All Species Day Parade Felt Banner and Poster
[New York, 1982]. 34x60in. Green felt parade banner with silver foil lettering and small butterfly embroidered on the left side. Accompanied with a double-sided paper poster advertising the parade, in green ink on yellow paper (17x17in) stapled to strips of cardboard. A few tears and small holes in felt. Yellow poster folded in half. Very Good.
The third annual All Species Day Parade was held in New York on Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 29, 1982. Exotic and endangered animals including condors, gray wolves, and elephants marched with men and women, some in elaborate animal costumes, from the United Nations at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza to the 72nd Street Bandshell in Central Park, according to reporting in the New York Times. The organizers hoped their parades would bring about a ‘biocentric’ attitude and a recognition that all species are interrelated. Carl Hultberg, from whose collection this banner and poster come, was an organizer of many green and activist movements in New York of the 1980s, such as recycling, bicycling, and community gardening.
The first All Species Day Parade held in San Francisco in 1978, was created as a way for schools to celebrate animal and plant life. While there have been many All Species Parades that have occurred around the country since, there is not one organization that took over their coordination, instead being organized by local community organizations and schools. An important artifact showcasing grassroots environmental activism taking place in communities around the country.
Price: $1,200.00
Item #10206