This Saturday, June 14, the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) will host the 33^rd annual Parade the Circle, when tens of thousands of spectators will descend upon Wade Oval in University Circle to experience the beloved tradition of celebrating the bright and colorful display of art, music, dance, community, culture, and fun.

The theme this year is “Magical Allure: A Vibrant Celebration of the Snowy Owl”—exploring the wisdom and exploration we undertake, while undergoing the process of change and illustrated through more than 50 intricate and majestic pieces of colorful artwork. Artist groups and parade volunteers have worked for weeks in the parade tent to create the masks, towering puppets, floats, and other works that will be featured this weekend.

Come early to Wade Oval, at 10 a.m., and enjoy Circle Village on Wade Oval presented by University Circle Inc., where there will be vendors, crafts, immersive entertainment, giveaways, and live jazz music by Councilman Conwell & The Footprints on the Kulas Stage. The band will play again at 4 p.m.

Volunteer Katie Lee helping Cleveland Ballet's Alessander GuzmanA good luck dream

Parade lead artist Héctor Castellanos Lara, who was born in Guatemala, has lived in Cleveland for 30 years and is known locally for his cultural expression through his art. For three consecutive years, CMA has tapped Castellanos Lara as lead artist for Parade the Circle, though he has worked on art for the event for 22 years.

About six months before Parade the Circle each year, Castellanos Lara chooses a theme and shares the idea with museum staff.

The Snowy owl theme came to him in December 2024, when he had a dream of about 100 snowy owls taking flight.

Having never seen a snowy owl in person, Castellanos Lara says he wondered why he had this dream. Upon doing some research, he says he found that seeing a snowy owl—either in-person or in a dream—is believed to signify prosperity, good health, and good luck.

“Whoa! This could be a perfect theme for that,” Castellanos Lara recalls of his reaction to the dream. Now, the snowy owl is inspiring artists and participants to create their own interpretations of the mystical messenger.

Celebrating tradition

A giant jarana (a guitar-shaped fretted stringed instrument) float, made by AlmaVision: Cultura y Más, will kick off the 2025 Parade at 12 p.m. The Cleveland-based collective is dedicated to preserving and celebrating Mexican traditions through dance, music, and storytelling.

"Flower Power” parade float created by the Women Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art.Approximately 50 more floats will follow the jarana float. A procession of unique masks, puppets, pieces of artwork, musicians, dancers, and more will make up the remainder of the parade, which is expected to last about an hour and a half, according to Castellanos Lara.

“It will attract anyone, even if they’ve been [coming] here for many years,” he promises. “They’re always excited about what the artists or members of the community are creating. It’s going to be a new experience in many ways.”

All of the vibrant artwork is moved along the parade route manually by the artists. Originality and creativity are part of the fun, after all, so no motorized art is permitted (wheelchairs are allowed, of course).

You also won’t see any words on the art, or political beliefs represented, to allow for an enjoyable day and unbiased, equal appreciation of the parade.

Eyeing the details

Dozens of creators—both local and traveling artists—have worked on the exceptional parade pieces alongside families, schools, church groups, community members, and other volunteers who have kept CMA’s large parade tent at East Bell Commons active since the beginning of May, working together in the creative space.

Mary Jo Nikolai arrived in town as a project artist last Friday, June 6. The Minneapolis native has family in Northeast Ohio, and Nikolai enlisted a team to help her complete nine separate Parade the Circle art projects.

Team Nikolai completed floats and artwork that included a jeep with a moose on the top and a snowy owl driver, as well as other animal masks and puppets “driving” vehicles such as a strawberry car, an apple car, a plane, a boat, a hearse, and more.

Since the snowy owl is the theme of the day, Nikolai’s team will have the large mama owl float pulling the sled with two baby owls.

“Our thing is we like to perform a lot to the crowd,” explains Nikolai.

Counting down…

With just days left to complete everything, there’s still a lot to get done before Parade the Circle, including some of the vehicles. The time crunch doesn’t worry Nikolai, though. She worked on some elements at home before she packed up the car to share her talents in Cleveland this week.

She comes from a family of artists and stilt walkers, so Nikolai is in her element with the team she has built. Although she is a nurse now, her background as a K-12 art teacher and graphic designer sparked her desire to participate in Parade the Circle.

“I just love the creativity. I feel like it’s art camp when I’m here,” says Nikolai.

Volunteer artists are of all ages. Eight-year-old Gwen Adolf is participating for the second year—in town from Centerville, Ohio, south of Dayton, just for Parade the Circle.

The rising fourth grader is spending some time working on a float with her grandfather, Philip Brutz, who works at CMA as a mount maker. Brutz is responsible for building the supports and frames that exhibit the art at CMA. The grandfather-granddaughter duo is part of Nikolai’s ensemble, and their concepts are based on characters from Richard Scarry’s children’s books.

Adolf is working this week on a large apple car float with helicopter blades. “I really like building things, so it’s fun,” she says, adding, “I also learned how to paper mâché.”

Adolf will be a puppeteer inside of the apple—holding a worm as she pedals a bicycle to make the float move. She’s as animated as her artwork as she talks about participating. “I’m really excited to perform!”

A community affair

Professional stilt walker Heather Schloss practices for Parade the Circle.There will be something for everyone at Parade the Circle. You don’t have to know about art to appreciate the colorful celebration that promotes community.

Nikolai looks at CMA as an incredible conduit for the community’s connection to art.

“I want to say this, and I think it’s really important,” says Nikolai. “Community art and the artists who are doing it, you always have to believe that people are willing to help out. As an artist, I could not do this alone, and people want to do art.”

The community has taken notice. Nikolai says people walking by have been making their way inside the workshop tent. Their curiosity has been inspiring to the artists.

“They want to know about the parade, or we give them something and they want to come,” says Nikolai happily. “Sometimes they come and help the next time.”

Pro tips

Plan to arrive early. Castellanos Lara tells FreshWater Cleveland the area surrounding the parade route typically becomes a foot traffic only zone around 10:30 a.m., if not earlier.

Stick around after the parade for a new feature this year. For the first time, attendees can engage with some of the artists following the parade. It’s also an opportunity to view the artwork up close.