Milwaukee Happy Note–December 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, 2023

Mornin’ All,

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

Wow! BIG weekend ahead in Milwaukee! Sure, the weather might be feeling a little bit cold. But this town is only heating up with tons of awesome! And, sure, a whole lot of our awesome has moved indoors (and you can’t shake a stick without hitting “A Christmas Carol” this weekend…but don’t hit a Christmas caroler, OK?). But that doesn’t mean we’ve abandoned the out-of-doors. There’s a ton of outdoor stuff this weekend and some of it you can even enjoy from the comfort of…your heated car! So crank up the heater in your beater and let’s get this weekend rolling down the road even sweeter!

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 December 1st, 2nd, and 3rd):

-Milwaukee County Zoo debuts “Wild Lights” with awesome nighttime light shows through December 31st. AND there’s “Family Free Day” this weekend! Plus, the Zoo continually presents…lots of COOL animals and awesome indoor/outdoor walks! Great coffee too!!

-Milwaukee Repertory Theater debuts “A Christmas Carol” with performances through December 24th AND continues performances of “Dial M For Murder” (through December 17th) and “Nuncrackers” (through January 7th).

-Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville debuts 2023’s “Holiday Light Show” with amazing nighttime Holiday lights through December 30th.

-Marquette Golden Eagles Women’s Basketball is at home against the Penn State Nittany Lions (not quite sure what a Nittany is 🤷‍♂️).

-“Santa Cycle Rampage” starting at Wisconsin Bike Fed’s office. Dressing like the big guy in red and white is HIGHLY encouraged.

-Oak Creek debuts “Light the Square” at Drexel Town Square with awesome nighttime Holiday lights through December 31st.

-Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison debuts 2023’s “Holiday Express Model Train & Flower Show” with beautiful indoor floral displays and BIG garden size model trains (G Scale…yes, I’m a model train geek) through December 31st.

-Historic Downtown Greendale presents “A Dickens of a Village” Holiday celebration (is a dickens better than a helluva 🤷‍♂️?).

-“Christmas in the Ward” in the Third Ward’s Catalano Square. Awesome stuff happening includes tree lighting, fireworks, and “Light the Hoan (Bridge) Holiday Show”.

-“West Allis Tree Lighting Ceremony” at Downtown West Allis’s City Hall.

-“West Allis Christmas Parade” in Downtown West Allis.

-“Christkindlmarkt” at the West Allis Farmers Market (wow…big stuff in West Allis this weekend!).

-“Christkindlmarkt” in Sister Bay in Door County (Door County Doc? Yeah, cuz I love Door County!😃).

-“Christmas in the Village” in Ephraim in Door County (there you go with more of that craazzzy Door County stuff Doc!).

-“Wisconsin Vintage Fest” at Fiserv Forum (new weekend for old stuff?).

-“Happy Holiday Art Crawl” in Downtown Waukesha (walk if you wish).

-“Mistletoe Market Craft and Art Fair” at the Waukesha County Expo Center (there’s probably gonna be a whole lot of kissin’ goin’ on there 🤷‍♂️?).

-“Waukesha Christmas Parade” in Downtown Waukesha (wow…big stuff in Waukesha this weekend as well!).

-“Holidays on the Hop” on…The Hop (🤷‍♂️)…and at Hop stations all over Downtown Milwaukee (hop on…or off).

-“Milwaukee Krampusnacht” in Downtown Milwaukee’s Brewery District (oooh, scary…yet fun…unless you’ve been naughty!).

-Old World Wisconsin in Eagle debuts “Home for the Holidays” and runs every weekend through December 17th. Go and have your picture taken with Krampus (though this won’t be a Krampusnacht…maybe a Krampustag cuz it’s during the day 🤷‍♂️?).

-Boerner Botanical Gardens continues “Winter Wonders” Holiday lights through December 31st AND presents “Holiday Gift Fair” (this weekend only).

-Milwaukee Bucks are at home against the Atlanta Hawks.

-Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra presents “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” (hmm, not much in keeping with the season 🤷‍♂️) AND “Holiday Jazz with Dee Alexander” (well that’s more like it!).

-Milwaukee Admirals are at home against the Grand Rapids Griffins (Griffindor!)

-Sunset Playhouse debuts “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical” with performances through December 17th.

-Wehr Nature Center presents “Wehr Naturally: Woodland Gnomes” (create your very own Woodland Gnomes), “Wehr Birders”, “Guided Forest Bathing”…and awesome hikes IN the Metro area!

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

-Riveredge Nature Center presents “Growing Green Cooking Series: Winter Squash”…and awesome hikes NEAR the Metro area (and a river’s edge 🤷‍♂️).

-Waukesha Civic Theatre debuts “A Christmas Story The Musical” with performances through December 17th.

-Schlitz Audubon Nature Center presents “Nature Ornaments”, “Raptor Saturday”, “I Spy: Hibernation”, “Word With a Bird”, and “Ash Ornament Art”…and awesome hikes NEAR the Metro area and along our beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline!

-Lakeside Players of Kenosha debuts “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with performances through December 16th.

-UW Milwaukee’s Manfred Olsen Planetarium presents “Colorful Nebulas” (umm…wouldn’t that be nebulae 🤷‍♂️? Maybe I’m just being nebulous 🤷‍♂️?).

-Falls Patio Players presents “A Christmas Carol” this weekend only.

-Lake Country Playhouse continues performances of “A Christmas Carol” through December 10th.

-Skylight Music Theatre continues performances of “School of Rock” through December 30th.

-Next Act Theatre continues performances of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” through December 17th.

-Milwaukee Domes continues “Holiday Show: A Holiday Snow Globe” through January 7th. Great indoor walking! Great gift shop too (proceeds benefit the Domes)!!

-“Enchant” continues at The Rock Snow Park in Franklin (STUDENT DENTISTS…PLEASE DON’T FALL AND BREAK A WRIST AT THE ICE SKATING RINK 😱!!!).

-“Festive Friday Eves” continues at the Cedar Creek Settlement in Cedarburg through December 22nd.

“Holidays in the Village” continues in Wauwatosa through December 17th.

-Cheer District illuminated trees including Milwaukee’s official Holiday tree continues at the Deer District.

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

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

-“Illuminated Country Christmas” continues at the Ingleside in Pewaukee.

-Milwaukee Public Museum continues “Deck the Streets and Village” with awesome period Holiday decorations through January 22nd and 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”) AND indoor stargazing inside the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium. There’s even a coffee bar. And who doesn’t love a live butterfly conservatory!

-Discovery World presents “Story Time with Santa”.

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

-Racine Zoo continually presents…awesome animals on a beautiful lakeshore! Great outdoor walking!! Lest I forget, go see the newborn BABY tamarins!!!

-Milwaukee Art Museum 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, and “50 Paintings” through June 23rd, 2024.

-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). It’s FREE!

-Angelic Roots in Oak Creek presents “Intro to Sound Healing Tools” (noise cancelling headphones 🤷‍♂️?).

-Farmers Market? How ‘bout the Christkindlmarkt at the West Allis Farmers Market? While you’re there how ‘bout checkin’ out West Allis’s tree lighting and Holiday parade?

-Apple Orchard? Brightonwoods Orchard near Burlington extended their season through December 17th. Lots of crazy cool apples!

-A Dare? I dare you to take ten minutes to do some deep breathing. I double dare you to do it twice (I’m not invoking the double or triple…”dog”…dares 😱)!

-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 wellness break from December 11th through January 14th and will return the weekend of January 19th, 20th, and 21st.

PPS: 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.