Milwaukee Happy Note–December 8th, 9th, and 10th, 2023

Historic Range Lights at the Ridges Sanctuary in Baileys Harbor, Door County, Wisconsin

Mornin’ All,

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

Last weekend’s Milwaukee Happy Note was huge. This weekend? Even BIGGER! There’s close to FIFTY events in this weekend’s Happy Note!! So…for ease, convenience, and clarity I’m trying something different with this weekend’s Happy Note: I’m breaking it into two parts. The first part will focus on all new stuff while the second part will be devoted to awesome things continuing from last weekend. And why am I having to do this? Cuz 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 8th, 9th, and 10th):

New and Cool???

-Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra presents “Handel’s Messiah” (Alleluia…or is it Hallelujah 🤷‍♂️?).

-Wehr Nature Center presents “Family Owl Prowl” and “Wehr Birders” (are the birders gonna prowl for owls too? Last time I checked owls are birds…just sayin’ 🤷‍♂️).

-Black Arts MKE presents “Black Nativity By Langston Hughes” in the Wilson Theater at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.

-Marquette Golden Eagles Men’s Basketball is at home against Notre Dame (don’t mess with anyone wearing…shamrocks 🤷‍♂️?).

-Milwaukee Ballet debuts “The Nutcracker” with performances through December 26th (don’t forget to bring along some almonds and walnuts or whatever happens to be your favorite nut…let’s get crackin’).

-“Hmong New Year” at State Fair Park.

-Bel Canto Chorus presents “Christmas in the Basilica” (better than Christmas with a basilisk 🐍).

-“European Village Alive!” at the Milwaukee Public Museum (a very nice departure from the Museum’s exhibits that are…mostly dead…but cool!).

-Milwaukee Wave is at home against the Monterrey Flash (anyone named Gordon?).

-Milwaukee Recreation presents “Winter Wonder Woods” at Hawthorn Glen.

-“Christkindlmarkt” in Wauwatosa.

-“Christkindlmarkt” in Menomonee Falls.

-Sunset Playhouse presents “Dean Martin’s Cool Yule” (yule think it’s cool too!).

-Schlitz Audubon Nature Center presents “Illuminated Hike” (if it’s during the day is it illuminated by default 🤷‍♂️?).

-Racine Theatre Guild presents “The Little Mermaid”.

-Urban Ecology Center presents “Family Night Hike” (illuminated hike?) and “Yoga with Parisa”.

-Indoor “Winter Farmers Market” in Oak Creek (what about all the Spring, Summer, and Fall farmers 🤷‍♂️?).

Continuing…Yet Still Cool???

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

-Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville continues 2023’s “Holiday Light Show”through December 30th.

-Boerner Botanical Gardens continues “Winter Wonders” Holiday lights through December 31st.

-Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison continues 2023’s “Holiday Express Model Train & Flower Show” through December 31st.

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

-Oak Creek continues “Light the Square” at Drexel Town Square through December 31st.

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

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

-Old World Wisconsin in Eagle continues “Home for the Holidays” every weekend through December 17th.

-“Enchant” continues at The Rock Snow Park in Franklin.

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

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

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

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

-Cheer District with 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.

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

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

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

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

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

-Milwaukee County Zoo continues “Wild Lights” through December 31st. Plus, the Zoo continually presents…lots of COOL animals and awesome indoor/outdoor walks! Great coffee too!!

-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!

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

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

-UW Milwaukee’s Manfred Olsen Planetarium continues “Colorful Nebulas” (I still think it’s nebulae).

-Apple Orchard? Brightonwoods Orchard near Burlington extended their season through December 17th.

-A Dare? I dare you to do one thing from this list!

-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.

Milwaukee Happy Note–October 13th, 14th, and 15th, 2023

Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World

Mornin’ All,

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

Friday the 13th. How appropriate for this time of year. Halloween is on the horizon, spooky movies abound, haunted houses are scaring the crap out of us…and we throw Friday the 13th into the mix. Per Disney’s Haunted Mansion: “creepy creeps with eerie eyes” and “weird glows gleam where spirits dwell”. But Disney reminds us that those creepy creeps only “pretend to terrorize”. Ah yes, the softer, cuter, gentler side of Halloween (perfect for Halloween wimps like me). Pumpkins and black cats (Maui says hi) and scarecrows and hot apple cider and pretty leaves and bonfires…and the occasional chills up and down my spine. Sounds like Hygge to me! And with heavy rain moving in for this weekend we just might have to crank up the indoor cozy Hygge. And you know what I say about that? Bring it!!😃

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 October 13th, 14th, and 15th…Friday the 13th!!!).

-Boerner Botanical Gardens continues “China Lights 2023” with awesome nighttime lantern magic through October 29th.🏮

-Boerner Botanical Gardens also presents “Autumn Garden Walks” (wait, Autumn is walking through the Gardens? Ooh, I hope Autumn doesn’t Fall!).🍁

-Skylight Music Theatre debuts “Candide” with performances through October 29th (for all you dental folks…that’s Candide with an “e” and NOT Candida with an “a”).

-Florentine Opera presents “L’Elisir d’amore / Elixir of Love” this weekend only.

