Greetings All,
Happy Wednesday evening. We’re more than halfway through this week and Weekend is on the horizon! So, in my humble opinion, it’s high time to explore some awesome Greater Milwaukee weekend wonderful!!
Big theater weekend! Ballet? Opera? YEP!! Are the ballet and opera doing the same thing at the same time but in different places? YEP!!! And this big theater weekend also marks a turning point (IMHO): indoor theater season is winding down (there are several productions wrapping up this weekend and next 😕). But let’s not be sad about it as summer outdoor awesome is right around the corner (in fact, this weekend kicks off renaissance faire season with an awesome faire all weekend long in Janesville 😃). The weather might be a little cool this weekend but we Milwaukeeans know how to roll with it and STILL have fun!
And I can’t think of a better place to enjoy this upcoming wonderful weekend than in Milwaukee, my home by the Lake. 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 (May 16th, 17th, and 18th, 2025):
New and Cool???
-Janesville Renaissance Faire at Traxler Park in Janesville. Awesome live entertainment. Dress up? Heck yeah!!🧙♂️🧙♀️👑
-Racine Zoo presents “Bloody Mary Fest”. Raise a glass to support the Zoo’s mission and awesome animals!🐒🦅🦇🦓🦏🦒🦦
-Racine Theater Guild debuts “Legally Blonde” which runs through June 1st.⚖️
-Milwaukee County Zoo presents “Celebrate Diversity”.
-Milwaukee Ballet presents “Carmen” this weekend only.🩰
-Florentine Opera (also) presents “Carmen” this weekend only. Hmm, two different “Carmens” at the same time? Oh, which do I choose? How ’bout both?🤔🤷♂️
-Wehr Nature Center presents “Birding Beyond the Feeder: Birding by Ear” AND “Nature Nauts: Super Salamanders”.
-Boerner Botanical Gardens presents “2025 Herb and Artisan Fair”. Artisanal herbs?🤷♂️
-Oak Creek Public Library presents “Poetry Open Mic Night”.🎤
-Sunset Playhouse debuts “Finding Nemo Kids” which runs through June 1st.🐟🐙🐡🐠🪼
-Lynden Sculpture Garden presents “Greenwood Gathering: Carvers’ Meet-Ups” AND “Dog Days”. Umm…yes, bring your dog!🦮
-Urban Ecology Center presents “Washington Park Community Health & Wellness Fair” AND “Take it Outside Day-Camping Basics”.🏕️
-First Stage Theater presents “The Great Ignored” this weekend only. Don’t ignore it!😊
-Havenwoods State Forest presents “Bird City Festival Event-Birding Basics” AND “Soulful Strides: All Inclusive”.
-Forest Exploration Center presents “World Migratory Bird Celebration”.
-Schlitz Audubon Nature Center presents: “Audubon Bird Hike: Warblers and other Songbirds”; “Raptor Encounter”; “Shrubs and Woody Plants Identification Workshop”; “Nature Ambassadors”; “Alphabet Adventure Hike”; “Audubon Art Club”; and “Guided Forest Bathing”. Bring your own soap!🧼
-Old World Wisconsin presents “Wittnebel’s Tavern Grand Opening”.🍻
-Waukesha Choral Union presents “Make Our Garden Grow: A Celebration of Waukesha County”.🌻🌹
-Renaissance Theaterworks presents “The 11th Annual Br!NK New Play Festival” featuring “Naked Tuesdays” AND “Great White Throne” this weekend only.
-Riveredge Nature Center presents “Frothy Forage”.🍄🟫🍺
-Master Singers of Milwaukee presents “Shelter in the Storm”.
-Lapham Peak (Kettle Moraine State Park) presents “Flora Hike”.
-Conservancy for Healing and Heritage presents “Tending Our Grief” AND “Nature’s Wisdom”.
