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Crowds should be large for annual Berkeley parade
Each year the crowds get bigger, the entries more outrageous and the music livelier at the annual How Berkeley Can You Be? parade and festival.
This year, the parade takes place on Sunday and will begin at 11 a.m. at University Avenue and California Street. It will wend its way up University to Shattuck Avenue, then go south to Center Street, culminating at the Civic Center Park.
The festival in the park starts at 12:30 p.m. and will feature international food, music and dancing.
Last year’s parade – the fourth annual – drew a crowd of over 10,000 people.
The grand marshall will be U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee.
Joining her will be less sedate participants – the Young Republicans for Heterosexuality, who will hand out heterosexuality pills “developed at a lab at UC Berkeley;” the Berkeley Bullfight Academy; the NIMBY (not in my backyard) Brigade, a giant catapult which shoots huge meatballs on to an enormous plate of spaghetti and Berkeley’s own X-Plicit players.
Once again, the parade will showcase over 80 cars from the Art Car West Fest and gaggles of bicyclists celebrating car-free month will ride in the parade as well.
A special attraction this year is a Children’s Stage to be set up on Milvia Street. Sponsored by the Berkeley YMCA, the stage will host activities for kids all through the day.
On the agenda are a bicycle rodeo, a children’s art project in conjunction with the East Bay Depot and lots of entertainment, including an electric go-cart demonstration.
At Civic Center Park the musical lineup will feature the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Reggae Angels, Ray Obiedo and his Urban Latin Project, the FezTones and Aya DeLeon, the rap poet. For more information, visit www.howberkeleycanyoube.com or call John Solomon at 849-4688.
