Procession of the Species Kick-off Gathering

he Procession of the Species Celebration is officially on the books for 2024 and the community is invited to the Kick-off Gathering on Saturday, September 30, 2023 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Olympia Armory Creative Campus. Highlighting opportunities to both be inspired and to be involved, the free event will include early-bird tours of the future Procession studio from 10:00 am to 10:45 am.

“The Procession of the Species has always been a labor of love, and we need the help of the community just as much as ever to make it happen in 2024,” said Director Eli Sterling. “We’re inviting those who care about the Procession to join us on September 30 to connect with others, learn more, and discover ways to channel energy, talent, and passion into sustaining the Procession into the future.”

Created by the community for the community, the Procession of the Species Celebration is a joyous, artistic pageant, embracing the languages of art, music, and dance to inspire learning, appreciation and protection of the natural world. Filling downtown Olympia’s streets with wonder and joy every year since 1995, the Procession has been on pause since 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2024, the Procession will once again partner with the City of Olympia’s Spring Arts Walk Weekend, April 26 & 27, 2024, bannered with the theme, “The Rise of Reflection.”

Thanks to the support of the City of Olympia, studio space will be available at the Olympia Armory Creative Campus March 1 through April to create art for the 2024 Procession of the Species. The Procession program facilitates seven weeks of art, music, and dance workshops open to the public that inspire personal understanding of and local action for wildlife protection.

The Procession is powered by over 100 community volunteers who create and produce the pageant with administrative organization by Earthbound Productions. On the day of the Procession, residents don their creative expressions and proceed through the streets of Olympia in masks and costumes, carrying colorful banners, windsocks, and giant puppets. Olympia’s Procession has evolved into the Puget Sound’s largest annual Earth Day event.