The moment you are all waiting for has arrived. The main delight of the Mendocino Fourth of July parade is, of course, the hippies. This is why we all go. It was so difficult for me to sort through all the images and just pick out a few, but here they are. Once again, I’ve put the bulk of the photographs behind the jump, so that people on slow connections will not be tormented when they load the main page. (Which reminds me, dear readers…do we like the hiding things behind the jump thing? Or do we disapprove? I would like to find a way of making the post expand, rather than shuttling you to another page, so if anyone knows how to do that with Movable Type, please let me know.)

Here’s the start of the peace brigade…I note that the Republicans were entirely absent this year. Curious. And tragic.

Here’s my buddy Abe, holding some balloons. I believe that he was marching with Students Against the War, which also had my favourite sign in the entire parade:

Because pirates need peace too. And so do…dinosaurs?

Click onward for daring aerial feats, clowns, and…more nudity!

Code Pink, upping the ante this year with a tractor lift! Since the circus was sadly absent this year, this was the most daring parade entry. And look at those smiles!

Here’s the rest of Code Pink, a little closer to Earth.

Mermaids need peace, too.

So do clowns.

Here are some patriotic peace marchers.

More peace signs, to transition to the more sobering floats. For the most part, the peace marchers were fun loving and festive, but a thread of seriousness went through a handful of the entries.

The no offshore drilling float is a classic. It’s an old campaign with a clear and simple logo, and I like it.

Here’s the classic truck filled with crosses from Albion, with lists of the dead along the side, and a big running total. Alas, that number keeps growing, and it won’t stop until we pull our troops out of Iraq.

On a lighter note, here’s the promised nudity:

I know you won’t believe me, but that was the “Mendo Parents for Peace” float. Look closely at the sign!

And that, my friends, was the Mendo Fourth of July Parade.