Stilted

Codepink requests:

Hi Everyone!

Please join us tomorrow in Boulder for the annual Mother's Acting Up Reclaim Mother's Day Event. . . . [T]here is a parade at 1:00 which begins at the Main Library and then ends up in front of the courthouse for the celebration (probably around 1:30). We will table [sic] and join in the festivities. We will be offering Gift of Peace Certificates for people to give to their mothers (or others) to support our peace work or refugees in Iraq. Hope to see you there!

Peace to you all,

Anne

Colorado Daily has the horrifying details:

The environment is ailing, there's a war raging in Iraq, and there are children living in poverty around the globe. What's a concerned mother to do? Why, strap on a pair of stilts, of course.

At least that's the thinking for Mothers Acting Up (MAU), a Boulder-based global network of "mothers and others, on stilts or off, who exercise protective care over someone smaller." The group, which lists "Be Exuberant" as one of its guiding principles, seeks to mobilize that most primal of instincts--a mother's love--and turn it into a political force to be reckoned with. The stilts are just a unique way to bring attention to MAU's message of positive activism.

Stilts are "really the perfect metaphor for what we do," says Joellen Raderstorf, executive director and one of MAU's four founders. "Because getting up on stilts you're very visible, and this is what this is about, getting comfortable with being visible in our communities and speaking up on behalf of the world's children."

She adds, "Also, when you're on stilts, you need to keep moving forward, you really can't stop. And you have far-reaching vision, which I think is something that we really need in our leadership in the world these days, to have that far-reaching vision to see how our actions today impact our children, their children, and future generations.". . .

MAU's biggest event is the annual Mother's Day Parade, which takes place this Sunday, May 11. The festivities kick off with stroller and wagon decorating at 11:30 a.m. at the Boulder Public Library. The parade begins at 1 p.m. and winds its way from the library to the Pearl Street Mall, where there will be cake and activities for the children. The Raging Grannies and Ancestral Voices will provide music, all in keeping with the celebratory nature of the event.

Those poor kids. The MAUists' blog (linked above) is a treat. They venerate Julia Ward Howe for her 1870 Mother's Day Proclamation. Here's MAU's startlingly realistic re-enactment:

Exuberant.

Update: Looked for gift of peace certificates, found these.