If someone had never been to the Twin Cities before, I would tell them to try and time their first visit to be here for the May Day Parade and Celebration in Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis. The trees are in bloom everywhere. The sun is warm and shining. The people are in shorts! It is the very best of us.
A traumatic year under siege for Minneapolis
This year was different from years past in that never before has Minneapolis been under Federal Occupation. Never before have our citizens been murdered in the streets by ICE Agents, without consequence (so far). Never before have our neighbors been abducted from their homes for the crime of being not white. Never before have children dressed up as the whistles that we all blew to alert to the presence of ICE in the area. This year has been TRAUMATIC, and the vibe around May Day this year was WE DID IT. We stood up to the evil Fascists, and though they’re still here, they definitely have met their match, as Minnesotans met the moment. With peace, courage, and love for our neighbors. This was to be a day of CELEBRATION – for and with each other.
There could not have been a more perfect day for it, weather-wise. Not a cloud in the sky, bright sunshine, and a slight breeze to keep it all just perfect. People were ready to party. it was PACKED, and every face was smiling, and wishing strangers a “Happy May Day!” – all day.
All are welcome for May Day – except ICE
As the signs on our local businesses say, “All are welcome except ICE”, and the same went for this parade and day. All were welcome – but if you had a shred of support left for this criminal administration left in your body, you probably weren’t all that comfortable. And shouldn’t be. Ever. Our disdain for the government was written pretty clearly in every aspect of the day. As it should be.
Minneapolis is a puppet town, and May Day is like The Superbowl for local puppeteers. The beauty of their creations adds so much to the proceedings, and you can tell how much work has gone into it all. People are dedicated to May Day, and have been since 1975. People were riding art bikes, driving art cars, wearing full costumes, on stilts, just all the way into it, and everyone loved it all, so, so much.
The Indigenous dancers came along to display their gorgeous costumes and energizing footwork. They are a beautiful group to behold, and they have been incredible about showing up to every protest, every memorial, every march, despite the fact that we have had Indigenous People abducted also. Beautiful AND brave.
One woman was spreading the smoke of her sage around, and we caught eyes. She came over and took my hands in hers, looked deeply in my eyes, and said, “We have to protect the water.” It was a moment. And she can be sure that I will be even more adamant about protecting our MOST precious resource. You cannot drink money.
ICE was rejected, Prince was celebrated
You could not attend this parade and not know what has happened here this year. The signs of the Occupation were everywhere, and the floats that disparaged ICE or celebrated how Minnesotans handled it all were by far the most popular. The roars that this plow got …
You also can’t really attend anything in Minneapolis without quickly hearing or seeing something about our Native Son, Prince. His puppet was there dancing around, greeting people, and his music was played by about every other band or boom box. Again, as it should be.
The Resistance Loon has become probably the most prominent symbol of our Resistance here. When the Loon float came down Bloomington Avenue, it got huge applause from the massive crowd gathered. It was also seen on shirts, shields, hats, buttons … it’s a thing. I KNOW we’ll be seeing it made out of crop art at the Fair. Guaranteed.
The Southside Battle Train is also now a beloved Minneapolis tradition. People eagerly await the Mad Max type metal cacophony of noise, explosions, skateboarding, a BBQ, a ferris wheel … it’s a spectacle.
This gang seems like a super fun bunch. Creative, badass, they make their mark, and you can watch kids watching them with their mouths wide open, knowing that an impression has been made on that young mind forever. It really is the coolest.
Singing Resistance and Stinging Resistance
The Singing Resistance has been spreading their love and message all over town during the long, hard, winter, and it was a delight to see them all there, only now they were known as The STINGING Resistance, with its members all dressed up like adorable singing pollinators. The ability to have fun despite everything has been one of the most powerful aspects of this whole thing. Our spirit cannot be broken, and this day absolutely proved that.
The big beautiful heart came down the street, with people holding arteries out to you to touch, showing that we all share one heart now. We are connected forever. This was done by the same people (Big Animal) that did the giant human monarch butterfly a couple of months ago, and the weather on this day was far more pleasant, I can assure you. JOY!
Trans people are here forever
One of the most moving moments for me was when the Trans contingent came down the street. Their banner read “Trans PPL are Here Forever” and the cheering they received is making me choke up again now. This group of people has been so persecuted by our government for the non-crime of wanting to just be themselves.
