Photograph courtesy of the Cherokee Station Business Association
People's Joy Parade.
On Saturday, between 40–50,000 people will descend on Cherokee Street, attending the annual Cinco de Mayo street festival. While a handful of restaurants will be celebrating the event on the actual holiday of May 5, it’s Saturday, May 7 when the real action happens; 11 a.m. is the official start time.
For weeks now, multi-talented organizers Anne McCullough and Ellie Balk have been laboring in a common workspace, their notes and papers and documents and maps mixing-and-mingling, with nearby whiteboards growing dense with ever-changing plans. On the day of the event, about 35 people will be signed for some type of work, in addition to the usual allotments of city work crews.
After weeks of intense planning, the pair speak as if one person, so we’ll highlight any quotes below with the attribution of McCullough-Balk.
There’s one big change relating to programming this year, another trying to geography. On the latter, the street’s event space will expand somewhat, with Cherokee now closed on the west at Nebraska and on the east at Jefferson. Organizers say that the stages will mix entertainment rather than having Mexican/Latin music on one stage and everything else on another. And this year, three stages will be in play, rather than two.
“We decided to try it out this way this year,” say McCullough-Balk. “The three stages will reflect all the attendees this year. Since we’re spreading out the festival, we wanted to also spread out all of the people, entertainment and activities. There are a bunch more kid-friendly, daytime activities. Schlafly is curating a smaller Art Outside with local artists and makers. The St. Louis Art Museum and World Chess Hall of Fame have signed on as sponsors, and are bringing in activities, as is Artscope. We’re giving away free tickets to kid rides to students at St. Louis Public Schools and the St. Louis Immersion schools.”
Among the other highlights, McCullough-Balk suggest: the appearance of Dynamo Pro Wrestling, with shows at 2 and 4 p.m.; the People’s Joy Parade, which rolls out at 1:11, just west of the fest; a wandering mariachi band; salsa and merengue dances in front of each stage throughout the day; psychics and fortune tellers; and 22 food vendors. As in past years most of the district’s restaurants will be open as normal and will also vend with nearby tents.
At the slightly imprecise time of “sundown,” arguably the biggest event on the block will occur, with the “El Trumpo Takes a Thumpo” pinata beating, near Yaqui’s (Cherokee and Iowa). The life-sized pinata of Donald Trump sits on a golden throne this year, currently perched at Yaqui’s, and will be paraded around the block before neighbors strike the figure, a reprise of last year’s event, which drew national attention; considering how much the American political landscape has changed in the past year, it’s likely that this year’s crowd will dwarf last year’s attendance and it wouldn’t be surprising to see some vigorous political conversations taking place as it all (literally) goes down.
For those who’ve not been to Cinco, expect folks to have been drinking a cocktail or two as the day rolls along, so the 9 p.m. close-down provides an interesting viewpoint of the interactions of human beings sharing a common space.
As the street party ends, three venues will be running after-parties: 2720 Cherokee, Blank Space and the Luminary.
There’s a full Facebook page will event details here.
