In the contemporary folklore of northwest lower Michigan, Piggery Pete is a frightening but gentle spirit guide.  

He is the feral and free incarnation of the last pig farmer at the Traverse City State Hospital farm. 

With the body of a man, a shapeshifting pig mask, and the cloven hooves of a pig, he walks the glacial hills and farm fields of northern Michigan. He inspires us to break free from systems of control and dominance, leads joyous parades, and even visits us in our dreams. 

His message is a simple but profound reminder that it is never too late to let go, get free, and rewild our hearts. 

As a man, Pete was a dedicated farmer who lived a life overburdened by feelings of obligation, attachment, and unfulfilled desire. 

His heart was broken open by a kind-hearted woman, radical farming practices, the transcendent beauty of the natural world, and a realization that he had to step out of the safe confinement of respectable social roles. Everything he longed for was out there, in the wild weather of the world, immediately accessible, once he stepped outside. In that wildness there was endless compassion, grace, freedom, fulfillment, and healing.

Like a pig freed from captivity and allowed to forage outside the fence line, he quickly reconnected to his true nature and became our beloved and feral spiritual emissary. 

Costumed folk parades around the world celebrate seasonal transitions, community identity, and cultural heritage through vibrant displays of masks, costumes, and performances. 

Rooted in pagan and other religious traditions, these events blend entertainment and collective joy with symbolic rituals that honor life’s cycles and the balance of light and dark forces. In recent years, many of these ancient traditions have experienced a resurgence, embraced as a way to preserve and revitalize local culture.

Folk parades in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, often feature two contrasting figures: the Schön Perchten, who wear beautiful, ornate costumes symbolizing blessings and fertility, and the Schiach Perchten, who don grotesque masks and furs to drive away evil spirits. These parades celebrate the transition of seasons, purify communities for the new year, and honor Perchta, a guardian of seasonal cycles. 

Though their origins are sometimes unclear, these folk parades continue to captivate audiences with their theatrical displays and cultural significance.

Participants create their own unique costumes for the parade. Some dress as Piggery Pete. Some dress as other pagan characters. Some create their own magical identities. 

Piggery Pete wears a shapeshifting pig mask and a tattered cloak covered in geometric patterns. Under the cloak his body is coated in mud and earth. He carries a staff covered in bells. 

Parade implements include sticks, staffs, stalks, dried flowers, evergreen branches, and other natural materials that symbolize our connection to the earth. Natural materials can be piled around the Perry Hannah statue at the end of the parade as a symbolic burial or compost pile that will help transform our past. As the Growth Guardians teach us, "Our pain and confusion can all be healed. In alchemical compost our hardened hearts are annealed."

Costumes are made with an emphasis on natural and reused materials to limit our impact on the planet, inspire ingenuity, express gratitude for the things we already have around us, and keep the cost of participation low. 

Sound plays an important role in the parade. Bells, and chants help us wake up our hearts and the earth to spring and rebirth.

Bells are ubiquitous features of seasonal folk parades across cultures. They are used to ward off spirits, celebrate seasonal changes, and create a shared rhythm that unites communities. From Alpine Krampus runs to Basque fertility rituals and Caribbean carnivals, the sound of bells evokes both tradition and transformation. 

During the parade a caller leads participants in chants. The chants remind us that it is never too late to rewild our hearts, change our minds, come together, and see the world differently. 

Click here to  download a printable copy of Rewild Your Heart: A Chant Book for Piggery Pete's Perchten Parade. 

Our chanting, the ringing bells, and the vibration of our marching help wake up the earth and call in the spring.

Drums, other instruments, and noise makers are welcome.

Speculative history is an act of resistance. It's an opportunity to rewrite history from the margins, imagine what might have been if different ideologies had prevailed, and embody that possibility in the present moment. 

As a collaborative art practice, speculative history exposes the contingencies of the current timeline and opens up space for different futures. 

Speculative history disrupts and reconfigures our everyday experiences with acts of cultural sabotage and embodied incantations. 

It blends fiction, reality, and desire to challenge and deconstruct authoritative narratives. 

Speculative history reenchants the world.