4. Basilica Block Party

Friday 7/6/01
Dawn, Greg, and Amy
Reflections after the block party - Amy scribed.

Huge crowds of people lined up to get in to the block party at about 7pm. We heard on the radio that all 15000 tickets for Friday night were sold out. Scalpers were all around the entrance looking for single tickets, trying to buy and sell extras. Clearly this was an event people were desperate to go to. Later in the evening we saw many people sitting right outside the chain link fence listening to the music.

Entering the gates they checked our tickets, looked in purses, did not allow in outside containers, checked id's and those old enough to drink got wrist bands. Volunteers staffed all the stations at the gate.

Once in, we hit the catholic college alumni area - made the impression that college grads would use this occasion as an opportunity for an alumni gathering - a contact point for them to meet each other. A big party for Catholics to reconnect.

Signs on the outside of the basilica offered tours of the building so we walked up the steps to the main entrance. A group of volunteers were waiting outside the door and offered us a tour. The tour groups were small - the three of us were not added to the group of four ahead of us. We became a group with two other women who followed us up the steps. Our tour guide was a member of the Basilica and very knowledgeable about the building and its history. It didn't feel like he was trying to convert us to Catholicism, but did assume some background knowledge - like about the life of Mary, and Bible, saints, etc. He described the Basilica symbol to us without looking at his cheat sheet.

All tour guides were generally older than the outside volunteers - but we found out later that they self-select. All money invested in the Basilica has been to restore the original building particularly in the upstairs - that was a holy place. The undercroft has been recently remodeled to include a small chapel and lots of meeting rooms, including dressing rooms for the bride and groom - which was mentioned several times, and a huge space for fellowship which they use primarily for their St. Vincent DePaul outreach ministry to the poor. Restrooms were also added in the undercroft - previously there had been none in the Basilica building.

Part of their mission is to bring culture into the city center. Over the choir loft are 6 angels that they received from a St. Benedicts when they remodeled. That demonstrates a connection to the greater catholic community. Our tour guide mentioned graduating from DeLaSalle High school 26 years ago in the Basilica - another sign that their presence is deeply embedded in the community. The choir area is used by all kinds of groups, the organ has been well cared for. We saw no sign of musical instrumentation that would indicate they do contemporary worship.

They have 8 confessionals - all built into the inside of the basilica and are maintained.

Both tour guides mentioned the parish going from 1500 families to 5000 families since 1986. Yet there seems to be no compromise of what we consider traditional catholic piety - Mary, confessionals, 6 altars to patron saints…

When Mother Theresa died, reporters from local news crews visited homeless people in the city and said, "What does Mother Theresa mean to you?" and they said the Basilica - that's where our needs are met. They've been real about being a part of the city and not separate from it. Serving the homeless, bringing culture, bringing entertainment, and serving who lives in their neighborhood - young adults.

So inside there's the organ the choir, and confessionals. Outside there's rock music, beer, and tube tops. Crazy - but cool!

There were two stages - the smaller stage was just off the front steps of the Basilica itself. The larger stage was at least 2 blocks away and under the highway away from the Basilica - however you could still see the dome over the freeway.

Crowd was very Gen X with a low number of people on either end of that age group. Almost all white, upper middle class. If you saw one part of the crowd you saw it all. People thought about what they were going to wear - not a lot of shorts and t-shirts. Lots of khaki and skirts. Also, most of the bands were white, low key, and appealing to that audience.

People clearly came with people they knew. They were standing in circles talking to friends and not necessarily close to the band. It was like a nightclub atmosphere without the nightclub - people hanging out and the music was just a background. A narrow enough cross section of people that we saw several people surprised to run into people they knew at the block party. Not as much public display of affection - some hand holding… that was about it - compared to Taste of Minnesota, 4th of July Fireworks, or Valleyfair. They had borrowed a couple ideas from Taste of Minnesota - like buy tickets in order to get food and drinks.

Not unruly - no marijana smell - lots of beer. People were friendly and respectful of personal space. A pretty low key crowd - very mellow. We all felt safe the whole time - not worried about getting our stuff stolen or getting caught up in a fight - we didn't even see any fighting!

On our way out we chatted with two volunteers who were sitting next to each other. They said they volunteered in order to meet people - namely other volunteers. Jerry - the chattier of the two volunteers said he signed up and then went to a sign-up meeting/party where he learned about what he would be doing. Jerry told us that he signed up for what he wanted to do and then they told him how to do it at this gathering about 6 weeks before the block party. He has lived in the Cities 3 years and goes to church in Inver Grove. Heard about the block party and signed up to volunteer. He was conscious of the fact that most of the people who are attending the Basilica are young adults. He also talked about the building and that money from the party was going toward restoration. Tom, the other volunteer, is a member of the basilica and attends mass weekly. He got involved as a volunteer because they announced it after mass and it sounded interesting… he said attending mass was an obligation so he just did it.

It seemed like there were a lot of volunteers who were organized - they seemed confident about doing their jobs and also enjoying the concerts. There were a few police around, as well as volunteers doing security and first aid. We saw a couple people in leg braces - people apparently weren't going to let major injuries interfere with attending this event!