I was very sad to have to miss last weekend’s People-Powered Park Parade in which neighbors on bicycle and foot toured the proposed bike boulevard on 17th and 18th Avenues S., and celebrated the 100th birthday of Lewis Park. Though the weather wasn’t perfect, the rain stayed away, and those who were able to attend report that it was a lovely celebration.

A neighbor going by “Observer” posted this recap in the comments to last week’s post:

It was a two-fold community celebration. The Friends of Lewis Park and Beacon Bikes joined forces with the City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods, North Beacon Hill Council and Green Seattle Partnership in sponsoring the People Powered Park Parade and celebration of four years of restoration of Lewis Park Natural Area.

The colorful bike parade was in celebration of the vision of a kid-friendly bicycle and pedestrian path connecting our Seattle Parks with safe and enjoyable neighborhood greenways. An estimated (I didn’t count) 50 or more bicyclists of all ages departed the Jefferson Park playground and rode the proposed path to Lewis Park to the north.

Upon arrival the riders and walkers (who seemed to double in numbers) were greeted by the Friends of Lewis Park and several dignitaries from the City of Seattle. Two of the more popular neighbors were Jay Hollingsworth and J.J. Lund. People lined up and down the block to meet them as they flipped the burgers and dogs and stirred the chili.

Director Dee Dunbar introduced several dignitaries that included Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. Each of them shared a similar message of congratulations to the citizen volunteers who are providing the many hours of hands on labor to achieve the goal of restoring the Lewis Park Natural Area to a beautiful, family-friendly environment. They expressed great appreciation to citizens of the neighborhood who are making it happen. They also recognized the grants awarded to the project were really quite small when compared to the investment of time and work of the citizens of north Beacon Hill.

This is certainly not an official report but rather an observation from a long time citizen of north Beacon Hill.

Kat Marriner posted her take on the day’s events, with photos, on the Yellow Tent Adventures website. City Council member Sally Bagshaw also blogged about the event.

Dan Bennett posted a wonderful bunch of parade photos to the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr, and Observer emailed us some great photos as well. (Thank you to both of you!) Here are a few of our favorites: