10th Annual How Berkeley Can You Be?

For the last 10 years John Solomon has asked the question “How Berkeley Can You Be?”. Each year the answer comes through loud and clear in the form of a parade in Berkeley featuring freaks, weirdos, punks, radicals, activists, nudists, Klingons, Pink Man, Art Cars from the annual ArtCar Fest and may other masters of unique self expression.

The parade takes place this Sunday, September 25th, starting at 11:00am at the corner of California and University Avenue, and it concludes with a festival at Martin Luther King Park. Just how Berkeley are you? Come out to the parade and find out.

The “How Berkeley Can You Be?” Parade and Festival began in 1996, and was the brainchild of John Solomon, a longtime University Avenue merchant. John’s involvement with the University Avenue Association led him to believe that a major event of University Avenue would send a positive signal about the University Avenue corridor, which at the time was struggling with public safety, empty storefronts, graffiti, and a poor quality of life. John felt that a major event would indeed signal that University Avenue was a place on the rebound, that it was a place to do business, to live, to stroll, and that it was a worthy entrance to the City. He saw it as an opportunity to celebrate community, to leave partisan politics behind, for the citizenry to look in the mirror and laugh.