mayday » Dad's Eye View

In addition to my camera phone, which let me snap a lot of pictures at the MayDay parade and upload them immediately, I also brought along my Purma Special. This is one of my favorite cameras–a British invention from the 1930s, it has a gravity-assisted shutter: turn to the left and the shutter is slow, turn to the right and the shutter is fast, hold it right side up for normal speed. Unfortunately, it takes 127 film (a format that’s in between standard 35mm and the bigger 120 roll films), which is a little hard to get; I order Efke film, manufactured in Croatia, through Freestyle Photo. My two 127 cameras (the other is a folding Kodak Autograph) only get out on special occasions, and MayDay is about as special as it gets.

I’m running these pictures one at a time on my photoblog, but I’m giving a special preview here; Dad’s Eye View features some of my toy and vintage camera photographs, including a few out of the Purma.

Goodness, that was a chilly parade! And windy–my dodo mask made me into a high profile vehicle, and my “Dodos for a brighter future” banner acted like a sail, so I felt at times like I was going to literally fly down Bloomington Avenue.

Despite the weather, though, the sidewalks were packed with people (some of them shivering under blankets, but all of them having a great time). It was fun to spot friends and neighbors in the crowd, wave my dodo banner, and generally be foolish in public: MayDay has more than a little of the Carnival spirit, and it’s good to step out of the lines and poke fun at the day to day world every now and then.

It’s a bone-cruncher of a parade, though, especially when it’s chilly; my joints are a little sore from all the mini Dodo Parades we did when we stopped mid-block, snaking around our marching band (in black and white polka dots) behind the head dodo on stilts. You don’t necessarily feel it while you’re in the parade, especially when the band is playing “Roll Out the Barrel,” but after it’s over, ouch!

From inside the parade, it’s hard to get a sense of everything that’s going on. I tried to see a few of the other sections while we were lining up–I was especially interested in the cornucopia the “Pay Up!” section was making–but I mostly saw my own gang of coyotes, dodos, and mandrills. They were an enthusiastic group, though, and well-led through the workshops and in the parade by Lindsay McCaw, puppet artist extraordinaire. It was fun to see how people interpreted the basic costumes in so many interesting ways; a big part of the fun of MayDay is putting a personal twist on the basic building blocks, and then fitting everything together into one big show.

A happy MayDay to all!

It’s been a wintry April, and sometimes it felt as thought this day would never arrive, but here it is at last: May Day!

In South Minneapolis, Spring is ushered in by the Heart of the Beast Theater’s MayDay parade. Running down Bloomington Avenue from 26th Street to Powderhorn Park, this is a fun and funky neighborhood event. The theater’s artists have been working with their neighbors in Powderhorn and surrounding neighborhoods to build the floats, costumes, and banners that will welcome the return of Spring.

The Heart of the Beast Theater (and this parade) is actually the first of the 52 places in A Dad’s Eye View. Unfortunately, the book will hit the shelves (and the iTunes App Store) a couple weeks after the parade is a glorious memory, so here are a few tips if you’re coming to watch today:

Don’t underestimate the traffic! There will be a lot of people packed into just a few blocks. Get to the parade early (it kicks off at 1PM). If you’re inclined toward bicycling, this is a great event for it: the Midtown Greenway gets you there!

Explore East Lake! If you get to the parade area early and need a little lunch, you’ll find plenty of options on East Lake Street. My personal favorites are Taco Taxi, just east of Bloomington Avenue; Ingebretsen’s Scandinavian deli, a block west of Bloomington Avenue; and the Mercado Central, which houses Manny’s Tortas, a Mexican sandwich shop beyond compare, and a great bakery for all the Latin sweets you could ever want. The Visit Lake Street web site has lots more tips!

If you want to avoid the crowds, stake out your spot north of Lake Street; between 27th and 28th Streets, you’ll be able to see the parade (when it’s still fresh: marchers and paper maché get a little droopy toward the end) without as many watchers, and can make your escape more easily.

If you LIKE the crowds, the most fun is to be had at Bloomington and 34th, where the parade turns west toward Powderhorn Park. This is where the die-hard parade watchers have been lining up for years, and it’s great fun to watch the giant puppets and floats make that turn and start down the hill.

Stay for the ceremony! At about 3:30 PM, the Spring ceremony will kick off. It varies a little every year, but will almost certainly involve fancifully decorated canoes crossing Powderhorn Lake and the sun being carried up the hill. There are food vendors (covering the range from State Fair favorites to vegan options), entertainers, and activities at the park between the parade and the ceremony, so there’s little chance of getting hungry or bored.

Last year, Jack and Peter were a tiger in the “Growl!” section of the parade, Kelly carried a banner, and I ran alongside with my cameras. This year, we’re all in the “!drawroF” section (that’s “Foward!”, backwards): the boys are coyotes, and Kelly and I are dodo birds (do I detect some type casting?). Watch for the meticulously painted yellow dodo and the garish green one (I’m green), and we’ll wave back!

MayDay Workshops The In the Heart of the Beast MayDay Parade workshops are in full swing, with the sections forming up and magic starting to emerge out of scraps of cardboard, cloth, and paint. The first sessions were this past Saturday, and continue on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings and afternoons until the parade on Sunday, May 1. If you’d like to participate, it’s not too late!

The parade story this year is complicated. It has something to do with eggs, crows, and rats, and also includes coyotes, dodo birds, and baboons. When we arrived a little after 1:00 PM, the lobby where the parade storyboard was being explained was over full, so we just headed into the workshop area (they pull out the seats and transform the theater and stage into a big work space, overflowing onto the sidewalks) to find a section. We’re going to be in the “Forward!” (or, if you will, “!drawroF”) section: the boys are working on coyote masks, and Kelly and I are making dodo bird costumes. I hope to take inspiration from either the Porky in Wackyland dodo bird, with a feather duster on the top of the mask, or Polly Moran’s dodo from the 1933 “Alice in Wonderland” (a movie that gave me nightmares the first time I saw it: it’s like the “Andalusian Dog” version of Lewis Carroll, not for the faint of heart!).

The great thing about the Heart of the Beast parade, and the artists who run it, is that it’s a loose enough structure that there’s plenty of room for creativity, but there’s also lots of guidance available for making something that will fit into the overall theme. It’s also as much fun to make the costumes and props as it is to put on the parade: the process of fitting your small piece into the overall show is just as important as the show itself.

Even if you’re not able to participate in the parade, you should still make a point of attending: it’s a great outing for kids and adults of all ages, with plenty to see and do.

Dad's Eye View

Some final MayDay pictures...

MayDay Recap

MayDay is here at last!

MayDay Workshops in full swing!

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