Actress, comedian and former Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast member Julia Sweeney, a native of Spokane, Washington, served as the grand marshal of the Torchlight Parade. The event, part of the annual Lilac Festival, is a key moment for the city in eastern Washington. Unlike the wetter, cooler Seattle—where lilacs bloom at a different time and large specialized lilac festivals are uncommon (garden or tulip festivals, such as those in the Skagit Valley, are more popular)—Spokane’s Lilac Festival is more traditional and community-oriented. The parade, which kicks off on Saturday evening, will gather marching bands, decorated floats and cars, and Sweeney herself will ride in an open convertible.
The past few years have been full of celebrations for the 66-year-old comedian. She marked the 50th anniversary of the improvisational troupe Groundlings, where she began her career, attended SNL’s 50th reunion and took part in celebrations for the 50th anniversary of coeducation at her alma mater, Gonzaga Prep. The school Sweeney attended is a prestigious Catholic preparatory academy known for a strong academic program and ties to Gonzaga University. Unlike Seattle schools, which offer a wider variety of educational options, Gonzaga Prep represents a more elite choice for families who value religious education and smaller class sizes—typical of the more conservative Spokane. Despite all the joy, Sweeney admits the kaleidoscope of events gives her a strange feeling—as if a major chapter of her life is drawing to a close.
“I feel like I’m in a documentary that ends with my farewell wave from a float,” Sweeney jokes. She mentioned she’s working on a book but isn’t sure when she’ll finish it. The comedian says she’s ready to step back from public life, and being parade grand marshal has become for her a kind of final punctuation in a long, bright career.
Sweeney’s path to the stage began with the Groundlings, from which she moved to SNL, where she shone for four seasons in iconic sketches. One of her most recognizable characters was the androgynous Pat, who elicited both laughter and debate. After leaving the show in 1994, Sweeney created several notable solo shows, including “God Said ‘Ha!’” and “Letting Go of God,” and later appeared in the Hulu series Shrill as the mother of Aidy Bryant’s character.
Although Sweeney admits she would like to live in Spokane, she’s not ready to leave Los Angeles, where her husband and daughter live. Still, she visits her hometown often, walks along Riverfront Park, enjoys the blooming lilacs in Manito and racks up to 17,000 steps a day. She notes that Spokane was an ideal place to grow up, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, when there were fewer class, racial or political tensions compared with the dynamic and stressful Seattle. A midsize city with access to nature but without the sharp social tensions of big metropolises—that’s how Sweeney characterizes it. It’s important to note that Spokane and Seattle are separated by the Cascade Range, creating stark cultural and landscape differences: Spokane sits in the dry, sunny part of Eastern Washington, reminiscent of prairies, while Seattle is in the rainy, forested, coastal Western Washington.
“It gave me the chance to try things I never would have dared in a big city,” Sweeney recalls. She believes her success is a string of happy accidents and good fortune. The comedian doesn’t believe in predestination and advises simply enjoying the turns life offers.
“I think a lot of life is chance, and you just float one way and then the other. In the end some things happen, some don’t. You don’t really have much control, so it’s funny,” Sweeney concludes philosophically. “Now I think, ‘Wow, what a funny life this turned out to be.’”
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