Milwaukee Happy Note–September 15th, 16, and 17th, 2023

Mornin’ All,

Happy Friday, Happy (almost) Weekend, and Happy (almost) End of the Week!😃

Well…OK…Milwaukee Happy Note’s little July hiatus became a little longer than expected. Life just happens once in a while. And while it was a good summer a little unhappiness happened along the way. Sometimes we have to say goodbye to really good people. Sometimes those goodbyes are really unexpected. Sometimes those goodbyes are really painful. And sometimes we can find no good reasons for those goodbyes. We wish we could have done more in the time we had. But answers will never be forthcoming and onwards we inevitably must move. That moving forward can be incredibly painful yet life keeps moving us along. We try to stop from time to time to remember and hope that we can just maybe be a little bit better because of the people who have come into and subsequently exited from our lives. Can’t make sense of it…there is no sense to make of it (please let me know if you do make sense of it).

And now leaving us soon is that warm and happy time we call Summer. Meteorologically and climatologically this is the last full weekend of summer. Yep, we definitely have a few more summer hurrahs and huzzahs this weekend. Fall activities are definitely ramping up though. And one big awesome that’s ramping up this weekend is theater season! SOOO many theater debuts this weekend, and so much theater in general, all of which are poised to carry us through the inevitable indoor days and nights on the horizon (Hygge anyone?).

Milwaukee, in my humble opinion, is THE BEST little big city because it just so happens to be packed with tons of mega big city cool! So are you interested in a few Milwaukee last-weekend-of-Summer things to do? Well, without further ado here are a few Milwaukee weekend things for you (weekend of September 15th, 16th, and 17th, 2023):

-Boerner Botanical Gardens debuts “China Lights 2023” with awesome nighttime lantern magic through October 29th (it is ALWAYS SOOOO COOL!!!).

-Milwaukee Repertory Theater debuts “Run Bambi Run” with performances through October 22nd AND continues performances of “Country Sunshine: The Legendary Ladies of Nashville with Katie Deal” through October 29th.

-Milwaukee Domes presents “Fall in Love with Orchids 2023” this weekend only (our incredible Domes NEED our support as their fate hangs in the balance…use ‘em or lose ‘em and I’d really rather NOT lose them!).

-Racine Theatre Guild debuts “The Cemetery Club” with performances through October 1st.

-Milwaukee County Zoo continues its summer spectacle “Dino Don’s Journey to the Ice Age” through October 7th (no Dinos in this Dino Don production…maybe some saber toothed kitties 🐈‍⬛?).

-Waukesha Civic Theatre debuts “12 Angry Men” with performances through October 1st (how ‘bout 12 Happy Men 🤷‍♂️?).

-Brigg’s & Al’s Run & Walk (feel free to run AND walk all you want. Skipping? Umm…maybe not 🤷‍♂️?).

-Bay View Bash (in Bay View 😊).

-Lake Country Playhouse debuts “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” with performances through October 1st (great show…yes, I’m being serious 😊).

-MADACC’s Barktoberfest 2023 (how ‘bout Meowtoberfest 🤷‍♂️🐈‍⬛?).

-Milwaukee Public Museum continually presents outstanding educational strolls throughout its three stories of exhibits. Don’t forget about awesome IMAX movies (currently featuring “Into America’s Wild” narrated by Morgan Freeman) AND indoor stargazing inside the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium. There’s even a coffee bar. And who doesn’t love a live butterfly conservatory 🦋?!

-Lakeside Players of Kenosha debuts “Lombardi” with performances through September 24th (perhaps it’s a Packer thing 🤷‍♂️?).

-Free Summer Night Movies in Historic Downtown Greendale’s Gazebo presents “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (final night of Free Summer Night Movies until next summer ☹️).

-Sunset Playhouse continues its performances of “Dad’s Season Tickets” through September 24th (wouldn’t be surprised if this is another Packer thing?).

-Food Truck Friday at the West Allis Farmer’s Market.

-Peninsula Players Theater in Door County (yes Door County cuz I feel like I need to be there!) continues its performances of “Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery” through October 15th.

-Wine & Harvest Festival in Historic Downtown Cedarburg (wine not…or is it whine not 🤷‍♂️?).

-Northern Sky Theatre in Door County (yes Door County cuz I feel like everyone should be there!) continues its indoor performances of “When Pigs Fly!” through October 21st and wraps up its 2023 outdoor performances this weekend with its last two performances of “Lipstick Optional”.

-Discovery World presents “Mermaid Echo Live” AND “Milwaukee Makers Market”.

-Sunday Family Fun Day at the Northwestern Mutual Community Park (at Henry Maier Summerfest Park) featuring UW Milwaukee’s Manfred Olsen Planetarium (hmm…planetarium, stargazing, during the day…OK 🤷‍♂️?).

