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On Midsommar, like most days these days, it rained.
A Saturday downpour drenched the maypole and soaked the flowers waiting to be woven into garlands for the Midsommar Celebration at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis.
So Minnesotans danced in the rain.
"This Midsommar was filled with laughter, flowers, connection, and a bit of rain that couldn't stop the dancing!" the institute posted after the longest, soggiest day. "Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate, and a special shoutout to all the små grodorna [small frogs] who hopped, skipped, and danced around the maypole!"
After three straight summers of drought, Minnesotans are getting reacquainted with rain delays. It's raining on our parades, our picnics, our playdates. We are all små grodorna now.
When the rain shifted to storm, the Midsommar Celebration moved indoors. You don't plan an event in Minnesota without a backup plan for a change in the weather. Inside went the maypole, the musician, the dancers, the games, the fun. The party ended, as all parties should, with Abba karaoke.
A Minnesota summer is as sweet as it is short. The institute plans plenty of outdoor events at this time of year to take advantage. Buckets of rain could dampen upcoming classes, concerts and the institute's annual August crayfish dinner. But it doesn't have to dampen the spirits.
"They still go on," said Oliver Hunter, the Institute's art and culture programs coordinator, who scheduled around last summer's choking wildfire smoke and is scheduling around this summer's deluge. "People still make do and have fun."
Around the state, Minnesotans are camping, biking, barbecuing around the raindrops. The June calendar is crowded with Pride and parades and Paisley Park's 40th anniversary celebration of Purple Rain. You know Prince would only want to see you laughing in the purple rain.
Rainy weather isn't bad weather. There is no bad weather, Minnesotans repeat the mantra. No bad weather, only bad clothing choices. It's time to remember where you left your umbrella in 2021.
So in south Minneapolis, as the skies darkened and the wind picked up and the humidity blurred the line between skin and air, there was Wednesday's Juneteenth celebration to plan.
"First, we're going to pray. We're going to be watching the weather. We're pretty much hooked to our phones' weather app," said Emmanuel Duncan, who is organizing the celebration with his wife, Fancy Lanier-Duncan. "We're kind of banking on the man upstairs to give us a break."
While they hope for a break in the weather, they plan for the weather we're going to get. The Juneteenth Festival, hosted by Soul of the Southside, will run from 12 to 8 p.m. on June 19. RAIN OR SHINE, the event posters remind us. There will be plenty of indoor space for the crowds to retreat if the skies open up.
Along the intersection of Lake Street and Minnehaha, there will be live music, an outdoor art fair and live art demonstration — probably the event most at the mercy of the elements — a marketplace of goods from local Black-owned businesses, performances, exhibits and a screening of the film "One Million Experiments." There will be yoga, face-painting, a bounce house and a chance to support nearby businesses like Moon Palace Books, the Hook and Ladder and Arbeiter Brewing. A celebration of community resilience and joy, steps away from the burned-out shell of the Third Precinct.
There's no bad weather. But that doesn't mean Minnesotans can't hope for a little good weather now and then.
"If anybody wants to send some positive vibes our way," Duncan said, "we want people to be able to enjoy themselves, enjoy a break in the weather and be able to connect with other people who are part of the community. Indoors or outdoors. Rain or shine."
