A spark of eccentricity

Article by: TOM HORGEN , Star Tribune
Updated: August 31, 2008 - 10:33 PM

The Liberty Parade brought a jolt to the Sunday afternoon crowd gathered to see performances on the Nicollet Mall.

hide

A polar bear that was part of the Liberty Parade sits on the ground after finishing its walk down Nicollette Ave as part of a support efforts on global warming and the possible demise of the Polar Bears.

Photo: Steve Rice, Star Tribune

Cart Buy Photos

Camera Star Tribune photo galleries

Camera view larger

0
comments
resize text
print
buy reprints

Tweet
share

email
Email share

your name

your email

recipients email

+ add a comment add a comment

After a late-night crowd packed Orchestra Hall to hear indie-rock bands, Sunday seemed a bit subdued at Spark24, the round-the-clock music and theater fest in downtown Minneapolis.

Then things got weird.

At 1 p.m. the Liberty Parade came rolling down Nicollet Mall to a crowd of several hundred. The Holidazzle it wasn't. Instead of floats with politicians and pageant winners, it was a confluence of weird, funny, arty types -- 30 to 40 "floats" -- all charged with showcasing their idea of liberty.

There were "art cars"; giant puppets from Seattle; Guy Fawkes lookalikes who declared a "war on Scientology" while blasting "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" theme song, and antiwar women riding a giant "Dr. Strangelove"-type missile.

The puppetmaster had been short on volunteers to carry his massive creations until a large contingent of excited Ron Paul supporters seemed to materialize out of nowhere. They carried the puppeteer's 20-by-50-foot replica of the U.S. Constitution.

"These guys hear the word 'liberty,' and they just want to let freedom ring," parade organizer Chris Pennington joked.

Tom Horgen • 612-673-7909

related content
Puppets of Condoleezza Rice, left, Donald Rumsfeld, John McCain as the dog, President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney lie on the ground after the parade. The Backbone Campaign, a grassroots group from Washington State, brought them to Minneapolis for the parade.

Steve Rice, Star Tribune