-Deer District Summer Concert Series continues with performances from Joe Wray (it’s still Summer this weekend 😎).

-Dog Days at the Lynden Sculpture Garden (I’m still holding out for Cat Days 🐈‍⬛).

-Milwaukee Art Museum continually presents its “Drop-In Art Making” and “Drop-In Tours” (including architectural tours highlighting the incredible Calatrava Bridge and Burke Brise Soleil) not to mention TOO many traveling AND permanent exhibits to mention with any level of detail and/or coherence (I wouldn’t know “fine art” if my life depended on it…not to mention I’m kinda partial to the cool little priceless paintings my niece makes for me 😊).

-Poetry at the Vista (Vista 59 Art Gallery and Botique that is).

-Marquette University’s Haggerty Museum of Art presents: “Love You To Death: Discontented Desire” through December 23rd; “Capitalism and Extractivism in Latin America from the Colonial Era to Today” through December 23rd; and “Image in Dispute-Dutch & Flemish Art” through May 12, 2024 (and it’s FREE).

-Mt. Mary University’s Marian Art Gallery presents “Abrahm Guthrie-Potter: Marking the Season” through October 6th. (and it’s FREE).

-Milwaukee Brewers are at home against the Washington Nationals (Brewers are still holding on in the NL Central 👍).

-Angelic Roots in Oak Creek presents “Soul Care Sunday-Biomat Session” (I could use a little sole care).

-Yoga at the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum (and it’s FREE).

-Riveredge Nature Center presents “Open Climb” tree climbing.

-Wehr Nature Center presents “Wehr Birders”.

-Urban Ecology Center presents “Yoga With Parisa” and “Menomonee Valley Native Plant Sale”.

-Schlitz Audubon Nature Center presents: way TOO many awesome things to mention (might even be a “Word With a Bird”…and I still wonder what that word might be 🤷‍♂️)!!!

-Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison presents “Gleam” (kinda like their own version of China Lights).

-Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville presents “Sunday Classics Summer Music” (still rockin’ Summer in Janesville…in a Classic sort of way).

-Farmer’s Market? How ‘bout West Allis?

-Hike? How ‘bout Greenfield Park in West Allis (there are parks in Greenfield but they’re not Greenfield Park).

-Apple Orchard? How ‘bout Apple Holler near Racine?

-A Dare? I dare you to go outside and blow bubbles!

-A cool website? How ‘bout BirdCast Migration Dashboard that provides real time data on the number of birds migrating over a given area (such as Milwaukee County). BirdCast even gives altitude, speed, and likely species! It’s so COOL!!!

-Live Music/Comedy? Holy Crap Everywhere! Venues include ComedySportz, Shank Hall, Rave, Cactus Club, Jazz Estate, Ally’s Bistro, Red Rock Saloon, Da Bar, Helene Zelazo, Miller High Life Theater, County Clare, Nashville North, Colectivo, X-Ray Arcade, Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Bar, Centro, Turner Hall Ballroom, Miramar, Club Girabaldi, Fiserv, Potawatomi, Sugar Maple, Cooperage, Suburban Bourbon, Anodyne, Mad Planet, Blu Milwaukee, Sharon Lynne Wilson, Riverside, Pabst, etc., etc., etc.

Whew! And there you have it!! Please, please, please enjoy your Weekend. And please take care of yourself and your friends. Get out and enjoy all the good that life (and Milwaukee and our beautiful planet) has to offer. Plant seeds of happiness wherever you go. And always know that being still and quiet and relaxing and renewing is ALWAYS an outstanding accomplishment.😊

Best regards and I’m hoping to see you around town.

PS: If you like The Milwaukee Happy Note would you consider having it delivered directly to your inbox each week? If so there’s a few things to fill out at the bottom of the page and WordPress will do the rest (I receive zero financial compensation for subscriptions to my blog). Just know, as this is my blog page/creative writing outlet I sometimes post things that are not The Milwaukee Happy Note. Most of the time it’s just boring junk that can be ignored (sometimes I even write and post poetry 😱🤢🤮💩). But who knows, there might just come a time when something I write isn’t just a bunch of boring junk (if anything, my boring junk blog posts might just help folks overcome an overwhelming case of insomnia 🤷‍♂️). Thanks so much for reading and supporting me (BTW, this is a WordPress blog and NOT YouTube therefore I do NOT get any financial anything from people subscribing to my blog…I get the satisfaction of believing that someone somewhere might actually want to read my stuff).😊

Sources: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (paid subscription); Shepherd Express (paid subscription); On Milwaukee (paid subscription); and lotsa websites.