Indian Health Board Block Party
Thursday, May 1
12 – 3 PM
2020 Minnehaha Avenue
Free
This year’s American Indian Month Kickoff Parade will end at the Indian Health Board’s Minnehaha Avenue location where the IHB will host a community lunch and concert by acclaimed Anishinaabe hip-hop artist Thomas X. Vendor tables and raffle prizes will also be in the mix! Visit IHB’s facebook page for program details.
MAIC 50th Anniversary Open House & Powwow
Minneapolis American Indian Center
1530 E Franklin Avenue
Thursday, May 1
3 – 7 PM
Free
Join MAIC for an Open House and Powwow kicking off American Indian Month and celebrating their 50th Anniversary. Enjoy an afternoon of dancing, drumming, culture and connection. Doors open at 2 and Grand Entry starts at 3. Everyone is welcome!
South High School Spring Art Show
May 1 – 14
Exhibit hours:
Monday – Friday 4 – 7pm,
Saturday and Sunday,
noon – 4 pm
Modus Locus Gallery
3500 Bloomington Ave S
Free
The annual showcase of South High School students’ artwork features a diverse array of media, including ceramics, drawing, painting, photography, comic art, design, sculpture, and more. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience the vision and vibrancy of South Minneapolis’ youth through their art!
Neighborhood Day @ Peavey Park
Saturday, May 3
11 AM – 2 PM
Peavey Field Park
730 E 22nd Street
Free
This year Peavey Park and Phillips West Neighborhood Organization will host a fun-filled day of neighborhood spirit to celebrate Minneapolis Neighborhood Day. Connect and unwind under the covered pavilion to music courtesy of KRSM radio…or unleash your creativity and energy with family-friendly soccer games, piñata making, seed planting, bike tune-ups and more! Free food will be served. Come together to celebrate what makes this neighborhood special!
Mayday Parade & Celebration
Sunday, May 4
Noon until it ends
Parade begins at noon, ceremony and gathering to follow
Bloomington Avenue & Powderhorn Park
Free
South Minneapolis’ annual Mayday Celebration has been part of the neighborhood fabric since 1975. This year the parade will begin at noon at 28th and Bloomington Ave., then proceed towards Powderhorn Park, where a Tree of Life Ceremony will be enacted on the West side of Powderhorn Lake. Bring a picnic, enjoy the spectacle, and soak up spring energy at Powderhorn Park! For parade route and information on Mayday, as well details on other Mayday events in the community, be sure to visit maydaympls.org.
Better Things 5×5 Reading Event
Tuesday, May 6
7 PM
Moon Palace Books
3032 Minnehaha Avenue
Free
Join hosts Davi Gray, Erin Sharkey, and Louise Waakaa’igan at Moon Palace Books for short readings by five talented writers: Halee Kirkwood, Danez Smith, Antonio Williams, Alice Paige, and Dralandra Larkins. After the writers share their work, there will be a short refreshment break followed by an open mike period.
Better Things is sponsored by ReEntry Lab, which works to connect writers and other artists leaving incarceration to a community that’s ready to receive them. Please note that masks are required at Moon Palace Books.
Aragti Wadaag Soomaal 2024-25 Residency Exhibit
May 8 – June 21
Soomaal House of Art
2200 Minnehaha Avenue
Free
Engage with new work created by four early career artists while participating in Soommal’s 2024-2025 Aragti Wadaag Residency. Aragti Wadaag aims to amplify artists’ voices within the Somali community and create more equitable experiences for Somali-American artists in the greater art community. This year’s artists are Nafyar, Muna Scekomar, Lokho Kotile and Waseem Ibrahim. Gallery Hours are Saturday and Sunday, 1 – 5 PM. To learn more about the artists and Aragti Wadaag, visit soomaalhouse.com/residency.
Creation.Story
May 8 – July 26
All My Relations Arts
1414 E Franklin Avenue
Free
Creation.Story is a group exhibit featuring 13 artists whose work invokes the oral traditions and creative expressions in their Očhéthi Šakówiŋ heritage. As such, the exhibit is a continuation of this thriving tradition, which transcends time and adversity while adapting to contemporary realities. Artists featured are Jhon Goes In Center, James Star Comes Out, Mikayla Patton, Randilynn Boucher-Giago, Dwayne Wilcox, Dyani White Hawk, Marlena Myles, Talon Ducheneaux, Keith BraveHeart, Jaida Grey Eagle, Kylee Wanatee-Thunderhawk, Angela Babby, Destiny Big Crow, and Billy Janis. For gallery hours and additional programming, visit allmyrelationsarts.org.
