Milwaukee Happy Note–November 17th, 18th, and 19th, 2023

Mornin’ All,

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

Last weekend might have been a little slow around MKE. This weekend? Nope. Tons of stuff happening! Yes, we are skewing our activities a bit towards the indoors. But have we abandoned the out-of-doors? No way! We’re Milwaukeeans!! We live for cold damp winds howling off the Lake!!! Well…umm…maybe not?🤷‍♂️

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 weekend things to do? Well, without further ado here are a few Milwaukee weekend things for you (weekend of November 17th, 18th, and 19th):

-Milwaukee’s Official 2023 Holiday Tree Lighting at the Deer/Cheer District (and it’s FREE!).

-Milwaukee’s Holiday Lights Festival debuts in Cathedral Square, Pere Marquette Park, and Zeidler Union Square.

-“Holiday Folk Fair International” at State Fair Park in West Allis (bring along an appetite!).

-Milwaukee Bucks are at home against the Dallas Mavericks.

-Skylight Music Theatre debuts “School of Rock” with performances through December 30th.🎸🥁

-“Racine Cat Show & Adoption Event” at Festival Hall in Racine (keep me away from cat adoptions…Maui and Sulley do NOT want a new friend in the house!).

-“Festive Friday Eves” kicks off at the Cedar Creek Settlement in Cedarburg and happens every Friday through December 22nd.

-Wisconsin Herd is at home against the Iowa Wolves and the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

-“Fall Fest at the Stables” at MKE Urban Stables (a block away from KK in Bayview). Looks like they’ll even have a donkey kissing booth!😘

-Marquette University Theatre wraps up its performances of “All in the Timing” (we’re running out of time to see it).

-Marquette Golden Eagles Women’s Basketball is at home against the Saint Peter’s Peacocks.

-“Tellabration 2023–A Night of Storytelling for Grown-Ups” at Mount Mary University’s Steimke Hall (presented by The Milwaukee Area Story Telling Guild).

-Milwaukee Chamber Theatre debuts “Liberace!” with performances through November 25th.

-“Merry Little Night Market” (kinda sort-of-a Christkindlemarkt) at Pilot Brewing in Milwaukee.

-UW Milwaukee Panthers Men’s Basketball is at home against the Luther College Norse (Danish or Norwegian Norse 🤷‍♂️?).

-Master Singers of Milwaukee presents “A Timeless Holiday” (timely 🤷‍♂️?).

-Milwaukee Art Museum debuts “50 Paintings” with showings through June 23rd, 2024, and continues “Drop-In Tours” (including architectural tours highlighting the incredible Calatrava Bridge and Burke Brise Soleil), and “Story Time in the Galleries”. Lest we forget, there are WAY TOO MANY traveling AND permanent exhibits (and great indoor walking) for me to mention with any level of detail and/or coherence including, but not limited to “Darrell Ellis: Regeneration” through January 14th, 2024, and “Art, Life, Legacy: Northern European Paintings in the Collection of Isabel and Alfred Bader” through January 28th, 2024.🎨

-First Stage (Theater) debuts “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical” with performances through December 24th.

-“Illuminated Walk Through Country Christmas” at the Ingleside in Pewaukee. Dogs are welcome! BTW, drive through lights at Ingleside starts up NEXT weekend (in time for Thanksgiving).

-Milwaukee Repertory Theater debuts “Dial M For Murder” with performances through December 17th AND continues performances of “Nuncrackers” with performances through January 7th.

-“Season to Sparkle Holiday Celebration” at Bayshore in Glendale.

-“Wisconsin Annual Blues Harmonica Festival 2023” in Hubertus (I’m shinin’ up my Hohner Marine Band!).

-Racine Theatre Guild presents “Matilda Jr” and “The Vagina Monologues” (I’m thinkin’ Matilda may be the better choice for kiddos and squeamish dudes 🤷‍♂️?).

-“Cream City Creatives Craft Fair” at Turner Hall Ballroom.

-Milwaukee Domes debuts “Holiday Show: A Holiday Snow Globe” with spectacular Holiday flower presentations through January 7th. And don’t miss “Wellness With Houseplants” (this weekend only). Great indoor walking! Great gift shop too (proceeds benefit the Domes)!!

-Sunset Playhouse presents “Seussical Kids”.

-Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra presents “Ruth Reinhardt Returns” with music from Cziner, Shostakovich, and Brahms (Symphony No. 4).

-Discovery World presents “Mermaid Echo Live”.

-Milwaukee Admirals are at home against the Chicago Wolves.

-MKE Downtown continues “Ornament Trail” along Wisconsin Avenue and Water Street through January 6th.

-The Bindery Creative Laboratory continues “From Rags to…Books! Hardcover Binding with Reclaimed Cloth Covers” class.

-Milwaukee County Zoo continually presents…lots of COOL animals and awesome indoor/outdoor walks! Great coffee too!! Wild Lights is on the horizon (debuts Dec 1st).

-Milwaukee Public Museum continues “Deck the Streets and Village” with awesome period Holiday decorations through January 22nd. “Native American Heritage Month” continues. And, lest we forget, the Museum continually presents outstanding educational strolls (great indoor walking!) throughout its three stories of exhibits. Don’t forget about awesome IMAX movies (currently featuring “Blue Whales–Return of the Giants”) AND indoor stargazing inside the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium. There’s even a coffee bar. And who doesn’t love a live butterfly conservatory! 🦋

-Racine Zoo continually presents…awesome animals on a beautiful lakeshore! Great outdoor walking!!

-“Christmas Carnival of Lights” at Jellystone Park in Caledonia continues through January 1st.🎄

-Marquette University’s Haggerty Museum of Art continues: “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!).

-Marian Art Gallery at Mount Mary University wraps up Katie Hudnall’s “The Longest Distance Between Two Points”.

-Wehr Nature Center presents “Wehr Birders”…and awesome hikes IN the Metro area (where?)!

-Riveredge Nature Center presents “Handmade for the Holidays: A Gift-Making Gathering”…and awesome hikes NEAR the Metro area (and a river’s edge 🤷‍♂️).

-Urban Ecology Center presents “Turkey Trek” (…Star…Turkey Trek? Captain Gobble Wobble and First Officer Turkey Lurkey racing across the galaxy in the USS Poultry?).

-Schlitz Audubon Nature Center presents “Family Owl Prowl”, “Saturday Morning Bird Walk”, “Mammals Preparing for Winter”, “Morning Guided Forest Bathing”…and awesome hikes NEAR the Metro area!

-Lakeshore State Park is hosting the “7th Annual CAM & Red Sands Event” community grief walk. Plus…there’s always awesome hikes right in DOWNTOWN MKE on the lakefront (or is it the lakeshore 🤷‍♂️?).

-UW Milwaukee’s Manfred Olsen Planetarium presents “Rooftop Stargazing” and wraps up “Searching for Life” (did we find it 🤷‍♂️?).

-Farmers Market? How ‘bout West Allis before it’s gone until…May?

-Hike? Well, if you decide to hike this weekend either wear blaze orange or hike where the trails are closed to hunting (this is opening weekend for gun deer). A safe bet…Wehr Nature Center (where?)?

-A dare? I dare you to wake up on Saturday and/or Sunday and do nothing except just BE (and drink a caffeinated beverage?) for a full hour.

-Apple orchard? Last weekend for Brightonwoods. Try the Winter Banana variety (yes, that’s an actual apple and not a banana!).

-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.

Doc

PS: The Milwaukee Happy Note will be taking a little time off for turkey and tryptophan and will return the weekend of December 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Happy Thanksgiving!🦃😊

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