Earthbound Producitons
Summary Report ~ 2004

Tenth Annual
Procession of the Species Celebration
January 1 to June 30, 2004
Procession Day, April 24, 2004

1. "Thousands transformed themselves into the ordinary and the extraordinary for Saturday’s Procession of the Species, the 10th Annual edition of a celebration unique to Olympia." Such was the headline that graced the front page of The Olympian newspaper reporting upon the tenth annual, 2004 Procession of the Species Celebration held on April 24 in downtown Olympia, Washington.

2. 2,700 Procession participants joyously shared their artistic expression, while over 37,000 people excitedly filled the Procession route of 16 blocks through downtown Olympia.

3. More than 100 dedicated volunteers donated over 5,325 hours of time and talent to produce and organize this heartfelt community celebration defined by the 2004 City Art Commission as “a gem in our community, an authentic, unexpected experience.”

4. Donors contributing to the success of 2004 included 180 individuals and 27 businesses, Foundations, and government agencies.

5. For the fifth year in a row, Earthbound Productions continued its successful partnership with the Olympia School District by maintaining the old James Madison Elementary School in exchange for its use as the Procession Community Art Studio.

6. 2004 mirrored 2003 with twenty school and educational groups including over 30 different classrooms from preschools, a tribal youth center, art and environmental clubs, as well as 15 scout groups, 3 churches, the YMCA, the Refugee Center, Even Start and staff from the State Capitol processing as “House Flies”.

7. The Procession continued enhancing its new website with extremely positive reviews. Professionally designed and managed, it is activated under its original address www.procession.org. It addresses correspondence locally and from throughout nation and continues to inspires a school in Managua, Nicaragua to which held their Second Procession on April 22, 2004.

8. Over 4,500 visits were made to the Procession Community Art Studio, which was staffed and open to the public 7 days a week, for 7 weeks prior to the Procession.

9. Over 150 art, music and environmental workshops were made available to the community for a nominal supply fee, with no one turned away for lack of funds.

10. Community members came together to form 10 community bands and dance groups, practicing together for seven weeks. Seven South Sound Kids Drum and Dance ensembles from Olympia, Thurston and Tumwater School Districts performed.

11. The Community Thru Music Project continued to motivate people to create over 400 musical instruments from recycled materials given away to on-lookers during the Procession.

12. The gratifying collaboration of the Olympia City Police with Earthbound Productions expanded to a new level in 2004. The police purchased and handed out 7,420 pieces of chalk for the waiting crowd to fill the downtown streets with a brightly colored blanket of impromptu public art in celebration of community wildlife, developing a positive relationship between citizens and police. Note: Now in our fourth year of offering chalk to the public, several minor incidents were reported where chalk was taken from the Procession route and used for graffiti in other parts of downtown in 2003. This was addressed in the planning process for 2004 and not only was graffiti down significantly, but Procession volunteers and staff were out on the streets early the next day wet-brooming chalk graffiti off of buildings and sidewalks .

13. Lt. Jim Partin of the Olympia Police Department was pleased to report that once again there were no criminal incidents or public disturbances associated with the Procession, and that officers thoroughly enjoyed the inclusiveness they felt during their time on duty.

14. A premier event of chalking-in five intersections with 20’ diameter mandalas was met with joyful success. The intersections were selected in collaboration with City traffic and Arts Walk organizers. Placed along the Procession route, they were drawn by students from The Evergreen State College 2 hours prior to the police handing-out chalk to the public. The intended expectation was that the manadals would set a collaborative and imaginative tone for spectators receiving chalk later on. Note: So successful was this “imprinting” that the police not only ran out of chalk but have requested a purchase of 10,000 pieces of chalk for 2005.

15. In a continued emphasis on sharing as a model for human connections, the registration fee of two cans of food donated to the Thurston County Food Bank amounted to a total of $1,253.00.

16. Word of the Procession continues to spread and results in visits from throughout the nation and increased stays in area hotels. Visitors were reported from throughout Washington, and such places as Vancouver, Canada, Oregon, California, Idaho, Arizona, Montana and Pennsylvania.

17. Earthbound continued setting the pace by initiating a new community partnership with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFS). Held under a huge geodesic dome in Sylvester Park, Earthbound introduced WDFW’s Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary Symposium in an inclusive fashion that dovetailed wonderfully with the City of Olympia’s own environmental goals and objectives.

18. Earthbound collaborated with TCTV to provide the community with an immediate TV production of the Procession for Thurston County audiences.