. As well as a Miscellaneous gallery for other interesting bits of the parade!

https://swt.org/solstice/2025/parade/

And here is my video play list!

Teresa Kuskey rounded up a hundred dancers again this year for her extraordinary La Boheme Dance Group that kicked off the start of the parade. Lots of work goes into those costumes and into the synchronized performance. It is difficult to capture all 100 of them in a single photo! This photo captures how it looked from the front, with Teresa closest to the camera.

Famed DJ Darla Bea spun the tunes for La Boheme and here she kindly posed for me.

Here is my video.

The sequence of my photos and videos doesn’t necessarily match the sequence in the parade, because I was running around and because I took an hour out in the middle to perform in the parade!

Val Selvaggio owns Xanadu Skate Boutique and she organized the “Skate Oh Five” ensemble. She and some of the skaters posed for me here. Val is at the right with the skates with the blue laces. Next to her with the red hair is Samantha Hudson.

And here is my video of them.

Next was Grace Fisher and her entourage. Here is the Mission Statement of the Grace Fisher Foundation:

“Our mission is to empower individuals with disabilities by providing free access to music, art, dance, and other artistic programs in our state-of-the-“art” facility, The Inclusive Clubhouse. We are dedicated to fostering an accessible and welcoming space that promotes community inclusion, education, creative expression, and self-discovery. Through the arts, we aim to enrich lives, celebrate diversity, and build a vibrant community where everyone can explore their potential and connect with others.”

There was an ensemble of children. Here they posed on their float. Check out my video playlist for video of them performing.

Here I captured Pali with his giant elephant towering above him. This is probably Pali’s most ambitious project ever. There were about 200 fabric panels that had to be cut out and sewn together to create this monumental creation. Pali is very well organized and usually finishes with two days to spare. Unfortunately, this project was so complex that he was up with almost no sleep the final days. And on the last night before the parade he was up all night. But he did it, finishing just in time for his elephant to be in the parade!

Photographer Fritz Olenberger kindly shared his stunning photo of me unicycling with Pali’s creation behind me. Note that we all are wearing tutus!

Here is my video of the full ensemble, led by the Brasscals, who played their joyful music for us!

Agua Doce Samba Dance Company is a part of the Brazilian Cultural Arts Center. It is headed up by Mariano Silva, a Solstice regular for many years. The group posed for photos before the parade, but it was impossible to get them all in one photo! Check out my photo galleries to see them all! In this photo Mariano is in the back center with the pointy hat. And in the front row, just left of center is my friend Clau Orona who is also a member of the Solvang City Council! Her family owns several local businesses there, too!

Here is my video!

Four different ensembles featured octopuses this year! (Yes, that is the correct plural of octopus. Would you say “sourpi” as the plural of sourpus?!) Here is my video of one of these ensembles. Sorry that the sound is overwhelmed by the Hare Krishna group. There is a back story of how and why that group gets in the parade that is different than for any other ensemble. Enjoy this octopus ensemble!

Emma-Jane (EJ) Huerta is the ever-creative director of the Solstice Mask Shop. She also had her own ensemble “Haus of Huerta”. A parody of high fashion. Yes, they are all wearing empty cat food cans. Haven’t you joined this latest fashion? She was especially proud of her movable eyeballs mask. She is in the blue outfit toward the right holding that mask in her hands. At far right is her husband Rich McLaughlin, another long time creative force at Solstice.

In recent years there has been a raffle to get the honor of King and Queen in the parade. The raffle tickets help pay for the parade. This year two women won the raffle, so there were two Queens. At left is Jill Frandsen, who I think I have known since we were both at UCSB. She stays forever young! At right is Jennifer Racusin. She is new to Solstice this year and jumped in head first to very capably run the costume shop. It was actually another costume creator named Brenda who won the raffle, but she gave the prized throne to Jennifer.

You may recognize Mae Logan as an Artist in Residence from quite a few recent years, creating some of the most amazing ensembles. This year she was in charge of the Pass the Hat ensemble. This is always in the middle of the parade, taking donations from the crowd. Notice her beautiful lizard collection basket!

The Cluck-Ups are a group of chickens. Obviously. Here is my video.

Jessie Altstatt is a wildlife biologist, so she was prepared for the theme with her own ensemble of “Re-Wilding”. Below is her full explanation of the ensemble:

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Re-Wilding is a collaborative float experience designed to awaken our innate connection to nature through movement, music, and immersive visual storytelling.

