The Twin Cites has been chosen as the site of the 2008 Republican National Convention. To commemorate this historic event, the people of Minneapolis and St. Paul are building a parade to celebrate the idea of liberty. Everyone is invited to participate, whether that means marching in the band, decorating your car, volunteering to help, or just sitting back in your lawn chair and enjoying the show.
After the last float rolls by, you are invited to follow the parade to its conclusion at Loring Park, where we will have several stages of music, speakers and surprises that will rock into the evening hours.
MiSSion of the Liberty Parade
The Liberty Parade is an event scheduled to coincide with the opening day of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul on August 31st, 2008, as one of the many events under the umbrella of “The Unconvention“ (http://theunconvention.com/). The central purpose of the Liberty Parade is to create a large scale parade through the heart of Minneapolis that is a CELEBRATION of shared values (liberty, freedom, justice, equality, free speech) rather than a partisan protest. The parade will culminate in a large gathering featuring music, speakers, art displays and activities. Participants will be answering the question “what does liberty mean to you?” in the form of a float, group march, or another sort of mobile visual representation that suits their artistic needs. Organizers are working closely with the city of Minneapolis and various agencies in securing one of a few proposed high-visibility parade routes through some of Minneapolis’s most recognizable districts. Planning efforts have been enhanced through close contact with several arts and cultural organizations who have offered assistance and logistical support. The organizers are currently applying for and receiving grants, negotiating with city officers, designing a website and finalizing details for this large-scale, free, public program, all details of which will be made available via the website as they are confirmed.
As members of the Twin Cities community, we feel that holding an event like this at precisely the moment that questions around issues of liberty and freedom are front and center on the national stage, is imperative. We believe that free speech does not need to be confined to “zones” and that participatory democracy requires that every citizen, regardless of their party affiliation or political views, must have the opportunity to contribute and express themselves without fear or censorship.This is an event of,for and by the people, and a moment to focus on what brings us together rather than the all-too-familiar rhetoric of what keeps us politically separated.We are dedicated to the principles of liberty and equality that we see as the cornerstone of our nation’s future, values that have been distorted for political ends in recent years. We are excited to be a part of celebrating these most noble principles and we are proud to have this historic opportunity!
The Liberty Parade is part of the UnConvention, a non-partisan collective of citizens and organizations who have come together to create a forum in which to promote the democratic and free exchange of ideas on important issues. It exists as a counterpoint to the highly scripted and predetermined nature of the contemporary presidential nomination process and convention.
The UnConvention is a series of programs in art, education and alternative journalism, which will take place at various locations in the Twin Cities, primarily from August 30 – September 4 in parallel to the Republican National Convention.
The UnConvention was initited by Northern Lights, a new Twin Cities-based arts agency with support from the McKnight Foundation (http://northern.lights.mn). Lead partners for the UnConvention are Intermedia Arts and the Walker Art Center. Local and national participating organizations include, to date, Creative Time, Dialog City, Forecast Public Arts, Form + Content, Independent Feature Projects/Minnesota, the Liberty Parade, Macalester College’s ExCo program, MCAD, Provisions Library, PCTV, Sandbox Studios, the Spark Festival, Spark24, St. Paul Neighborhood Network, Traffic Zone, Twin Cities Youth Media Network, the UpTake, the Weisman Art Museum.
