DAVE ADAMS
The People's Joy Parade is always a highlight of the annual street festival.
Cherokee Street's Cinco de Mayo festival is consistently one of the better parties in town each year, filled with music and tacos and drinks and overall merriment in one of the city's most creative districts.
And while stay-at-home orders and restrictions on crowd size — both meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 — will prevent this year's festivities from spilling into the streets, they can't possibly stop the party altogether.
This year, Cherokee Street's Cinco de Mayo festival goes digital.
"Enjoy Cinco at Home from the comfort of your very own lazyboy via Facebook Live at noon this Saturday May 2nd," reads a press release from the Cherokee Street Community Improvement District. "We're spreading joy, not germs — and raising funds for the Show Up for Cherokee Street campaign, benefiting Cherokee Street small businesses and employees that are out of work due to COVID-19 and who rely on Cinco de Mayo every year for much needed revenue."
The event will feature some of the musicians that were slated to play the festival when it was believed it would take place in the street as planned. Organizers will also speak with some of the restaurants and food vendors about how they make their Cinco de Mayo treats, and will offer tips from local bartenders on how to make a mean margarita.
And, of course, there will be the People's Joy Parade, gone virtual for the first time in its storied history.
Those who wish to be a part of the parade are encouraged to send in a video clip of themselves to [email protected]. Potential participants are asked to turn their cameras to landscape mode, then parade across the screen from one side to the other.
"Send a clip of you, your family, or your pets dancing/strutting/unicycling across the screen," reads the release. "We'll be stringing them all together to create one epic, virtual parade!"
Similarly, the public is encouraged to participate in a "Cherokee Cheers," in which you send in a video of yourself grabbing a drink from your right, taking a sip of it, and then passing it to your left. These, too, will be strung together, giving the impression of a communal cup being passed around for all to share.
Videos must be submitted to the email address above before the end of Wednesday, April 29. You can also upload your videos on Facebook or Instagram; just be sure you use the hashtags #peoplesjoyparade and #cherokeecheers, and tag @cincodemayostl and @cherokeestreet.
The virtual event is slated to kick off at noon on Saturday, and will run until 2 p.m. For more information, check out the festival's official Facebook event.
