Milwaukee Public Theatre's Make-A-Parade Workshops

The Gordon Park Energy Independence Day parade may be behind us for another year, but as always, Milwaukee Public Theatre rolls on.The next big MPT-aided parade is the Summer of Peace All City Parade and Peace Rally on July 27th from Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club to Washington Park bandshell. Okay, so a few people marching in Milwaukee likely will not do much to dismantle centuries of hate, prejudice, profiteering and the military industrial complex, but nothing says, "All of this continued aggression is really, extremely uncool," quite like a giant purple paper puppet walking down the street in late July. I love the style of that . . . fighting the tragic and homicidal absurdity of aggression with the playful and whimsical abusrdity of a big, colorful grassroots parade. The more fantastic and diverse a parade like that becomes, the more it attracts people . . . and the more it attracts people to the cause of playfully aggressive peace . . . the closer we come to achieving that peace. I'd like to hope so anyway. When the going gets tough the tough get weird--that sort of thing. 

In any case . . . Even if you can't personally participate in the All City Parade and Peace Rally, you can always help out with the parade. The Milwaukee Public Theatre is hosting Make-A-Parade Workshops in its ground floor space at the Grand Avenue Mall. MPT welcomes artists, youth and families to fork on the giant puppets, floats, masks, headdresses and other parade visuals for upcoming parades including the All City. MPT's Grand Venue Artivity Place on 161 West Wisconsin Avenue (in the Grand Avenue Mall) welcomes walk-ins and children on the following dates and times:

Wednesdays, 12-3 PM, through July 25 

Thursdays, 5-8 PM, through July 19

Fridays, 12-3 PM, through July 20

and 

Saturdays, 10 AM-2 PM, through July 21

For more information, visit Make-A-Parade's Facebook page or visit MPT online.