-“Harvest Festival” at the Milwaukee Public Market.

-Phantom Lake YMCA Camp in Mukwonago debuts “The Hollows” Halloween spectacle with haunted Halloween thrills (like thousands of carved pumpkins) through October 28th. All proceeds benefit the YMCA’s mission and vision at Phantom Lake Camp.🎃

-Milwaukee Domes continues “Fall Show: Earth–The Art of Nature” through November 5th (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!).🌎🎨

-Basse’s “Taste of Country Pumpkin Festival” in Colgate (I hear that 4 out of 5 dentists prefer Colgate…or is it Crest 🤔?).

-Sister Bay “Fall Fest” in Door County (this IS the big one!).

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

-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.

-Milwaukee Public Museum presents the “Annual Gala” benefiting the mission and the vision of the Museum. And don’t forget, the 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!🦋

-First Stage (Theater) continues “Dream, Quickie! Dream!” with performances through October 29th.

-Milwaukee Astronomical Society’s “Annular Solar Eclipse” viewing and open house benefiting the Astronomical Society’s Observatory.🪐

-Sunset Playhouse presents “The Sound of Her Music: Julie Andrews Tribute” this weekend only (the hills are alive…).

-Discovery World presents “Annular Solar Eclipse”, “Milwaukee Makers Market”, and “Kohl’s Design It! Lab Open”.

-Waukesha Civic Theatre wraps up its performances of “Natural Shocks”.

-“Jack-O’-Lantern Nights” continues at Racine Zoo and runs through October 29th (oooh, so scary…but is most likely cuter and happier than actually scary, and it all helps raise money for MANY varieties of animal chow/biscuits).

-Lake Country Playhouse debuts “The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition” with performances through October 22nd.

-“Dragon Days Fantasy Festival” in Lake Geneva (yes, this is a Dungeons and Dragons kind of thing).🐉

-Lakeside Players of Kenosha wraps up its performances of “Madagascar Jr”.

-Milwaukee Art Museum debuts “Art, Life, Legacy: Northern European Paintings in the Collection of Isabel and Alfred Bader” featuring works by Rembrandt and runs through January 28th, 2024. This weekend’s other special event is “Taking a Ride: ‘Our Time Together’ Bus Tour”. Per usual, the Museum continues its “Drop-In Art Making”, “Drop-In Tours” (including architectural tours highlighting the incredible Calatrava Bridge and Burke Brise Soleil), and “Story Time in the Galleries”. And let’s not forget there are WAY TOO MANY traveling AND permanent exhibits for me to mention with any level of detail and/or coherence.

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

-“Southshore Terrace Kitchen”, benefiting Milwaukee County Parks, continues at Southshore Park on Milwaukee’s beautiful lakefront.

-Bel Canto Chorus presents “Jazz Meets Bach” this weekend only (ahhh, Bach).

-Whitnall Park Beer Garden benefiting Milwaukee County Parks.

-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).

-Renaissance Theaterworks continues “Witch” with performances through November 12th.

-Lakeshore State Park (near the Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee) presents “Fall Bird Hike and Identification” (ooh, I want to identify all the birds that are out hiking!).🦆

-Milky Way Drive-In Theater continues at The Rock in Franklin with more scary movies including “Hocus Pocus 2”, “Casper”, and “Friday the 13th” (“Friday the 13th” on Friday the 13th…🤔).

-Angelic Roots in Oak Creek presents “New Moon Gong Bath & Sound Meditation” (my gongs do need some cleaning).

-Riveredge Nature Center presents “Canoeing the Milwaukee River in Thiensville”, “Open Climb: Autumnal Views from the Canopy”, and “Growing Green Cooking Series: Apples” (green apples?).

-Wehr Nature Center presents “Wehr Birders” (where?).🦉

-Retzer Nature Center continues “Scarecrow Lane” with awesome decorated Fall hikes through October 31st.🎃

-Urban Ecology Center presents “Clothing Swap” (will there be private changing rooms?).

-Schlitz Audubon Nature Center presents “Ephemeral Nature–Ephemeral Art”, “Partial Solar Eclipse Viewing”, “Word With a Bird”, and “Photo Club” (photos of bird words?).

-Lapham Peak State Park presents “Friday the 13th Hike” AND “Focus Group: Fall Colors Photography Session with Art’s Camera Plus” (there certainly seems to be a Friday the 13th theme all over town?).💀👻☠️

-Old World Wisconsin in Eagle continues “Halloween Legends & Lore” with historic scary stuff through October 21st.

-UW Milwaukee Manfred Olsen Planetarium presents “Solar Eclipse Viewing Party” (umm…partial solar eclipse 🤷‍♂️?).

-Farmer’s Market? West Allis is still rollin’.

-Hike? How ‘bout Lakeshore State Park (while identifying birds that are out hiking 🤷‍♂️)?

-A dare? I dare you to read a few pages in a real paper book (TEXTBOOKS DON’T COUNT!!!).

-Apple Orchard? Why not stop by Basse’s for their “Pumpkin Festival” and pick up some apples while you’re there?

-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.