May Day

The Hubby and I went to the Minneapolis May Day Parade on Sunday!

The Minneapolis May Day Celebration is hosted every year by the In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater (HOBT).  The parade starts at the theater, which is located at the intersection of East Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue, and progresses down Bloomington to Powderhorn Park.

The Hubby and I brushed the winter storage grime and dust off of our bikes and rode the 1.5 miles to 31st St. and Bloomington.  We wanted to arrive early; the parade was scheduled to start at 1pm, and Bloomington is usually pretty packed by the time things kick off.  We found a sweet patch of curb underneath a shady tree and settled in to watch people arrive.  Some people were in parade costumes, some not, and everyone arrived on foot or by bike (if they drove, the eventually had to arrive on Bloomington by foot!).  May Day is alway great for people watching.  We were also right across the street from a bunch of guys and gals who set up speakers, keyboards, guitars, tambourines and entertained the crowds before the parade started.

The parade is split into two parts: First is the HOBT dancers and puppeteers.  This year’s theme was Uproar! HOBT presented the theme in four “scenes”: Growl, Breathe, Return and Roar.

After the HOBT section of the parade went through, the second part – the join in section – marched by. The join in section consists of any group that wants to march and share their message with the public.  There is no restriction on content, except that the message and the delivery be peaceful.   This year I was excited to see (and shake hands with!) Mpls Mayor RT Ryback and DFL gubernatorial candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher.  Rep. gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer and former House Minority leader Matt Entenza were also marching.  Aside from politicians, there were drumlines, dance groups, bands, an anti-scientology group, nurses, union groups, churches, atheists, anarchists, and many, many more.  I was sad that I didn’t see any art cars as part of the parade, but the multi-level and custom bike dudes and dudettes were out!

My two favorite pictures from the Parade:

We had a great time, and we ran into several friends at the parade.  After the last of the groups marched by, the Hubby and I rode our bikes down to Powderhorn Park and walked around the the May Day Festival.  As always, the park was absolutely crammed full of people.  We avoided most of it by walking below the vendors and organization booths along the lake shore.  The temperature had dipped down and the wind was picking up around this time, so we headed out and wrapped up May Day with lunch at the Midtown Global Market (seen rising up in the background behind May Day tents) and a nice, although blustery, ride home via the Greenway.

Tags: Fun!, Minneapolis