following the parade / powderhorn park

Mayday ceremony

  • WATCH THE CEREMONY

    Join us for the Tree of Life Ceremony, following the Mayday Parade.

    Learn More

  • GET INVOLVED WITH THE CEREMONY

    We need volunteers to help build puppets and participate in the ceremony.

    volunteer details

  • ceremony cohort & history

    Since 1975, South Minneapolis has been celebrating on the first Sunday in May.

    learn more
Colorful handcrafted sign with "CEREMONY" in red letters, featuring a painted face, tree branches, and two yellow and blue birds.

THE TREE OF LIFE Ceremony

The Tree of Life Ceremony is an annual ritual that celebrates community joy and resilience. Hundreds of volunteers build and perform puppets to enact a theme developed from the concerns and visions of this time and this place.

We invite you to participate in this community ritual as we honor the Tree of Life and the return to Spring.

Illustration of four black birds with green plants in their beaks.

watch thE

CEREMONY!

    • Following the end of the Parade.

    • Ceremony seating is on the hillside on the West side of Powderhorn Lake.

    • To watch the ceremony, bring blankets to sit on, water, snacks or a picnic (no food trucks this year), a garbage bag to help pick up trash and dress for the weather!

    • Please be a kind neighbor, and share the hillside! If you bring a giant blanket and plan to save the best spot, please be considerate and invite others to join you.

    • We will have designated Hillside Hosts that can help you find a spot and make room for everyone!  If you would like to volunteer as a Host, please fill out our volunteer interest form and let us know!

    • Please respect the Park and clean up after yourselves! THANK YOU!

Illustration of four black birds with green plants in their beaks.
A group of people dressed in red are on a decorative boat with a large sun sculpture during a festival on a lake. The scene includes green trees in the background and spectators on the lakeshore.

the tree of life ceremony

The Mayday Tree of Life Ceremony is a community ritual crafted from community conversation. We invite YOU to join in the preparation and the enactment of this ritual to hold and honor this moment we live in.

Everyone is welcome! Hundreds of volunteers of all ages and abilities join to enact the work of this yearly community rite as a puppet builder, performer, supporter, and/or community member calling for the Sun and the jubilant re-birth of the Tree of Life.

“Every year, beginning in February with community meetings, and culminating on the first Sunday in May, we wrestle with big issues and big ideas through community dialogue, art-making and play. The May Day Ceremony needs and invites many people to work together, crafting relationships that weave our community together in surreptitious ways.” – Sandy Spieler

Illustration of four black birds with green plants in their beaks.

GET INVOLVED

    • We need volunteers to perform in the Ceremony, build puppets, and help host & clean-up the Ceremony Site at Powderhorn Park.

    • Fill out this simple volunteer interest form to tell us your preferred ways of plugging in this year.

    • Or just show up to any Community Builds and Rehearsals!  ALL ARE WELCOME!

Illustration of ants carrying bricks around a tree

artwork by Orren Fen

    • Come build puppets for the Tree of Life Ceremony!

      • Ceremony Community Builds are:

        • Tuesday, April 8, 7-9pm

        • Wednesday, April 9,  7-9pm

        • Saturday, April 12,  10am-12pm

        • Tuesday, April 15, 7-9pm

        • Wednesday, April 16,  7-9pm

        • Saturday, April 19,  10am-12pm

        • Tuesday, April 22,  7-9pm

        • Wednesday, April 24,  7-9pm

        • Saturday, April 26,  10am-12pm

        • Tuesday, April 29,  7-9pm

        • Wednesday, April 30,  7-9pm


    • All Ceremony Community Builds are located at Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts. Semilla Center is located inside St. Paul’s Church / Iglesia San Pablo at 2742 15th Ave South (map).

    • We may also do some movement experimenting/rehearsing during the Community Build times.

    • Note: These community builds are to make the puppets for the CEREMONY. Those puppets may also be used in the Parade, however, this is NOT a general community build for making puppets for the PARADE only. All are welcome to help make puppets for the Ceremony!

      If you want to make art or puppets for the Parade, please visit the Join the Parade section.

    • Community rehearsals will be held Saturday afternoons from 2-3:30pm at the Ceremony Site at Powderhorn Park (the west side of the park near the cement stage).

    • There is also a required dress rehearsal on the Saturday before Mayday, May 3.

      • Saturday, April 12, 2-3:30pm

      • Saturday, April 19, 2-3:30pm

      • Saturday, April 26, 2-3:30pm

      • FULL SHOW REHEARSAL - Sunday, April 27, 2-4pm

      • DRESS REHEARSAL - Saturday, May 3, 9am-12:30pm

    • All are welcome to perform in the Ceremony!

Illustration of four black birds with green plants in their beaks.

ceremony cohort

Since Mayday is no longer held by In the Heart of the Beast Theatre, it is wonderful that the Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts stepped up to sponsor the Tree of Life Ceremony for 2025. Semilla received support from Lake Street Lift to fund “The Ceremony Cohort” for 2025.

The cohort is a group of artists/organizers that is working with Sandy Spieler to learn about the rich traditions, history and challenges of Mayday with intent to carry the Tree of Life Ceremony into the future. 

Abstract painting of a tree with eyes in the bark and a sun symbol on the trunk. The tree is surrounded by a blue sky with sunrays and green leaves.

Tree of Life,

Gift for Us All

artwork by Piper Smith

We are excited to announce the members of this Ceremony Cohort:

Orren Fen, Fletcher Wolfe, Silviano Yudho, Signe Lisadotter, Andrew Young, Jayanthi Rita Kyle, Felicia Cooper, Deeq Abdi, Davey Steinman, Spencer Polk, Piper Smith, and Semilla Co-Directors Sofía Padilla and Heather Hinrichsen.

THANK YOU to Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts and to Lake Street Lift that has allowed us to create and train the Cohort and support the 2025 Ceremony. With the Lake Street Lift grant, we are also able to pay for essential infrastructure for the Parade and Festival this year, such as permits, Porta-potties, Sequeerity, the Mayday website, and our fabulous Parade Organizers/Safety team led by Zoe and Pasha.

Colorful sun face decoration with radiant beams hanging on a tree outdoors.

Mayday history

This website will eventually carry information about Mayday’s history, archives, and how people can contribute their own stories into a Mayday oral history collection.

For now, you can learn more about Mayday’s history in Minneapolis on Sandy Spieler’s website.