Prompted by a letter from a concerned citizen, Fremont Arts Council members began talking about just how edgy they wanted to be. Finally, the council board voted to ban the float planned this year by the group called People Undergoing Real Experiences.

Last year, PURE's float was pulled by people who attached ropes to piercings in their backs - and it seemed parade-goers were cool with it.

"I think a lot of people really didn't realize what was going in till we got right up next to them but then they did - I don't think they were freaking out or anything," said PURE member and float puller John Bridges, 19, a short-order cook.

"I think it was generally well received," Bridges said.

Apparently not.

"What I heard was that they were worried about how children in particular would react to seeing people pulling the float with hooks in their back," parade organizer Monica Miller said.

There also were concerns about bystanders who might be shocked into fainting spells or decide they later required psychiatric care, she said.

"We're all for edge and we're all for art, but with these guys ... it was all about 'Look at me, look at me,"' said Rob, who answered the phone at the Fremont Arts Council and described himself as "an unknown but concerned arts council member." He declined to provide his last name.

The parade bans motor vehicles - along with words, pets and guns - so there was a practical aspect to PURE's mode of mobilization. This year's float was to depict a pirate ship, with two people taking turns being suspended from a gallows, using hooks attached through holes in their skin.

Piercing as a form of "body modification" has been around for centuries, said PURE organizer Daif Hahn, a professional piercer. He cited the elongated ear lobes of ancient Egyptian deity-rulers.

"This parade is known for being shocking, for pushing the envelope a little," Hahn said. "That's why people are in such a buzz" about the decision to ban PURE, he said, noting a local newspaper account Tuesday and several radio interviews.

"Maybe it looks painful to others, but it's consenting adults," Hahn said. "Stubbing your toe hurts too, but what are you going to do about it? If the art is worthwhile it's worth that quick second" of discomfort.

Piercing and suspension "has been on the news, it's been on reality shows, it's been in 'Ripley's Believe It or Not,' " Hahn said. "If it's good enough for primetime, why not for a parade?"

An arts council meeting last week failed to produce a consensus, but it stirred up the opposition and generated a flurry of e-mails and telephone calls. Last weekend, the council board voted 7-2 to ban the float from this Saturday's parade.

"They were worried about offending the community that has spent so much time building the parade into what it is," Miller said.

The parade is a time-honored tradition in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood, whose borders are posted: "Welcome to Fremont, the center of the Universe." The Center of the Universe has been bounced around a bit lately, with sleek new buildings replacing funky saloons and junk shops.

Miller had supported PURE, which had its float nearly completed and cheerfully helped with pre-parade prep work. PURE members followed the rules, and registered early both years, Miller said. They pitched in to help move floats and were "very willing to be part of the community we're creating," she noted.

But Miller conceded that "it's a changing community."

PURE does not plan to challenge the decision, Hahn said, but neither will it slink away.

"We're going to march in the parade as a protest. Without our float, without our piercings, without any of that," he said.