May Day!

This past weekend, before our departure, we attended the May Day Parade and Ceremony here in Minneapolis. May Day is a big deal here. After the long cold winter, May Day is when the people of Minneapolis come together to celebrate Spring and we do so with gusto. After the long winter here, we've earned it.

The May Day Parade and Ceremony is organized and put on by the great people at the In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater. As they describe it on their web site:

HOBT’s MayDay Parade, Ceremony, and Festival has always been rooted in two important traditional celebrations—the celebration of the Green Root of Earth’s green energy rising in Spring, and the Red Root of human work energy rising from mind, heart and hand.

Our MayDay 2009 theme celebrated the merging of the red and green energies of the world. 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.”

This was my first May Day in Minneapolis after moving here last year. All year long, my friends (especially Mary!) talked about how great the May day parade is. They weren't kidding. The people at In the Heart of the Beast bring together hundreds of people to produce a unique and diverse blend of community, art, and celebration that truly is Minneapolis at its creative and spirited best.

Here are some photos from the day:
















Check out my full May Day photoset on Flickr.