Reborn Procession of the Species invites all to open house and fundraiser

The Procession of the Species is back, and the people behind Olympia’s roving celebration of earth and its non-human inhabitants, have set up a community art studio in the Olympia Armory Creative Campus.

“Come Be the Celebration” proclaims a banner outside the studio, a joint project of the nonprofit Earthbound Productions and the City of Olympia. Organizers will welcome the community to the new space Saturday, March 9, with an open house and “Jazzin’ It Up With the Animals” fundraiser featuring music by Vendredi’s Bag.

The animals of the fundraiser’s name — including such familiar Procession creations as the lion, the zebra and the rhino — now reside on the lower level of the Armory, the main studio space where all who want to participate in the Procession are welcome to make costumes, masks, banners and more and where organizers will offer workshops.

Preparations for the Procession, set for Saturday, April 27, will spill over into part of the Armory Annex, which has space for floats and larger creatures to be constructed.

“It’s great,” Eli Sterling, the procession’s founder and chief organizer, said of the studio. “It’s ample enough to produce a really good Procession. The space will definitely inspire people. … People who have been to past studios will recognize it as a full-on Procession art studio, and people who have never seen one before will be amazed.”

Started in 1995 by a group of Olympia residents, the Procession of the Species was originally created to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Earth Day and to support Congressional renewal of the Endangered Species Act. The procession of papier mache critters representing the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, winding through downtown accompanied by dancers and drummers grew into the city’s biggest one-day gathering.

Sterling is excited about the return of the Procession, last held in 2019, and about the studio, which the city helped to fund through a lodging tax grant used to pay for a city employee who’ll be on site during studio hours.

“This is the closest that we’ve worked with the city in the entire history of the Procession,” he said. “The Procession can play a major role in advancing the idea of the Armory as a creative campus.”

Given that the last Procession happened five years ago, there are quite a few people who might not have seen a past studio — or even a past Procession. The event has taken on an almost mythic quality during the five-year hiatus, caused mostly by the COVID pandemic.

“There are a lot more people who haven’t seen a Procession,” Sterling said. “People want to get involved, and they’re not sure where to start.”

“I think half of Thurston County doesn’t even know the Procession exists,” said volunteer Kris Geringer. “If they came down to the studio, they would see the magic.”

Organizers are planning to design one float for each of the four elements — earth (land animals and plants), air (flying creatures), water (fish and the like) and fire (endangered species).

“The elemental floats will give newer people something to coalesce around,” Sterling said.

Plans for workshops are also underway, with more details coming soon, Geringer said. Among them: batik, mask-making, drum-making and luminary-making for the April 26 Luminary Procession, a smaller procession with lighted lanterns.

More volunteers are needed to staff the studio, Geringer, Sterling and fellow organizer Nicole Mercier agreed.

“I’m super excited, and at the same time, I’m already exhausted,” Geringer said. “We have lots of new volunteers this year, and they are wonderful, but the Procession really needs more volunteers.”

The event is also fueled by participation, she added.

“Not only do we want volunteers, we want people to come to the studio and make art and be in the Procession,” she said. “It’s a community event, and there is an open invitation to everyone.”

Volunteers also will be needed to help move everything out of the Armory studio after the Procession. The city is developing long-term plans for how the space will be used by arts organizations and the community as a whole, and construction is expected to begin later in the year.

“We were lucky to be able to get in this space,” Mercier said. “We’re so happy to be able to do another Procession. … I just wish we had a permanent home.”

Jazzin’ It Up With the Animals

• What: Earthbound Productions, the nonprofit behind the Procession of the Species, is celebrating its Armory studio and launching Procession season with an open house, studio tours, demos and a fundraiser with music by Vendredi’s Bag, beer and wine for purchase, and food trucks.
• When: Open house at noon and fundraiser from 7:30 to 11 p.m.
• Where: Olympia Armory Creative Campus, 515 Eastside St. SE
• Tickets: Free for open house, $20 suggested donation for fundraiser
• More information: http://www.procession.org
• Also: The fundraiser is open only to those ages 21 and older.

Procession Studio

• Hours: Noon-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and 3-9 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays through April 26; also open 3-9 p.m. Tuesdays, April 2-26.
• Where: On the ground floor of the Armory (come around the back and through the gate) and in the annex
• Volunteer: Volunteers are needed to staff the studio. Drop by during open hours for details.
• Workshops: Besides open studio hours, there’ll be workshops on creating luminaries, batiking and more.

Procession of the Species

• What: The Procession — a parade with no words and no motorized vehicles except wheelchairs — celebrates the natural world and human creativity with music, dance, floats, puppets, costumes and more.
• When: 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 27
• Where: Begins at Cherry Street and Legion Way, Olympia, and ends in Heritage Park
• Also: The Luminary Procession, celebrating the element of spirit, starts at 8:30 p.m. Friday, April 26, during Arts Walk.

This story was originally published March 8, 2024 at 5:00 AM.