You know it’s official when you have a fancy poster!

We look forward to a great event and hope to see you all at the parade!

Love,

The Liberty Parade

The more I send out emails, hand out flyers and talk on the phone, the more apparent it becomes the the Republican National Convention is not a place for art weirdos.  We at the Liberty Parade, like rosey-cheeked cherubs, went out into our community to announce the creation of a “nonpartisan parade celebrating the idea of liberty!”   We figured we would have everyone from Art Shanty’s to Boy Scout troops busy cobbling together some sort of float for our parade. We would be the media darlings! A nice respite from all the serious news looming about billy clubs and blocked highways and the mighty Republican Dollars that were bound to flood in. 

Not so much. 

After two press releases to over 40 media outlets, not one peep of interest.  How is this possible? Could we not be news worthy? We figured that the mere feat of getting permits for all of Nicollet Mall and Loring Park would be news worthy enough, let alone that we were putting together a community based celebration! But the press wasn’t impressed. I REALLY knew something was wrong when a prominent, liberal radio station cancelled our upcoming interview with less than a days notice. Why didn’t they want us? It boiled down to the fact we weren’t towing the liberal party line. Damned from all sides?  How could this happen? Then we realized our mistake.

We were working on the assumption that “nonpartisan” means that you are being all inclusive, welcoming people from all parties to engage in work together!  We can hold hands and sing songs and work out the BIG problems!   This is not actually true. Being nonpartisan means that you have no friends. The Right looks at you, and does not see support. The Left looks at you, and doesn’t see support either. Being in this political limbo offers ambivalence to your cause at best, and anger and hostility at its ugliest. “How dare you throw a parade about Liberty! Who do you work for anyway??”

We have changed gears a bit now, replacing “nonpartican” with the words “big crazy”. After all, thats what were hoping Liberty Parade will become.  To help further clairify what Liberty Parade is (and isn’t) Here is a handy dandy little FAQ we put together.

=== Liberty Parade: The FAQ  ===

Q: Everyone wants to know: What the heck is Liberty Parade??

A:
It is a big weird parade in honor of LIBERTY!
It is a rolling art explosion!
It is a city wide art project!
It is a celebration!
It is PROOF that politics doesn’t have to suck!
It is FREE and for everyone
It is a way to laugh off all this serious political business that has befallen our town.

Q: Why are you doing this?
A: A bunch of us Minneapolis kids got together and decided we had to do something unique and cool to show the nation what Minneapolis is really about. We came up with the idea of having a CELEBRATION rather than a protest. A big, weird, loud, difficult to explain or imagine parade where everyone creates objects to honor the idea of Liberty, and rolls them down the street for all to admire. Then we thought it would be a good final measure to throw a big party in Loring Park with beer and bands and intellectuals and civic leaders. Then we can all hang out together and talk smart and feel politically active. Not bad, eh?

Q:Is Liberty Parade a protest?
A: No, Liberty Parade Is a celebration! It’s a good times thing.

Q: If you’re not a protest group, are you Republicans?
A: We are your friends and neighbors. I bet some of us will be Republicans. I am sure there will be every political stripe that Minneapolis has to offer! I think the official term for it is “nonpartisan”.

Q: Is this legal? Do you have permits?
A: You betcha! It only took us a year, but the nice folks downtown said we could have a parade, and we could even have a concert at Loring Park with beer and everything! Minneapolis rocks! The permits cost us about $11,000, which is a lot of money to just do something for the hell of it. Bottom line: Donate if you can!

Q: I have never heard of you guys before. Are you a political group?
A: We are: a graphic designer, a high school teacher, a photographer, a web developer, two Ph.D candidates, a restorative justice advocate, a stock broker and a university secretary. If we were a political group it would take us another decade to come up with a platform. One thing we have in common is the belief that people should be active, engaged and conscious when it comes to politics, although we feel removed and apathetic most of the time too.

Q: When does the concert start?
A: The concert in Loring Park will begin at the end of the parade, around 2:30 or 3pm.