On Friday night, community members and artists with In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre gathered atop a snow-covered hill in Powderhorn Park in south Minneapolis to celebrate the winter solstice together. 

In the center of the crowd, Minneapolis-based musician Sarina Partridge led a series of call-and-responses:

“Welcome in, wild hearts,” she sang. “We will sing our way to wholeness.”

The solstice at 3:21 a.m. Saturday marks the beginning of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere, bringing with it longer days. Saturday will be the shortest day of the year, at 8 hours, 46 minutes and 10 seconds in Minneapolis.

About 300 people had assembled at Avalon Theatre on Lake Street and walked a few blocks down 15th Avenue to the park. Many procession participants held up paper lanterns, while others carried larger-than-life handmade puppets, recognizable from events like the MayDay Parade and Puppet Lab as well as the theatre’s puppet library, which lets people check out puppets for free.

In the Heart of the Beast’s vibrant puppetry has been a staple of Minneapolis’ Powderhorn and Phillips communities for nearly 50 years, and the organization has called the Avalon Theatre home since 1988. But in November, theatre leadership announced it was starting the process to sell the Avalon and look for a new home for its programming. 

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In the Heart of the Beast’s interim executive director Elina Kotlyar said she hopes to continue to expand on the theatre’s current programming — and make it more accessible.

She said her dream is that the new space “can be reached by as many people as want to come.”

Windchill temperatures hovered in the single digits as the procession wound its way back to the Avalon, but the lanterns cast a warm glow on participants’ faces as they plodded along the quiet neighborhood street. 

Back inside the theatre, community members shared homemade soup and watched musical performances. For Kotlyar, events like the solstice celebration are integral to bringing the community together.

“Tonight is simply an opportunity to be in the moment with other people,” she said. “And the warm soup is a bonus.”