A beautiful day at the park

Today, the first Sunday in May, was the annual MayDay parade at Powderhorn Park. The first year I lived in Minnesota, it was snowing on the day of the parade. Most of the time, it's nice weather like this. The theme this year had to do with finding richness in nature (since we can't seem to locate it in our economy). In that vain there were several "piggy bank" pig floats. We all joked that the floats were clearly conceptualized before the H1N1 influenza (yes, that means Swine Flue) outbreak. Talk about unlucky timing.
For those of you in Minnesota who've never been (why?), and those of you not in Minnesota, the parade does not have a corporate sponsor. In the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater is the main sponsor with some help from the Park Board and neighborhood associations. It's also used as a way to welcome Spring (yes, Spring just started here) to Minnesota. So, between the puppets and the actors and all the symbolism of spring and life, the parade and festival tends to gather a rather, um, eclectic crowd. Want proof?

Proof 1: The guy wearing a turtle shell around his neck. (Is it odd that I know that's a red-eared-slider shell?)

Proof 2: The guy in the pink hat. (Yes, that is a dude.) I wonder if this is a friend of Kathleen's (who I did not see) with the whole Easter Bonnet thing. I'll have to see if I can find his picture on her page.

Proof 3: In all fairness, this guy was on the "Sun God" (if you'd been to the parade, you'd know what I'm talking about) float and so does not look this way all the time (probably).

Proof 4: Also, I believe this had some role in the parade. Up close, it looks like a lot of ties. (I missed the symbolism because I didn't see it in the parade earlier.)

Proof 5: Cutest. Thing. Ever. (Look at the size of that phone...)