Maypole Mayhem

The 20th annual May Day celebration on the Green was the most successful ever, in terms of attendance and variety of events. It didn’t hurt that the weather was perfect and that it coincided with another massive immigrants’ rights rally, but for most of the afternoon other issues and pastimes held sway.

May Day celebrates two rather divergent holidays. One is International Workers’ Day, which was born out of the struggle in the U.S. for the eight-hour day, and which commemorates the Chicago Haymarket martyrs who were executed when the state cracked down on labor activity – activity that was conducted in large part by 19th century immigrants. The other is a pagan-y, crunchy granola-y celebration of spring, and every year on May 1st at 4 p.m., Bill Fischer and friends lead a maypole dance. Full Story

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