As a Pride Month celebration, Hiawatha Elementary school in Minneapolis has planned a “Glow Up Get Down” rave-style dance party.
The rave-style dance party will feature “festival dance outfits,” blacklight face paint, and blaring pop music in a darkened gym—for kindergarteners and elementary school students up to the fifth grade.
Elementary school principal Mercedes Walker wrote in an email that, “This dance party has been a dream in the making for two years and we are ecstatic that the dream is manifesting.”
With separate times for different grades, Walker’s email encouraged kids to come dressed in reflective clothing and bring their “GLBTQI friends and family.”
Songs by Madonna, Chappell Roan, Young MC, and Dua Lipa are on the playlist, and parents are required to attend and are encouraged to “glow up” with their kids.
Why is a school in @MPS_News having an lgbtq pride month party for KINDERGARTNERS⁉️
Would be a shame if everyone tagged @MPS_News and asked them… https://t.co/eofYY9LGXn
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 28, 2025
Social media users outraged
A post on social media quickly went viral and drew sharp criticism about the rave-inspired dance party.
“Totally inappropriate and disgusting along with disturbing—someone with common sense in administration or on the board needs to start saying ‘NO’! There are plenty of other ways to celebrate and have a fun theme. I’d be removing my kids,” wrote Bonnie Bisek Belfiori on Facebook.
Facebook user Jerry Norberg added, “Is nobody outraged by this????? What in the world are these people thinking? No parent in there right mind would bring their child to this. This is NOT what schools are responsible for…. ABC’s… reading, writing and arithmetic is the SOLE function. Parents should take care of the rest!”
Another commenter, Amber Trapp, said, “An end of the school party should be just that….end of the school year celebration without labels or specific themes that leave out ANY children. Play music, decorate the gym, have a track and field day, hand out awards and start summer. The left is so focused on labels when all elementary school students just want to have fun. Let kids be kids for a change.”
A similar event at Hopkins Middle School—a drag karaoke night—was canceled earlier this week after Alpha News published an article about it.
District, principal redirect inquiries to each other
Alpha News reached out to both Hiawatha Elementary and Minneapolis Public Schools for comment, but neither was willing to speak on the matter—each referred us to the other.
Principal Mercedes Walker referred all media inquiries to the district’s communications office—and the district pointed questions back to Walker, stating: “Hiawatha school parents are encouraged to contact the school principal [Mercedes Walker] or PTO directly with questions about this optional after-school community event.”
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
