Don’t Just Wing It
Tips for hosting a successful themed festival
By MaryLynn Pulscher
Photos: Courtesy Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board
The instantly recognizable orange and black butterfly is the star and focus of the Minneapolis Monarch Festival ~ Festival de la Monarca. Co-produced by the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) and the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (NENA), this free, bilingual, bi-cultural event celebrates the monarch butterfly and its annual 2,300-mile migration from Minnesota to Mexico. Each September, upwards of 10,000 fans flock to this joyous event to revel in the iconic insect through music, dance, compelling education, hands-on art making, and interactive exhibits.
Under the guidance of festival partner Monarch Joint Venture, participants learn about the monarchs’ life cycle and migration route, and tag and release butterflies throughout the event. Nature-based exhibitors share information about monarch habitat and other important insects, such as dragonflies and native bees. Some vendors sell native plants, such as milkweed (Asclepias spp), bee balm (monarda), and blazing stars (liatris) that attract monarchs, and teens from the Mississippi River Green Team facilitate the creation of native seed bombs.
Professional artists lead a wide range of art activities, enabling attendees to try their hand at printmaking, writing a poem, making paper embedded with native prairie seeds, painting giant monarch caterpillars, and working together on pinatas. Throughout the day, the main stage features dance and musical performances, and a dance floor invites all to join in.
The success of this festival, as well as your own, can be attributed to the following:
Taking a leap of faith. Prior to the first festival in 2009, MPRB Environmental Education staff members had never worked with NENA, but when asked to partner on the Festival, they said yes. Others that said yes include Monarch Joint Venture (formerly Monarchs in the Classroom), Nokomis Naturescape volunteers, and the Consulate of Mexico in Saint Paul. Not a single entity that was asked to help said no. Taking a leap of faith to reach out to potential partners creates a vibrant festival with a strong sense of community.
Providing an up-close educational experience. Everyone is hungry to learn about monarchs and see them up close. Provide multiple opportunities for people of all ages and levels of interest to observe and learn about monarchs—and include the bad with the good. Request qualified exhibitors, such as the Department of Natural Resources or a nearby nature center, to provide educational activities for attendees to interact with live monarchs. Adult participants will appreciate the access to scientists, ecologists, and natural-resource staff members who can discuss monarch pathogens, migration and climate change, native plants, habitat threats, and major monarch initiatives. Need monarch information to share with participants? Visit these two sites: https://monarchjointventure.org/ and https://www.xerces.org/. Monarch tags can be purchased at https://monarchwatch.org/
Exploring art with a purpose. Art activities can reinforce the festival theme, such as the ubiquitous ”plant milkweed, grow monarchs,” or a reminder to grow fall-blooming plants to help feed the butterflies as they migrate. Artist-led activities can also inspire curiosity, wonder, and action to protect the monarchs. Provide a range of art-making options for all ages and abilities, opportunities to help make large-scale artwork to exhibit in the community, and also individual take-home pieces. Some festival participants are so proud of the art they’ve created that the pieces are framed and displayed at home.
Staying true to the intent of the festival. The Minneapolis Monarch Festival receives consistent compliments from attendees about the festival’s focus and the integration of science, education, and art. The festival isn’t simply celebrating all things orange and black. The larger purpose is to inspire and persuade attendees to take actions that will positively impact monarch butterflies. On the exhibitor form, require applicants to describe how their booth will meet the purpose of the festival (see example on www.monarchfestival.org ). Don’t be afraid to tell exhibitors no. Your event will be better because you do.
Promoting the event. Unlike many English-language media outlets that relay information provided in press releases for free, language-specific papers may require a payment for promotion. This can take the form of a submitted news article and a front-page photo or a more-typical, half-page advertisement. Public-service announcements and scrolling banners on language or culturally specific media sites are a good investment. If the festival will be providing American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, create a signed video to share with the deaf community.
Being as accessible as possible. If the festival is held on turf grass, request that the area be mowed more frequently leading up to the event, so long grass clippings do not become an impediment to people who use wheelchairs, walkers, or canes. Make sure the thresholds of ADA porta-potties are immediately adjacent to a hard-surface path for ease of access. Borrow golf carts and assign staff members to drive elders or people with disabilities to the main festival area from nearby parking.
The Monarch Festival ~ Festival de la Monarca is a bilingual, bi-cultural event. Exhibitors must provide printed information in English and Spanish, as well as bring bilingual staff members or volunteers. The emcee is bilingual, and bilingual volunteers are actively recruited. Hire sign-language interpreters for the main stage. The festival has had success with roving ASL interpreters who accompany the deaf to all activities. Staff members at the festival info booth alert interpreters when their services are needed.
Setting up the night before. Reduce everyone’s stress level by having all rental equipment, such as the stage and large tents, set up the day before, with rented tables and chairs distributed. Also, encourage all exhibitors and non-food vendors to complete their set-up the evening before the festival. Pay for overnight security. In the morning, have volunteers on hand to help the remaining exhibitors move materials from their vehicles to the tents. This will help ensure the festival area is clear of cars and trucks as quickly as possible before the event begins.
Allowing for festival feedback. Provide a variety of easy means for participants, artists, educators, vendors, exhibitors, and volunteers to share their thoughts about the festival. This can be as low key as comment cards to be completed and put in a box, digital-survey links on your website or a Facebook post, or a personal email requesting feedback. Another method is to have volunteers speak with and record responses from participants waiting in line at food trucks. For the last few festivals, bilingual dancers have been hired from Kapulli Ketzal Coatlicue to conduct surveys. Still dressed in the full regalia of the Aztecs after their performance, the dancers interviewed festivalgoers. These interactions created memorable cultural connections, plenty of participant selfies with the dancers, and useful input for the festival planning team.
Using the entire “village” to create a successful festival. The surrounding community has provided support with monetary donations, attendance, and volunteering. Volunteers help with event set-up and tear-down, care of the nearby monarch habitat known as the Nokomis Naturescape, raising monarchs for tag and release at the festival, assisting artists, presenting monarch education, and even helping sort trash, recycling, and compostables. In addition, a web of Minneapolis park staff members from across divisions and work groups ensure the event is a success each year. The festival would not be possible without their support. Strive to ensure that all departments are aware their help will be needed and schedule them as early as possible.
2020 will mark the 11th anniversary of the Minneapolis Monarch Festival ~ Festival de la Monarca, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival will have a different format this year. The planning team is developing a series of socially distanced hands-on art, science, and educational activities to celebrate and learn about monarch butterflies this summer. The details and schedule will be posted at www.monarchfestival.
MaryLynn Pulscher is the Environmental Education Manager for the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board. Reach her at monarchs@minneapolisparks.org.