Every spring, Olympia has an annual “Celebration of the Human Spirit” called Procession of the Species. Procession is a magical event in which thousands descend on the Downtown, of which streets are blocked, children run free, and hundreds down creature-costumes and samba down the streets. The procession is very free-for-all-like, except for three rules. “The three rules inspire, nourish, and protect the Procession’s cultural evolution of imagination, creation, and sharing.” They are:No written words, No pets, No motorized vehicles

The Procession has a studio that is open to any of the public that wishes to design some sort of Species-wear; they have batik and wing-making and paper mache and huge float-like constructions of things. This studio is in a little door with colorful banners all around it that one finds in an alley-way downtown. There are animals all around and constant music to match. This sounds a little make-believe and though I’ve been there many times I think it kind of is.

So I went to the Procession Studio and made a whale shaped hat (picture Free Willy all about my ears) that I painted purple and put a glittery Prince symbol upon. All the supplies to do this, mind you, were free and accessible and ridiculously fun. This part mostly because I was doing my whole project in the Children’s Room with a mass of semi-supervised six-year-olds.  And OMG My hat is so very very beautiful.

I brought this hat to Darby’s to show it off to my friends that work there. And as I was blathering about my purple-painting experience, who shall I see at a table but this man I am semi-certain is a Prince impersonator. Now my certainty is only semi because I have never seen him in the act nor dress-however, once many moons ago he scootered by in very tight white jeans and my friend Ben hissed in my ear “THAT GUY IS A PRINCE IMPERSONATOR!” And this guy has got the ‘tude, and the coif, to make it happen. So I am somewhat convinced. But I would like to know for sure. If there is a Prince impersonator that lives and loves in Olympia Washington I most certainly need to know about it. And when I saw this fateful man on this fateful day at Darby’s Cafe, do you think he noticed my Artist-Tribute Whale hat? Do you think he understood that we are meant to be cosmically connected?! I’m not sure. But hopefully I will come upon him at the Procession next weekend and these answers shall become more apparent. Even if I have to, like, force it.