Mayday festival in Minneapolis, usually a celebration of spring, grieves neighbors lost to ICE surge
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Thousands of people gathered in south Minneapolis for the Mayday parade, ceremony and festival on Sunday. The annual spring celebration was marked by themes of resilience, grief and anti-ICE sentiments.
On Bloomington Avenue in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood, a community particularly hard-hit by immigration enforcement activity in December and January, a life-size snowplow float shoveled a pile of mangled U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles while a brigade of paper mache whistles on bicycles swooped back and forth.
Organizers balanced Mayday’s celebratory hallmarks — like the raucous Southside Battletrain and resplendent sun flotilla — with acknowledging the trauma and grief many south Minneapolis neighbors say they are feeling as a result of the immigration enforcement surge over the winter.
The Tree of Life Ceremony included a tribute to Renee Good, Alex Pretti and others lost to state violence, as well as a transformative scene where a family’s cocoon of grief following an ICE raid is transformed into a butterfly.
The festival’s finale featured the raising of the majestic Tree of Life puppet, surrounded by dozens of twirling fabric monarch butterflies, while local street band Brass Solidarity played a cover of the O’Jay’s “Love Train.”
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
