It started out with a dream—a crowd of people dancing and celebrating D.C.’s cultural history. No, this isn’t a fairy tale novel—this is inside the head of D.C. Funk Parade’s founder Justin Rood.

“There were a number of drums and horns and marching bands,” co-founder Chris Naoum said. “Rood woke up and he basically said ‘Why,why does something like this not exist?’”

On May 3rd, Rood’s funky dream finally became reality.

The first ever D.C. Funk Parade consisted of a fair in the morning, a parade in the afternoon, and a music festival in the evening.

The fair featured food and art vendors, dancers, musicians and street performers who flooded U Street from the corner of 9th street to the corner of 17th. Music ranged from classic funk to alternative African tribal music, appealing to music fans of all genres.

Small flea markets were scattered every few blocks with local vendors selling jewelry, baked goods and even gourmet s’mores with homemade marshmallows blazed by a handheld torch.

Spectators decked themselves out in their finest funk apparel, never lacking the confidence for self-expression. People ranged from dressing in drag to dressing as trees, handing out seeds to passing strangers.

Local resident, Allie Irish, had just entered the U street scene when a street performer swept her away to do an acrobatic dance to the story of Spiderman. The audience of children, teens and adults swarmed as “Spiderman” flipped, glided and twisted up and down a pole. His big finale included sliding down the pole, just barely stopping in time to miss the ground and place a rose from his mouth into Irish’s.

This was just one of many examples of the amazing choreography at the festival. Toddlers and adults alike were mesmerized by the wide variety of moves.

Although this is the first year for the Funk Parade, it’s not the first time U Street has been funky.

“U Street, looking back historically, has been the cultural capital of D.C.” Naoum said.

Naoum and Rood met about a year ago when Rood reached out for supporters of his funk dream. Naoum is the founder of “Listen Local First,” a non-profit that helps emerging local artists book venues and events.

“I wanted to bring people from all areas, backgrounds, cultural backgrounds, and economic backgrounds to celebrate music, to celebrate dance and to celebrate art.” Naoum said.

Throughout the night, free, live music could be heard all along the U street corridor, with many restaurants providing drinks and other entertainment.

“I want my town to be a town where there is a blossoming, burgeoning music community,” Naoum said. “It’s not exactly my career, it’s my passion.”