Taking place during Olympia's annual Spring Arts Walk, the procession regularly draws 30,000 spectators and 2,000–3,000 participants. The celebration, now in its 31st year, is completely noncommercial, made possible by community contributions of money, materials, time, and skills. The procession is produced by Earthbound Productions, a
501(c)(3) organization, which currently does not benefit from any public funding from the City of Olympia. Seven weeks before the procession, organizers establish a community
art studio, open to the public for a minimal, optional donation. As there is no permanent studio space available for the procession, each year Earthbound Productions locates and rents a space to serve as the community art studio; ultimately, the group hopes to find a permanent location. The studio, staffed by volunteers, hosts art, music and costume design workshops. Participants use a wide range of artistic approaches, such as
batik,
papier mache, and
luminaria. They use mostly donated or scavenged materials to express appreciation for the natural world and create costumes, banners, floats, puppets, drumming, community bands, and more. People of all ages join the procession itself, bedecked in costumes featuring the
elements and various
species of plants and animals. The procession has three rules: no live pets, no motorized vehicles, and no written words. ==Influence and Recognition==