Monarch Festival will take flight Sept. 12

Join butterfly, music and art lovers from all over the Twin Cities on Sat., Sept. 12, from 10am to 4pm for the 7th Annual 2015 Minneapolis Monarch Festival-Festival de la Monarca™. Filled with music, art activities, games, food and more, the day offers many fun ways for people of all ages to learn about the monarch butterfly and its amazing 2,300 mile migration from Minnesota to the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico.

The Minnesota/Mexico connection is highlighted with music and dance on an all-day stage featuring the Aztec dance group Kalpulli Yaocenoxtli and the music of Salsa Del Soul, Charanga Tropical, and The Brass Messengers.

A variety of hands-on Art Activities include Art in the Park with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, printing flags, and making your own caterpillar sculpture, chrysalis ornament or monarch magnet out of polymer clay.

Children ages 0–12 are encouraged to dress up in monarch-themed costumes and join the costume parade. The event is free and all activities are conducted in Spanish and English.

The festival takes place at Lake Nokomis, near the “Nokomis Naturescape”— four acres of gardens containing plants native to Minnesota, providing food for monarch adults and caterpillars, as well as bees, birds and other butterflies. Gardens like these are key to restoring the population of migrating monarchs, which is at an all-time low.

The University of Minnesota Monarch Lab is bringing the monarchs for an up close and personal learning experience. Their staff will release adult butterflies with small identification tags affixed to their wings. Where and when these butterflies are found provides important information about the migration.

The Wild Ones, Mexican Consulate, US Forest Service and other organizations working on habitat conservation will be on hand to talk about actions everyone can take to help monarchs and the migration that means so much to people here and in Mexico, where the monarch has been an important part of culture going back hundreds of years to the time of the Aztecs.

Admission and all activities are free. A variety of Minnesotan and Latin food will be available for sale. Guests are encouraged to bring a water bottle and fill it with free water from Minneapolis Tap. The Festival also offers many opportunities for a rewarding volunteer experience.

The Festival is presented by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Nokomis East Neighborhood Association, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota’s Monarch Lab. The Festival also receives support from the US Forest Service and the Minnesota State Arts Board as part of the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment.

To find out more about the stage lineup, activities, the Nokomis Naturescape and more, visit the Minneapolis Monarch Festival-Festival de la Monarca™ website at www.monarchfestival.org For information about volunteering please call 612-313-7781 or monarchs@minneapolisparks.org.