With 100,000 Solstice fans cheering the zany delights of the summer parade up State Street tomorrow, all braving the crowds are guaranteed a wild and wacky experience.

But Santa Barbara’s mayor and the parade’s executive director are about to dismiss at least one unwelcome surprise. The bounced-around Solstice workshop will be on solid ground for the first time this fall when it moves into the space that formerly housed the Recycling Center on Ortega Street at Garden.

“It will be wonderful to have a permanent place,” said Mayor Marty Blum. “Last year we came close to not having a parade. I won’t be staying up at night biting my fingernails.”

On hand to pick up her costume, the mayor was joined by long time Solstice leader Claudia Bratton who showed off a big smile at the news. Bratton had to scramble last year to find a workshop spot at the old Be Bop Burger location late in May.

“I have goose bumps just talking about it,” Bratton said. “It will be amazing. This will serve as a backstage area for many of Santa Barbara’s performing arts organizations, but Solstice will be responsible for running it. We have a 31-year history of successfully managing artists in a workshop type of environment.”

Regardless of the obstacles and at times controversial unveilings during the mobile ensemble parade, Bratton has always managed to pull the festivities together. She’s even expanded on the South Coast’s largest single day event. Only Old Spanish Days can come close to claiming Santa Barbara’s number one spot with around 50,000 for the Fiesta parade.

But dissimilar to that highly choreographed five-day affair, Solstice typically attracts an offbeat, creative blend of participants from this area’s nationally recognized artistic community for the annual celebration.

The spontaneous and free nature of the event allows artists to envision and assemble 20-foot tall praying mantids, elongated Yellow Submarines and this year’s giant skin-colored foot, with movable toes, that will kick into high gear tomorrow.

With the theme “Wild Things” on tap, the rows of onlookers, six-deep, will be treated to a special performance by the former lead guitarist from The Troggs. Appropriately, Richard Moore will be rocking the crowd with that group’s Top 40 smash hit “Wild Thing.”

But on this day, while an accordion player serenaded the workshop workers with his impromptu version of Wild Thing, the parade’s artistic director was mostly tame.

“The recent wetness in the night air caused some paint to bubble off the papier mache,” said Riccardo Morrison. “This is the third coat on this,” he added, putting a hand on the Big Foot. “But we’ll be in good shape for the parade.”

Amid the circular saws, stubs of two-by-fours and wire chicken-mesh carcasses at the old Weber’s Bread parking lot on Cota Street, both Bratton and Morrison had a chance to reflect on the storied history of Solstice.

The summer celebration began with a birthday party and State Street parade in 1974 for Michael Gonzalez, a member of a touring troupe of street performers from San Francisco known as the Mime Caravan.

Bratton estimated 15 people participating in the beginning with the numbers now often hitting the century mark during the executive director’s long tenure. Another high point came in the early days.

“In 1982, Michael asked me to design the first T-shirt for the parade,” Bratton said. “It was so much fun to see my artwork on so many different shaped bodies from babies to triple XL sizes.”

And while onlookers latch on to pieces of Old Spanish architecture to get a good view of such monstrous moving ensembles as “Smile You’re on Wild Camera,” a flock of “Winga-ding” performers will be gathering dollars and cents from the giddy crowd to help support next year’s workshop.

Parade goers should also bring extra cash reserves for the party lasting into the early evening at Alameda Park. This year’s Solstice promises plenty of new twists and turns en route to the eight live bands and after event festivities until the sun sets.

There will be fun for all ages with jugglers, a variety of music from the main stage and the ever-popular kids’ area. And a sometimes local but always reclusive billionaire has contributed to this year’s nonprofit cause.

“Ty Warner has donated ‘art-project’ mugs, with a Beanie Baby, to give away to the first 450 kids under 12 to encourage them to participate in the arts,” said Bratton, who scurried over to the ‘wardrobe department’ to get the Mayor’s dress ensemble.

There would be no more talk this day of the Recycling Center moving over to the Marborg facility to make way for the new shared community arts workshop. The show had to go on. There was plenty of time to revisit business at City Hall - on Monday.

PHOTO BY JEFF JONES

Caption: Riccardo Morrison, artistic director of the 2005 Summer Solstice, checks out some refractory papier mache on the giant foot that will appear in tomorrow’s parade.