Highlights so far; whenever I ask anyone what the most impressive art they’ve seen is, they all unanimously point me to one of two places.

The first is a group of that has made a Statue of Liberty costume, which is standing at least twice the height of the folks wielding it. Eavesdropping on the crowd, I can already hear that folks are using them as a meeting landmark. lol!

Second is a stunning hand-made drag ensemble by Patty Trauma. Red white and blue, Trump-evoking makeup, and a cake— of the “let them eat” variety— shaped to resemble a machine, probably an old timey voting machine. It had a strip of “I voted” stickers coming out of it.

No photos for Fedi yet because I haven’t been able to do my usual consent/redaction cleanup, but you bet I did get some.

Here’s an interesting logistical change from last year; today’s main event, which will be held after the march at Seattle Center, is focused on connecting attendees on a per-neighborhood basis to each other.

I think this is a great idea, at least in theory, which seems pointed at the usual “protesting is performative” cynicism.

I’m on my way ahead now to see how that’s going to work.

There have also been some program changes that I didn’t expect. With the exception of AG Nick Brown, who helped open ceremonies at Cal Anderson, I’m told there are no elected official speakers.

According to the Indivisible media folks, this was a “deliberate choice”, although they didn’t elaborate on the criteria.

If I had to wildly speculate (which I don’t, but I will) I imagine that last years invitees suddenly pivoting into campaign speeches probably influenced this.

So, a welcome change.

I usually walk with the marches I’m covering, but for health reasons I can’t this time. So I’ve just arrived at Seattle Center and expect signal to degrade as folks gather.

I’ll try to keep you posted. :D

Across the way it does look like there’s a concert in progress. Folks around me are covered in colorful dusts and paints.

I had to double check my calendar to make sure it wasn’t Holi.

I’m so tempted to walk through and get spattered but I feel like that might make interviews more difficult later. lol

Some pre-gathering photos should be appropriate. So here’s what they apparently mean by the neighborhood sorting. In the distance you can see signs for North Shoreline, East Side, etc.

What caught my eye is the construction. The orange block lettering, suspended on netting, is the style of a specific local organizer: The Backbone Campaign.

If you read my coverage of Hands Off last year, you might recognize them as the massive “declaration of independence” folks.

https://evhaste.com/2025/04/22/the-antifascist-art-of-handsoff-seattle/

There’s a lovely xylophone band on the ground level.

They’ve gotten a couple of hecklers since I’ve been standing here, unfortunately. They dealt with it as gracefully as could be done. One guy, wearing camo, could be heard yelling “you forget where you come from. Where do YOU come from” as he left.

If you see the band, share some love, okay?

(Photo omitted since they’re getting hassled already)

The organizers have been kind enough to share their materials (their nails are amazing). So I can tell you a bit about what we’ll be doing today.

Please be patient with me while I add alt text, there’s a lot to type!

This one says “find your neighborhood by the circles… meet organizations taking action at the rectangles”.

My favorite part of the plan is that they clarify that yes, you do need to talk to strangers, they’re not so scary. It attempts to guide shy attendees through the process of making friends with randos.

Again, I feel like this is in direct response to cynicism about protests like No Kings being performative.

Frankly, if you meet your people and do anything together in the future, I’d call that closer to antifascism than where we started.