On the first day of Pride month, join us in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden for a family festival led by Drag Story Hour. Doña Pepa and Old Man Zimmer create a special day full of glittery mustaches, karaoke singing, storytelling, bike decorating, and more!
Free First Saturdays feature free gallery admission on the first Saturday of every month, plus performances, games, art-making, and kids’ films from 10 am to 3 pm. Family friendly food options are available or bring something from home to snack on in the museum’s public spaces.
Drag Story Hour
Performance: 11 am
Story Time: 1 pm and 2 pm
Doña Pepa, Old Man Zimmer, and special guest Queen Utica bring a special Drag Story Hour to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. At 11 am, join them for an interactive experience for children that features drag performances and sing-along songs. Children are encouraged to tap into their imaginations and see themselves as creative forces! At 1 pm and 2 pm, Doña Pepa and Old Man Zimmer will read stories in the shade of the sculptures.
Activity: Karaoke Fun
12 noon
Do you like singing? Do you like goofing around? Then we think you’ll like karaoke! Mikko Blaze Bordeaux, the reigning Karaoke World Champion, will share tips and tricks—you’ll be a pro in no time!
Bedazzle your Bike + Bike Parade
Art-Making Activity: 10 am–3 pm
Bike Parade: 2:45 pm
Calling all kid bikers to Free First Saturday! Decorate your bike (or trike) with the team from Full Cycle Bike Shop. Then show off your wheels in the Bike Parade around the Garden at the end of the day.
Music: DJ Queen Duin
1–3 pm
Dance to your heart’s content to the dazzling beats of DJ Queen Duin’s music set.
Art-Making: Weaving Intergenerational Threads
10 am–3 pm
Learn simple weaving techniques to explore our legacy of queer and trans liberation across the decades. In this activity led by teaching artist Quinn Rivenburgh, contribute your warp and weft to a communal sculpture and take home a small weaving of your own!
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden Tour
Meet at the Main Entrance to the Walker Art Center
English: 12 noon
Spanish: 1 pm
Pedro Pablo Lander, Doña Pepa, is a Minneapolis-based, Venezuelan performance artist. Lander is currently a teaching artist with the Pillsbury House Theatre and with Upstream Arts. Their work has been presented throughout the Twin Cities in venues like the Walker Art Center, Red Eye Theater, Open Eye Theatre, Phoenix Theatre, Icehouse, First Ave Mainroom, Lush, and the Kitty Kat Club. Their genderqueer dreams are coming true with this Drag Story Hour season.
Emily Zimmer helps to bring plays for and by children to the stage as the director of the Chicago Avenue Project at Pillsbury House Theatre. She is a teaching artist in the Neighborhood Bridges literary program and Theatre Arts Training program at the Children’s Theatre Company, studied clowning in Switzerland, and first performed drag with Dykes Do Drag more than a decade ago at the Bryant Lake Bowl.
Queen Utica is the Twin Cities own wiggly goofball here to spread love, art, and joy. Originally from Utica, Minnesota, she has taken the Cities by storm by claiming the title of the current reigning Flip Phone Superstar 2018. The designer/costumer/artist will bring color, compassion, and smiles to your day.
Full Cycle Bike Shop is a nonprofit social enterprise in south Minneapolis specializing in service and sales of used bikes as well as new and used accessories and components. Full Cycle is also a place where young people can find support, employment opportunities, and resources to get out of homelessness and gain valuable skills.
Quinn Rivenburgh is a South Minneapolis–based artist and art therapist. They work primarily with comics, fiber arts, and papercutting on themes of mental health, gender, bodies, and collective liberation. As a therapist, they work with queer and trans youth to explore visual and metaphorical languages to heal suffering.
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