Minneapolis understands this, and has their backs. The faces of the people holding the banners were so happy, and honestly, it looked like they were unused to being cheered for so heartily. It kind of summed up our People for me. We will love our neighbors, no matter what. From my angle sitting on the street, I could see a little girl underneath the flag, like when we used to run under the parachute in gym class as kids. I have to imagine this will be a moment that stays with her as well.
I miss my beloved Venice, California all the time, every day, but when I’m at something like May Day at Powderhorn, I know that I’m still among my People. This hula hoop group would be right at home on the beach in Venice.
Newlyweds joined our celebrations
The sweetest thing in the whole world was that a newlywed couple (married on May Day!) had their friends all dressed up like flowers, carrying a banner saying Just Married and another urging everyone to spread the love – and flowers.
The couple led the way, and had a great time, dancing and waving at the crowd. This is the very best wedding idea ever, like a New Orleans second line, only the entire city of Minneapolis was cheering you on. Fantastic! Congratulations!
Peace and Love were the words of the day, and all of the good, old hippies (and new ones!) were out spreading the word. War is stupid. War is bad. No one asked for THIS war, and we don’t want to pay for it when we NEED healthcare, clean water, education, affordable housing, etc. War is nonsense, and we let them know.
This couple gave me a serenade on their fiddle and banjo, and I had to include the photo even with my finger in it, because they were so sweet. I looked in the gentleman’s eyes, and felt so bad that they still have to be out there fighting all of this utter nonsense. But they’re doing it. As we all must, until everyone has those basic needs met and their pursuit of happiness is unobstructed. That IS possible.
We’ll never forget Renee Good and Alex Pretti
Renee Good and Alex Pretti are never far from our minds here in Minnesota. They do not have justice. Their killers are not only still on the loose, they’re still on the job. This cannot stand. This is not the America anyone wants to live in. They can go out and kill MAGA fools too, you know.
The Parade could have gone on all day, and no one would have minded. The tail end of the procession had a group of people picking up garbage, with our now familiar motto of “We take care of us”. We HAVE to.
After the Art Cars brought up the rear, the entire population of Minnesota (it seemed like. The cool ones, anyway.) moved on to Powderhorn Park. There were food trucks, booths to learn more about Socialism (we’d be so much better off, honestly), free spring water, free organic food, there was a table to make free flower crowns in the May Day spirit, there were giant bubble makers for kids to dance around in, and there were multiple brass bands (Shout out to Brass Solidarity for showing up to everything!) giving a soundtrack to the dancers kicking up their heels on the fresh grass. I had to smile at all the whistles, now parked on the hill. Hopefully not to be needed next year, but they’ll never be forgotten. We had whistles, they had guns.
Tree of Life
The Tree of Life Ceremony was taking place on the west side of the park, and by the time I got over there, the entire hillside was covered in humanity. There was more singing resistance, and a narrator shared the story of our lives together here this year. She spoke of Good and Pretti, and two bird puppets came out and danced around the grass in swooping circles, getting bigger and bigger until they went up into the crowd, raising their wings, being uplifted by the crowd. They represented those two souls we lost, and I got emotional all over again. I was not alone.
The highlight of the ceremony each year is the return of THE SUN to our shores. A group of intrepid rowers brings the Sun float across the water to the crowd, with the screaming and applause building the closer it gets. It is SPRING! We MADE IT (most of us)! We can be PROUD of who we are, and where we live. And we WILL CELEBRATE IT! This part is emotional as well, as you can imagine. Never mind the general happiness that winter is over, this winter was like no other. We showed the entire world what it means to be Minnesotan, and this was a day for all of us to bask in that glory. To dance, to sing, to hug, to high five, to laugh, to create, to make new friends, to share with old ones.
The day was a gift to all in Minneapolis
To take what we’ve learned from all of this actual nightmare, and bring that knowledge with us as we go forward together in an increasingly uncertain world. To share this absolutely ideal, perfect Minneapolis day with everyone who lived it was a real gift to us all. If you weren’t there, if you live in Minnesota and you’ve never been (what?!), if you’ve always wanted to visit but never have, if you’ve been, but it’s been a while, if you’ve never considered visiting Minnesota, but now you’re curious .. put it on your calendar for next year. It’s always the weekend closest to actual May Day … and you want to be there, to experience the very best of what Minnesota is.
Thank you to all involved, in every and any way. I truly love you all. Happy May Day!
All pictures by C J Gronner
To read the original post on Sucstack and enjoy more photos and the videos taken during the day, click here
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