Happy May Day!

I took Attila to her first May Day parade today. (warning: LOTS of pictures to follow) I used to go all the time, (in high school we used to go and build/carry puppets) but I haven't been in quite a few years (working on weekends got in the way). So this year, it was a beautiful day, I didn't have to work, and Attila was old enough to have fun so we went. I am happy to say it really hasn't changed a bit.

Enjoying a sammich while waiting for the parade to start. I love how she is sitting with her leg crossed over like a little old lady.

View from the stroller

We were right at the end of the parade route- in Powderhorn park, so we had a long wait, but finally- Puppets!

And floats! (The parade follows a storyline -it's always similar, but there was a lot of "bridge" symbolism this year)

This is the monster truck - it would run over the rats/mice driving the smaller cars- it's hard to see in this pic, but there is a mouse under the right front tire.

More monster truck. (and a mini cork car! a tribute to the Art Car parade)

Seeds of change

I am not really sure what this little girl is supposed to be (a seed? a mushroom?) but I loved it. She was very little and just had a little window cut to see out of. It was so funny to watch her walk! I bet she built most of it herself.

Birds

One of the best puppets was this huge black bear. The "fur" was made of kind of strange material- it almost looked like old audio tape cut into shag, but then it looked like fabric at the same time. I don't know what it was but it was wonderful. That kid riding on top in his car seat was having a blast.

Bird masks

Music shanty. There was an entire band inside too. When they had to turn the corner, the guy sitting by the door had to hop out and push to the right, while still playing his drum.

This doesn't really display just how sparkley she was.

Butterflies! Attila kept waving to the butterfly lady - she loved her.

This is one of the boats that is used in the ceremony to bring the sun across the lake. By the time we got settled on the hill and the ceremony started, Attila was getting pretty antsy. Because it was so nice out there were a ton of people there, so I think things were delayed a bit. I didn't think she was going to last until the end so after we ate our snack we headed home. It was such a fun and gorgeous day.
Now it finally feels like winter is really over.