David on Formosa

The streets of Taipei came alive this afternoon with the vibrant, noisy and colorful Hope Parade (世界夢想嘉年華). The parade is an annual event organised by the Dream Community (夢想社區) in Xizhi (汐止), Taipei County.

The parade began at Freedom Square before a short march through the streets to Ketagalan Boulevard. After arriving on the boulevard in the late afternoon there was a stage set up with a concert going on into the evening.

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) was on hand to start off the parade and rode on one of the floats for part of the parade.

Drumming was a popular activity in the parade. The photo above shows some indigenous school children drumming.

There were quite a few groups of indigenous students from all over Taiwan although their costumes could not really be described as traditional. The parade is inspired by the Brazilian Carnival so it draws on that influence as well as having its own unique Taiwanese flavour.

There were several Indian-themed groups. The ladies pictured above put on a Bollywood dance performance in the evening. There was also a group from ISKCON, better known as the Hare Krishna Movement.

This young lady loved posing for the camera. The event was great fun for participants, photographers and spectators alike. There will be more color and excitement on the streets of Taipei when the annual LGBT Pride Parade takes place on Saturday 31 October.

*More photos in the 2009 Hope Parade set at flickr. I will upload more photos over the next few days.