Featuring a lush reimagining of the historic Knapp’s Castle—overtaken by wild nature and brought to life by local artist Jessica Altstatt—this living installation is a prayer for ecological healing and human-Earth symbiosis.

Choreographed by KiaOra Fox—local 5Rhythms teacher, Ecstatic Dance DJ, and ritual theater artist—the float will feature dancers from Ecstatic Dance Santa Barbara, 5Rhythms, Dance Hive, and the SB Dance Co-op. Together, they’ll embody nature’s intelligence through movement that’s both healing and expressive, creating a collective offering of joy, presence, and reverence for life.

The soundscape will be led by none other than world-renowned DJ Ean Golden, creator of EDSB and a master of live performance and controllerism. His electrifying mix will guide the dancers and invite the crowd into a soulful, body-moving experience.

“This is more than a float,” says Fox. “It’s a remembering—a reawakening. A community-wide ritual to embody our wildness and celebrate our perfect symbiosis with the Earth.”

The Re-Wilding float is an open invitation: come witness, feel, and dance.

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Jessie is toward the end of my video wearing a green and blue costume, dancing closest to the float that she created. I did not realize it represented Knapps Castle until she explained it to me. Here is my video.

Here was my article about Knapp’s Castle five years ago when it was undergoing the opposite of Re-Wilding.

https://www.edhat.com/news/knapps-castle-under-reconstruction/

Polly Carey and her sister Emily have been creating some of the most amazing Solstice floats for many years. They often engage their extended family along with friends. This year they definitely created one of the most complex floats in the parade, called Fungapalooza. From a distance you can see the many giant mushrooms. But underneath is a complex underworld of skeletons and decaying life, being recycled by the fungi to create new life. Here is my video.

Here Polly posed with the float after the parade.

Dance is a central part of Solstice. But this group “Buckle Up” was very proud to be the first Country Line Dancing group to perform in Solstice.

For me I think the highlight of the parade was “Shakey Quaky”, which was a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 1925 Santa Barbara Earthquake. It was the creation of Jonathan Smith, who is the quiet genius behind “The Environment Makers”. He and his partner Kym Cochran create many innovative lighting effects at events around town. Notably, the Isla Vista Halloween Haunted Pumpkin Patch that I have reported on in recent years. In this ensemble, quite a few historic buildings have been recreated. Including the Mission, the Granada Theater and the Hotel Californian. The earthquake begins and the buildings shake and quake and some fall apart. One building cracks open to reveal a guy showering inside! Here is my video.

A week after Solstice was an event on State Street to commemorate the earthquake. And the Shakey Quaky setup was on display. Here Jonathan (far right with the hat) posed with Kym and with Dragon, who helped with the construction.

World Dance for Humanity has been raising money for years for humanitarian projects. Here is my video of their Solstice performance.

Mi Tierra is the creation of Adriana Reyna and Omar Barreto. Adriana built this volcano float and sang on it. The explanation: They “bring a moving musical performance celebrating mystical ancestral wisdom with a song to heal the community.” Here is my video.

This group is from the PAGO Build System – The World of Imago. The explanation: “Atlantic Aviation with PAGO. New sponsors collaboration with Solstice. Modern sculpture surrounded by mythic creatures made from white laser-cut paper.” Here is my video.

“The Last Float” is the creation of Jim Sun Bear. Musician Gregory Beeman helped with the concept and directed and performed in the drumming and music. Here they were at the end of the parade.

And here Sun Bear (the blue wizard) posed with Dragon, who helped with the construction.

But wait! There is more! Hours more music, dancing and other activities in the park after the parade. Here is my video of some of the hoop and silk aerialists.

With nearly 1,000 performers I am sorry I cannot share more photos here! Please look at the galleries of my photos to see more! Here you can see all of my Solstice photos from recent years. I will be adding more from this year in the coming days.

https://swt.org/solstice/

Most important of all: This is a community event where EVERYONE is welcome to participate! Come to the Workshop when it opens in May! Meet the artists! Get inspired to join an ensemble or to create one of your own!

And don’t worry that being in the parade means missing seeing it. You can still watch most of it even if you are in it! Mark your calendar for next May to come down to the Workshop and be a part of the Solstice Community!

– Robert Bernstein