MayDay!

The MayDay Parade and Festival has been happening in Minneapolis for the past 34 years, the first one being celebrated two weeks following the end of the Vietnam War. It is meant to bring together the community to tell the story of what is important to the people of the Twin Cities. It is put together by In the Heart of the Beast Mask and Puppet Theatre (HOTB). In their words, "Since 1973, In the Heart of the Beast Mask and Puppet Theatre has been using water, flour, newspaper, paint and unlimited imagination to tell stories that explore the struggles and celebrations of human existence."

While MayDay is produced and created by HOTB, it is a community endeavor. Beginning in February of each year, a community meeting is held. Any one who wants is invited to come and brainstorm ideas on that year's theme. Following that meeting, HOTB artists create a storyboard for the parade based on the ideas that the community came up with. From then until the actual event in May, there are community workshops in which anybody is welcome to come and assist in the creation of the floats, puppets and costumes for the parade. All are welcome to participate in the creation of the parade, as well as the parade itself. For AmeriCorps we went to the theatre a couple of weeks before MayDay and helped create things for the parade!

This year's theme was "Our Common Treasury." The MayDay website describes the thoughts and values behind the 2009 theme: "We celebrated the great merging of the human social justice movements with the environmental movements to remember humans as responsible relatives of the earth. As we experience the failure of our economic systems built on debt, consumer waste, the theft and sickening of earth resources, we gathered to rebuild an economic system that protects and sustains our Earth as a Common Treasury for All." The parade itself told various stories. The first scene was "Save Our Assets: Dig the Real Economy." There was a cracked egg, with all the king's horses and men trying to come to the rescue. There were people trying to keep a stinky pile of waste propped up under a house of cards. There were pigs digging up the waste heap and leveling the ground, followed by bugs, worms and other creatures laying the foundation for fertile soil ready to sprout. Which leads to the second scene: "Sprout!" There were grass sprouts, wind energy, and a giant spider spinning a new web. The final scene was "All We Have." There was a tree of wisdom, with the idea of weaving the wisdom of the past with the abundance of the earth. There were birds (that I helped make!), buffalo dancers, and dragons as a thank you to ancestor spirits.

Overall, it was an amazing event. There were literally thousands of people there of so many different backgrounds. It truly was a community gathering. Afterwards, there was a festival in Powderhorn Park with music and a ceremony, canoe rides, food and more. I'm so glad that I got the opportunity to go this year, and I'm sure it will be a yearly tradition for as long as I'm living in the Twin Cities.