May Day Parade and Festival
Handcrafted puppets are on parade to celebrate spring during the 200-person pageant with dancers, puppeteers and a live orchestra. The parade will flow into Powderhorn Park for the Tree of Life Ceremony, complete with the beating of drums and the red sun flotilla crossing the lake to reawaken the slumbering arbor. The festival includes vendor booths, poetry, canoe rides and food. Parade begins at 26th Street and Bloomington Avenue S. and continues into Powderhorn Park. (Festival 1-7 p.m. Sun. 5/6. Free. Powderhorn Park, 3400 15th Av. S., Mpls. 612-721-2535. www.hobt.org.)
Living History Saturdays
Long before 30-minute meals and washing machines, families spent many hours doing basic household chores. Through a series of demonstrations on cooking, laundry and cannon firing, learn about the history of soldiers, traders and families who lived in and around the fort. Tour the "Why Treaties Matter" exhibit and view the short film "Where the Waters Meet," about the history of Fort Snelling. (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 5/5. $6-$11. Historic Fort Snelling, 200 Tower Av., St. Paul. 612-726-1171. www.mnhs.org.)
