Burners join New Year's Memorial Walk and Wave in memory of Highway Waver Ed Carlson

On New Year’s Day, the fourth annual memorial “Walk and Wave” will be held for Ed “The Waver” Carlson, in downtown Reno. Participants will walk and wave to others, as Ed did during his lifetime, through Downtown Reno north along Virginia St. and then east along E. Fourth St.

This year, due to Virginia Street Bridge construction, walkers will meet at noon in the West Street Plaza on 1st St. at West St., adjacent to the Java Jungle, to begin the walk which will end for the first time at the Morris Burner Hotel where a New Year community celebration is being held.

The Waver became an institution in Reno, which was his home base from the 1970s to 2007, for greeting motorists while on foot for over 30 years. Close friend Betty Layton of Reno said the Burlington, Iowa, native used to walk and wave for miles around Reno and then hitch a ride 25 miles south to Carson City, where he would walk and wave before hitching back to Reno the same day. "My sister said she remembered seeing him wave on the George Washington Bridge out of New York City in the early 1980s," Layton said. "He waved all over the country."

The Army veteran, who worked everywhere from oil fields to New York delis, began his waving after he experienced an "awakening" after a family crisis while residing in Reno, Nev. A philosopher of sorts, Carlson said of his journey: "My dear ones, there are no chance meetings. When it is time for our paths to cross, we cross.”

The event began as a tribute to Ed after he passed away Dec. 29, 2012, said event organizer Steve Funk.

“He became world renowned for his simple exercise in humanity, walking, smiling and waving at motorists. He was committed to love and believed that the best we can do is share it with one another," said Funk. "His simple, personal commitment brought positive attention to our community and was an inspiration to many. We should take pride in the fact that his epiphany happened here, and that he began the practice with us.”

When the walk ends, participants can join the fun at the all-day New Year Daze Party at the Morris Burner Hotel, featuring live DJs, food trucks, beverages, art and other activities, such as ‘Giant Fighting Robots.’ Spokesperson Tex Allen says, “This is in the style of burner community events in San Francisco that bring people together, stirring hearts and minds in the name of art and community.”

The New Year event in San Francisco, The Breakfast of Champions, brings out thousands of New Year revelers.

William Puchert, one of the organizers of the first memorial walk, welcomes the Morris Burner Hotel connection. “I think the ideals of both the Morris and The Waver share the same common sense of community and spirituality,” he said. “Having our destination there introduces a new generation and hopefully sustains our tradition of honoring ‘The Waver.”

“Going into 2016, the Morris really wants to start re-establishing some community energy around love and joy and the simple pleasures that make us grateful just to be alive, and that’s just what The Waver did," said Allen. "We want to emulate and re-circulate that energy right now, at the start of 2016 and set the pace for the whole year, so we think it makes a very natural tie-in.”

Cecelia Carlson, one of the Waver’s surviving daughters, expressed support for the idea and is grateful that people pay tribute to her father. “I know everybody is in his memory but it always makes my family feel so good when we know that people are still holding a wave day,” she says.

This year, due to Virginia Street Bridge construction, walkers will meet in the West Street Plaza on 1st St. at West St., adjacent to the Java Jungle, to begin the walk which will end for the first time at the Morris Burner Hotel, on 4th Street, where a New Year community celebration is being held.

Carlson wrote a book about his experiences titled "I Walked to the Moon and Everybody Waved." The title came from his claim that he had walked 225,000 miles, about the distance between Earth and the moon. See the video below.