Community Voices Section

The annual MayDay Parade is held on the first Sunday in May. Thousands of people line the one-mile parade route so if you have a cause you want others to know about, this is the place to strut your stuff.

Registration

• Advanced registration is required
• In keeping with the spirit of Mayday, we accept volunteer hours in exchange for the registration fees for both the Parade Join In section and Information Tables. See the application for more details and to enroll in the volunteer exchange program.

A Few Simple Rules for the Community Voices Section of the Parade

In addition to registration, we have a few simple rules that all groups are required to observe:

• Your message and the delivery of that message must be peaceful
• You must be respectful and follow the directions of parade officials, police officers and other MayDay
  staff
• You must have a banner that identifies your group or organization. Combining groups or organizations is not advised.
• No motorized vehicles are allowed.
• No amplified sound or megaphones.
• No soliciting of any kind.
• No distribution of flyers, food or other items.
• Line-up is first come, first served and begins at 11:00am on the day of the parade at Cedar Field (25th
  Street & Cedar Avenue).
• Rain date is Sunday, May 12th. Please listen to KFAI or WCCO radio to check if weather looks
  questionable. The parade has only been postponed once due to weather conditions.
• Groups that do not enter along Bloomington will be asked to wait until the entire parade has passed
  before joining in. Please do not enter the parade once it is going down Bloomington Ave.
• The parade route is one-mile in length with several stops along the way. There is a steep incline
  combined with a sharp turn close to the end of the parade. This also is heavily congested with people
  presenting potential danger and accidents.

Parade Float / Banner Rules & Regulations

All floats, puppets and banners created for your group’s use must be made at your own expense outside
of the MayDay public workshops.

No motorized vehicles are allowed.

Non-motorized floats must be pre-registered and approved by HOBT and display a “HOBT Approved”
sign prominently on float.

HOBT reserves the right to not accept any floats that do not meet the HOBT MayDay Float Standards.

During the transport process to and from the parade event, no one should ride on the float.

There must be a braking system in place for all wheels. Braking systems cannot include someone standing in front of a float to stop it!

Suggestions are: bicycle brakes; a series of handles on the float; foot brakes or any other effective breaking system to assure safety on inclines and corners.

In addition to the braking system, it is highly recommended to have emergency wedges to set in front of the wheels in case of an emergency.

Please practice with your float in advance to make sure that it can manage sharp turns and inclines!

All floats require at least one person per float wheel to accompany the float at all times during the transport process and the parade.

Wind is always a concern for safety! Take the wind into account with the height of the float. Please note that parade officials reserve the right to bar floats or require float modifications for any reason, including the wind, on the day of the parade.

Allowable Dimensions & Rules

Floats (including any attachments or protrusions)

Parade floats cannot exceed 40 feet in length or 10 feet in width and cannot be higher than 12 feet (this includes the persons standing on the float), to accommodate the height of traffic signals and wires along the parade route.

When choosing how to build your framework and wheel choice be mindful of the effects of vibration created by uneven and rough road surfaces for the one-mile parade. Consider using lightweight yet stable materials in your design and the building of the float.

Consider:
• 10-people is about 1,800-2,000 pounds
• Structure (steel? Wood?), another 1,000 pounds
• Wheels are about 20 pounds each
• Bikes will be about 20 pounds each

Banners

Parade banners cannot exceed 10 feet in width and cannot be higher than 10 feet tall. Banner poles should be lightweight, not flexible. All banners must have wind-slits in them to accommodate the effects of strong winds. Make sure that you have enough people to carry your banners.

Banner Rules
The parade route is one-mile in length with several stops along the way. There is a steep incline combined with a sharp turn close to the end of the parade. This also is heavily congested with people presenting potential danger and accidents.

Banners need to be made at a location other than In the Heart of the Beast's Avalon Theatre. The puppet making sessions at the Avalon are for the main section of the MayDay parade, and we only have the space to devote to those puppets that will be used in that section, so please find another space to make your creations for the Community Voices section of the parade.