-Olbrich Gardens (in Madison) presents: “Terrarium Workshop”; “Advancing Your Watercolors”; “Badger Bonsai Society Annual Exhibit”; and “Watercolor Spring Themes”.🎨🖌️
-Discovery World Museum debuts “Curious George: Let’s Get Curious!” which runs through August 31st. Very curious!🧐
-Wisconsin Card Show at the Baird Center.
-Spring Vintage (race car) Weekend at Road America.
-Wisconsin Geologic Society Rock & Gem Show at the Waukesha County Exposition Center.🪨💎
-Lakeshore State Park presents “Bee Hike”. Bee one with the hike!🐝🥾
-Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit presents “Bee Identification” AND “Stargazing and Photography”.🔭📸
-Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit presents “Friends Group Garlic Mustard Pull-A-Thon” AND “Learn to Knot Tie”.🪢
-Bong State Recreation Area presents “Knee High Naturalist: Busy Bees”.
-Angelic Roots in Oak Creek presents “Lakota Stone Animal Carving Fetish Workshop” AND “Breathwork Meditation: Transformational Deep Dive”.😮💨
-Oak Creek Performing Arts and Education Center presents “Byron Ryan: Classic Meets Cool”.😎
-The Village of Greendale presents “Pet Palooza”. YES bring your pet!🐶🐱🐩🦮🐈
-Milky Way Drive-In Theater in Franklin presents: “Double Feature Clueless & 10 Things I Hate About You”; “Inside Out 2”; “Deadpool & Wolverine”; “Longlegs”; and “Double Feature Cars & Toy Story”.
-Milwaukee Brewers are at home against the Minnesota Twins.
-Lake Country Dockhounds are at home against the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks.
-Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are at home against the Beloit Sky Carp. Sky Carp?🤔
Continuing…Yet Still Cool???
-Milwaukee Repertory Theater wraps up “The Last Five Years” this weekend. Has it been running for the past five years?🤔
-Next Act Theater wraps up “Circle Mirror Transformation” this weekend.
-Lakeside Players wraps up “Hairspray” this weekend.
-Waukesha Civic Theater wraps up “Enchanted April” this weekend. Enchanted April ending in May?🤔
-First Stage Theater wraps up “Esperanza Rising” this weekend.
-Lake Country Playhouse continues “Proof” through May 23rd. Prove it!😊
-The Domes continues “Tea and Tulips” in the Show Dome through May 26th. 🫖🌷
-Milwaukee Repertory Theater continues “Million Dollar Quartet” through May 24th. That’s an awfully valuable quartet!😊
-The Milwaukee Public Museum’s Daniel M. Soref Planetarium & Dome Theater continues: “Wisconsin Stargazing”; “Cities of the Future-Giant Film”; “The Artistic Universe”; and “Superpower Dogs-Giant Film”. All shows run through June 12th.
-Wehr Nature Center continues “Wehr Birders”. Where?
-Marquette University’s Haggerty Museum of Art continues: “The Big 4-0 Collection, Vol. 2: New Views of the Collection”; “Michelle Grabner: Under the Sink”; “Visual Legacies: Photographs by Ellie Lee Weems”; and Parallel Play: The Art of Science & the Science of Art”. All run through May 24th.
Farmers Markets? Waukesha, Oak Creek, West Allis, Greenfield (first Sundays of the month), New Berlin, Milaeger’s Racine, Brookfield, Delafield, Fondy, Germantown, Hartford, Kenosha Harbor, Kenosha Public, Madison/Dane County, Oconomowoc, West Bend…etc., etc., etc.!🚜
A Dare? I dare you to…relax, take a few deep breaths, and grab a good cup of coffee or tea. Repeat often!😊
Live Music/Comedy? Holy Crap Everywhere! Venues include (but are not limited to) 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, Bremen Cafe, 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
Sources: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (paid subscription); Shepherd Express (paid subscription); On Milwaukee (paid subscription); and lotsa websites.
PS: If you like The Milwaukee Happy Note would you consider having it delivered directly to your inbox each week? If so just hit “Subscribe” at the bottom of your screen 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).😊
Doc's Writing Refuge 