Thousands of people jammed the streets of Fremont at noon today to celebrate the beginning of summer with the annual Solstice Parade.

As is tradition, beads-o-plenty were tossed into the crowd.

The beautifully-designed floats and costumes took on a summer Mardi Gras theme (and in many cases, political themes.)

The parade seems to attract a larger and larger crowd every year. There were so many people — and many had staked out positions hours ahead of time — it was just about impossible to squeeze from the street to the sidewalk.

Even J.P Patches made an appearance. And what about the parade’s most famous participants: the naked, painted cyclists? Click through for a few more photos (and My Ballard reader Nina shot many more on on Flickr here)…