The very first ever All-City People’s Parade was scheduled for August 8th. Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not cooperate and rained out the festivities.
But all is not lost. The People’s Parade has a second chance to celebrate. They will be joining Milwaukee’s working men and women at LaborFest:
On Aug. 8, the skies washed away the cover story in the Shepherd Express. Rain did away with the elaborate plans for the All-City Parade and Pageant designed to celebrate the community’s hopes and fears with dance, clown skills, various artisans and everyday people.
All those hand-crafted masks and puppets, giant or intricate, all the wacky costumes, offbeat marching bands and people-powered floats are not gone forever, though Mother Nature did force some repairs to papier-mâché and cardboard.
Even before the downpour, MALC’s chief operating officer and Laborfest planner, Sheila Cochran, had visited the group’s storage area and workspace – the Parade Space, 2210 W. Clybourn Ave. — and was impressed. This event’s creators, Barbara Leigh and her Milwaukee Public Theatre, and Max Samson and his Milwaukee Mask and Puppet Theatre, are highly regarded Milwaukee theater veterans and activists on issues that dovetailed with Milwaukee organized labor.
She approached them about incorporating the leftovers from their Aug. 8 event into Laborfest.
Now there are no leftovers but a full meal.
So the groups got together and agreed to re-create the parade that wasn’t with the Laborfest parade that will be – rain or shine, with everyone praying for clear weather this time.
The article goes on to mention that some of the people that were able to be available for August 8th are not able to again be available on Labor Day, and they are looking for volunteers to help with the puppets and floats. If you are interested, please follow this link to see how you can help.
On a side note, look for MCF at LaborFest. We’d be darn glad to meet you.