Horay for Mayday!

April 10, 2008 8:28 AM

Mefi Mayday (May 4) Minneapolis Meetup at Powderhorn Park!

I propose a meetup to coincide with Heart of The Beast's spectacular May Day Celebration We would meet after the sun boats have crossed the lake and the Tree of Life puppet/maypole has been raised. Maybe behind the park rec building?

posted by wheelieman to MetaFilter gatherings at 8:28 AM (28 comments total)

It depends. Will spring finally be here?
posted by jmd82 at 9:26 AM on April 10

"Spring" is such a relative term in Mipples.
posted by louche mustachio at 9:42 AM on April 10

It's "Spring" right now, and we've got a winter SPRING storm warning, with a possible six to twelve inches of snow expected.
posted by louche mustachio at 9:46 AM on April 10

You really should have met up at Morton's Mall, or perhaps Mendelheim's Monastery instead.

Would've made for a great header.
posted by Grither at 10:32 AM on April 10

MIPPLES! My new favorite term for this place.

I will be out of town that day, but recommend that the rest of you be very specific as you concoct your meeting-up plans. Last time there was a mpls meetup, people left because they couldn't find the other mefites. And that was in a bar. Possibly even with a sign. I've been in Powderhorn Park during the May Day festival, and I doubt I could have located my own mother unless she specified something like "2:03pm, within a 4-foot radius of the left-most water fountain on the north side of the rec building." (That may not be a real place, but you get the idea.)
posted by vytae at 10:42 AM on April 10

Mipples? Seriously? You're not... from around here originally, are you, Louche?

Oh well. Still better than Mwakee.

I'll definitely try to be there. I think we should have an International Workers Day celebration ON Mayday, too. Lets all get together and uh... sing songs from the little red book (this one, not that one).
posted by gauchodaspampas at 11:50 AM on April 10

No offense, gauchodaspampas. Surely Mipples is just an attempt to pronounce Mpls.
posted by Cranberry at 12:08 PM on April 10

I have done this parade/ceremony when it was 35 degrees and snowing, and it's not that bad really. If its crappy out maybe Midtown global market by the weird footprint there. At 5?
posted by wheelieman at 12:21 PM on April 10

In Omaha The Cat Dancer they called in Mipple City.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:46 PM on April 10

It's funny, I've always pronounced it "Mippliss."

I am penciling it in.
posted by nanojath at 2:33 PM on April 10

I'll pencil it in too, because I'll certainly be at the parade. I agree with the need for a VERY specific location, though - I've never had any luck with vague plans to meet people at the parade. Maybe on the playground or at the booth with the naked guys in the barrels or something?
posted by streetdreams at 4:45 PM on April 10

Ah the MN gay naturlist booth. Never gets old, I said behind the rec building, meaning where the walking path dips down a little and where the dock is. Know the place I'm referring to?
posted by wheelieman at 6:32 PM on April 10

And also, wear blue and yellow so I can spot you, and maybe chant COME O WHEELIEMAN COME
posted by wheelieman at 6:35 PM on April 10

holy shit yeah. i love may day at powderhorn. i shall wear meta-talk grey and look for you all. my picture is in profile (which is weird to say with the recent dating-filter) but, yeah. We should look for each other...

a good meeting place and time might me nice. say time_X at 36th and Bloomington Ave, or whatever place. let's figure it out!

a belated sorry to everyone I missed at the last meet up, too.
posted by localhuman at 10:47 PM on April 10

Does sound like fun, though I know nothing of the area. Us Mankatoians just don't get around much.
posted by jmd82 at 9:20 AM on April 11

Okay, wheelieman, as the initiator of this, why don't you just go ahead and decide the exact and specific where and the when of the meeting, state it here, and I will endeavor to provide some further instructions/directions, maps and etc. per the requests of jmd82 etc. within the next couple weeks?
posted by nanojath at 12:48 PM on April 11

Ok, will do. Forget the last spot I suggested. Since I will in the Tree of Life ceremony band, we can meet at where they are set up. We do the ceremony on the west shore of the lake and get there EARLY! Thousands of people watch this so get a good seat on the hill with a good blanket. They have a riser set up with microphones to the right of the staging area for the ceremony, and thats where we play. At the end, the band marches out to the sidewalk and plays Down by the Riverside and then we retreat back to our microphones to strike down. Heart of the Beast usually has a van that says Reedy Rents so use that as a landmark and were right by there. Just look for the people with brass and woodwind instruments and lipstick marks on their cheeks. I'll be wearing a white crown, and have a cymbal, tamborine, and cowbell mounted to my wheelchair. Just look for this The ceremony starts when the parade ends, as the website says, 3:30 or so, so I suggest watch the parade close to the park, its crowds up fast so get there early. Have I lost anyone yet?
posted by wheelieman at 2:16 PM on April 11

Oh, we would meet after the ceremony, as the Tree of Life is carried back up the hill.
posted by wheelieman at 2:20 PM on April 11

Hey, I might be there.
posted by mpls2 at 3:20 PM on April 11

Neat - I'll be new in town come May Day.

(Also, I know what Omaha the Cat Dancer is because I cataloged it. For work. At an academic institution. The awesome is strong in the art library.)
posted by clavicle at 6:10 PM on April 11

Wouldn't you know, a Minneapolis meetup and a Man Dance all at the same place. When you're all done banging the drums and decide to booze it up a little on the patio at Grumpy's, let me know.
posted by DonnieSticks at 10:51 PM on April 11

Would a maypole fit on that patio?
posted by wheelieman at 6:13 AM on April 12

I will try to be there if a specific time and place are named, or we just do a post-festival drink or something. I don't like hunting for people under the best of circumstances, much less a crowded festival.
posted by cabingirl at 11:12 AM on April 12

Alas, I will be herding cats and refereeing pissing contests, so I won't be able to make it. Wheelieman, if I see you in the parade, I'll wave or shout or do something silly to say howdy.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:15 PM on April 15

Well, damn, when I brought this up with my wife she gently reminded me that we had an out of town family obligation on that date that I had been duly informed of and agreed upon, pretty much at the beginning of the year. Maybe next time.

I said I would try to provide further logistical input WRT help for people unfamiliar with the parade in terms of maps, instructions etc. At the moment it seems like people pretty much feel like they know what's going on, or can figure it out, or are not even going to bother to negotiate the situation and will wait for something more conventional (i.e. let's meet in this business at this address at this time and date).

So, if anyone wants more help tracking this thing down, please give a shout out in this thread and I will keep and eye on it and consult with wheelieman and try to help in spite of my own unfortunate inability to participate. Incidentally, a maypole would totally fit in Grumpy's patio (if we're talking about the same filthy fenced-off smoker's ghetto), although dancing around it might result in stumbling into a fire if it's a chilly day, and you're practically guaranteed to end up inadvertently strangling some unfortunate smoker.
posted by nanojath at 10:56 AM on April 24

Nano, MeFiMail me, and we will try to get this sorted out.
posted by wheelieman at 12:25 PM on April 26

Sounds too complicated for me. Sorry.
posted by streetdreams at 8:48 AM on April 28

Note to self: Never try to meetup in a crowded festival, it never works.
posted by wheelieman at 7:49 PM on May 4