Looking for holiday charity opportunities?

The economy is bad.  We all know that – hell, I just got laid off.

What you may not know is that local arts organiztions are getting hit hard.  Intermedia Arts and In the Heart of the Beast  Puppet and Mask Theater have both shut down temporarily, laying off all their staff.  Both organizations are Minneapolis institutions, having been around since the 1970s.

HotB does the annual May Day parade, which is one of my very favorite Minneapolis traditions.  In addition to the parade and their shows, they do all sorts of community workshops, parades, etc.  If you live in South Minneapolis, you’ve almost certainly seen their puppets.

Intermedia Arts, just down the street from me, does all sorts of crazy stuff.  The Aquatennial Art Car parade?  That’s them.  Minneapolis female hip-hop festivals?  Minnebar?  Yup.

These aren’t organizations like the Walker or the MPR.  They don’t have big endownments, and if they go away, they’re gone.  We already lost Theatre de la Jeune Lune this year.  Let’s try and make sure it doesn’t get worse.  Give what you can.