INCLUDES MOVING VIDEO | Find out why this post-pandemic idea continues to spark joy and has grown into a people-powered parade that now fills two East Side neighborhoods …
Revelers put finishing touches on their hand‑built puppet, turning cardboard and paint into parade‑ready street art, for this year’s Everything Under the Sun Parade.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
The third annual Everything Under the Sun Parade filled Westmoreland and Sellwood with color, music, and hand‑made art on Saturday afternoon, June 13 – as hundreds of neighbors marched from Llewellyn Elementary School southwestward to “The Shack” in Sellwood Park, on that building’s opening day for the season.
Since outer East Portland neighborhoods and business districts have abandoned parades, we decided to again attend this colorful event, which turns out, includes participants and spectators from Powellhurst-Gilbert, Hazelwood, and Parkrose!
Founder and director Kate Duffly created the parade, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, to help people reconnect with creativity and joy.
Participants with the Portland Puppet Museum gather with an array of hand‑held puppets, before stepping off as part of the Everything Under the Sun Parade.
Duffly recalled being “really inspired, coming out of the pandemic, to try to build something that would bring community members back together around creative expression – and, kind of, experiencing joy together.” She told East Portland News that this year’s number of parade participants at least doubled in size over the first one.
See highlights of this delightfully unusual parade:
From Llewellyn to The Shack, a roomier start and livelier route
A key change this year shifted the start from Sellwood Park to Llewellyn Elementary School, giving organizers “a bigger space to begin”, as Duffly put it – while the school’s Principal welcomed the particiants, and provided covered areas for them on a hot afternoon.
The banner and giant sun puppet lead the Everything Under the Sun Parade as it proceeds along the 0.8‑mile route to “The Shack” in Sellwood Park.
From the school, the Monster-March-style route ran east down S.E. Tolman Street, south along Milwaukie Avenue – putting the parade in front of more Westmoreland businesses than in past years – and then west on Bybee Boulevard, following 13th Avenue and then Miller Street, before entering Sellwood Park from S.E. 7th Avenue.
While the head of the parade disappears into the business district, those near the end wait their turn to proceed — queued up and ready to march.
At Sellwood Park, the parade merged with the season opening of “The Shack”, an old Parks Department building near the Sellwood Pool, recently renovated and updated by the nonprofit “Sellwood Community House” – where a trolley had shuttled participants between the park and the school earlier in the day. As marchers completed the nearly mile-long route, they were welcomed by music from the “Brassless Chaps” band, extending the celebration under the trees in the park.
The parade that promotes “radical joy” saw families, kids, and neighbors in sunshine‑themed outfits, simple costumes, and elaborate puppet‑like creations participants carried through the streets. Two bands – one at the front, and one at the back – kept the route wrapped in music.
This parade turns into a party after arriving under the trees at Sellwood Park.
Everyday artists turn cardboard and paper maché into parade magic
For Duffly, the homemade artistry is still the highlight. She focused on “everyday folks making incredible things out of humble materials; making these great costumes and puppets out of cardboard and paper maché, and coming together with all of their creative spirit on full display”.
After the parade, the Everything Under the Sun Parade reveals its full scale, as neighbors settle in Sellwood Park.
Now well‑established and still expanding, the annual June Everything Under the Sun Parade continues to turn neighborhood streets into a moving artwork of community connection and radical joy. Be a part of it next year; stay in touch through their website: CLICK HERE.
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