Puppet Lab Festival of New Work
May 9 – 18
Open Eye Theatre
506 E 24th Street
$15 – $18
Open Eye Theatre presents Puppet Lab: A 2-Week Festival of New Work, featuring performances by this season’s Puppet Lab residency artists: Graci Horne, Nicole Rojas-Oltmanns, Chesare Cipriano, Samuel Albright, and Elizabette Hinze. An artist incubator, Puppet Lab is celebrating its 13th year of radical, genre-expanding, boundary–pushing puppet work. For showtimes, programs and tickets, go to openeyetheatre.org/puppet-lab-festival-2025. Age recommendation: 14 and up.
Little Earth Mother’s Day Powwow
Saturday, May 10
Grand Entry 1 & 7 PM
Cedar Field Park
2495 18th Avenue S
Free
Honor Mothers with a day of cultural activities and community spirit brought to you by the Little Earth Residents Association. Bring family, friends and a blanket or chair to Cedar Field and celebrate this special day with the community!
Jump Up! Greenway-Lake Street Cultural Caravan
Saturdays, May 10 and 24
11 AM – 1 PM
Midtown Greenway @ 10th Ave
Free
Gather at the Greenway two Saturdays this month for music, dancing, crafts, performing arts, puppets, and more sponsored by the Greenway Coalition. Jump Up! events will start on the Greenway with a community hang-out and activities with a local cultural group, then everyone will caravan (walk) to the Midtown Global Market, where the festivities will continue with a performance on the Market stage.
May 10: Make your own puppets, try on masks, and join a Puppet Caravan with In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre. Then join storytellers from HOBT for Family Story Time at 12:30 at Midtown Global Market.
May 24: Make memorial puppets with BareBones Puppet Theatre and meet the artists behind their annual Halloween Extravaganza. Bring a photo or drawing of someone you’d like to memorialize, then honor them during a Memorial Caravan walk up to the Global Market.
Midtown Global Market Art and Music Festival
May 16-18
Midtown Global Market
920 E Lake Street
Free
Enjoy live music, vibrant art, and nonstop fun throughout the market, with multiple stages and activities for everyone. Schedule to come soon, check the Midtown Global Market facebook page for details.
Community Meeting on
Public Art at Peavy Park
Tuesday, May 20
7 PM
Norway House
913 East Franklin Ave
Free
The community is invited to a second meeting with city staff regarding the removal of the Phillips Gateway artwork known as “the Thrones.” Topics will include timing, special considerations, and possible preservation of a few mosaic sections. Project staff will also share next steps for community engagement and planning a future artwork for Peavey Park. Snacks and beverages provided. Questions? Contact sarah.linnesrobinson@minneapolismn.gov.
Memorial Day Ceremony at Pioneers and Soldiers
Cemetery
Monday, May 26
10 AM
Cedar Avenue at Lake Street
(Enter on Cedar Avenue)
Free
Observe Memorial Day at the historic Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery. This year’s Keynote speaker will be Samia (Sammi) Hollinger. The program will include music by the Seward Community Band, a JROTC color guard from Minnesota Transitions School, Boy Scout Troop #1, and American Legion Post #1.
Ode To Walt Whitman
May 29 – June 8
Open Eye Theatre
506 E 24th Street
$15 – $30
Created & Performed by Bart Buch, Ode To Walt Whitman is a tender, silent puppet poem that uncovers a dialogue between Walt Whitman and Federico Garcia Lorca. Their poetic dialog contrasts Whitman’s America, a nation full of lovers and comrades, with what Garcia Lorca sees, an America inundated with machines and tears. For tickets, visit openeyetheatre.org/ode-to-walt-whitman.
Love Rising, Episode III
Saturday, May 31
10:30 AM & 12:30 PM
Pillsbury House + Theatre
3501 Chicago Avenue S
Pick Your Price
Join best friends Doña Pepa, Sid Sity and Old Man Zimmer as they tell stories, sing songs, and dance in an interactive program weaving the fun of Drag Story Hour with the magical realm of theatrical storytelling for early learners and their caregivers. To reserve a spot, RSVP at pillsburyhouseandtheatre.org/drag-story-hour-mn-love-rising. For those who don’t get a chance make reservations, there will also be 20 walk up tickets held for pick-up at the door!
Hennepin Fest
Saturday, May 31
2 – 7 PM
Washburn Fair Oaks Park
200 E 24th Street
Free
Hennepin Fest is a women-led music festival that celebrates the diverse history and culture of our community. The family-friendly event will feature music, spoken word and art by local women. This year’s lineup includes Annie Mack, Connie Evingson, Maria Isa, DJ/MC radio host Diane, and the fabulous NUNNABOVE. Check the Hennepin History Museum website or Facebook page for upcoming details on performance schedules, other programming, and vendors.
