Category Archives: Events

by | August 5, 2015 · 10:40 pm

Mark Your Calendars: Three Big August Events

Dinner and a Movie 2

??????????????

I’m taking some time off from blogging, barring a significant breaking news story.

In the meantime, please mark your calendars for some terrific local events coming up this month …

  • Wednesday, August 12: Community Night Out. The South Milwaukee Police Department invites people of all ages to gather from 5:30 to 9 p.m. behind City Hall to meet public safety workers and other organizations from around the area and enjoy food, games, demonstrations and more. The evening concludes with fireworks. Here is a flyer.
  • Friday, August 21: Guardian Credit Union Dinner and a Movie. Grab dinner at a local restaurant, then check out a free outdoor showing of “Big Hero 6” at 11th and Madison Avenues, site of the farmers’ market. The movie starts around dusk, but come early to enjoy face painting, tattoos and a glow-in-the dark painting project presented by KinderCare. Check out the Guardian website for more information. Here is KinderCare’s website.
  • Saturday, August 29: Restore the Lagoon Festival. Enjoy food, drinks, live music, a silent auction, a kids’ corner and more for this second-annual event held on Oak Creek Parkway at the Mill Pond from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Check out a flyer and more information on Restore efforts on the Restore the Lagoon Facebook page.

As you plan for these, I thank you for reading this blog. We’ve blown past 500,000 page views since this launched in 2009, and I look forward to an even brighter future as we push toward one million. One million!

I also ask you to like my Facebook page, which I update regularly with content you can’t find here. And I’m on Twitter (#MayorBrooks).

Transparency is important to me, and I pledge to keep lines of communication open at all times.

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, Mill Pond, South Milwaukee Police

Tagged as , , , ,

by | July 23, 2015 · 11:05 pm

What A Weekend: What’s Happening Around Town

Lion slide

Heritage Days is off to a great start, including a Firehouse Spaghetti Dinner on Wednesday that soared past last year’s attendance figures and a stepped-up Evening on the Avenue celebration last night.

And we’re just getting started! Here is what’s on tap this weekend …

  • Friday: South Milwaukee Lionsfest begins, with the car cruise and car show, fish dinner, and music by the Cheap Shots and Mount Olive.
  • Saturday: It’s Heritage Days Parade day, starting at 11 a.m. Then it’s the Friends of Mill Pond Duck Race at 2 p.m., and more Lionsfest (rib dinner, music by Pat McCurdy, Jamit and 76th Juliet).
  • Sunday: Be on the lookout for the #MKELion as Lionsfest continues with Family Day activities, chicken and music by The Do-Wa-Wa. Also check out Ability Fest at Wil-o-Way Grant Park, as we celebrate 25 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act. More details here and here.

Check out the full Heritage Days schedule here. And here is the detailed Lionsfest schedule.

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, South Milwaukee

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | July 19, 2015 · 10:52 pm

Heritage Days Are Here!

It’s the best week of the year to be a South Milwaukeean … we’ll see you at one of these terrific events.

Full details at SMHeritageDays.org.

Heritage Days schedule 2

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, South Milwaukee

Tagged as

by | July 9, 2015 · 10:34 am

Live Music Downtown … Every Week

11701127_469042589928985_6463434052898834934_n

The South Milwaukee Downtown Market has announced its July music lineup, and it’s as strong as ever.

Many communities offer live music, most several weeks during the summer. Well, South Milwaukee has live music downtown every week from late May through early October. Just sayin’.

Check out the press release here, and check out some of these terrific acts every Thursday evening at the market.

In other words, come for the food, stay for the music.

More updates on the market’s Facebook page.

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, South Milwaukee, South Milwaukee Farmers' Market

Tagged as

by | July 5, 2015 · 12:16 pm

Heritage Days Are Two Weeks Away

Heritage Days schedule 2

The best week of the year to be a South Milwaukeean. Here’s a schedule and a press release.

And be sure to check out the website for more! It’s SMHeritageDays.org.

 

2 Comments

Filed under Events, South Milwaukee

Tagged as ,

by | July 3, 2015 · 4:48 pm

Funfest!

July 10-12 at Divine Mercy, 695 College Ave. Should be a great weekend!

Funfest flyer

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, South Milwaukee

Tagged as ,

by | July 1, 2015 · 5:02 pm

Happy July 4th: See You At Grant Park On Saturday!

July 4th a-frame

Plan on bringing your family and friends to Grant Park for our July 4th festivities on Saturday.

The fun starts at 10 a.m., and the day includes bike judging, games, bouncy houses, music and more … oh, and a free lunch, with the second-annual Mayor’s Picnic.

Learn more in my previous post. And thanks again to our sponsors!

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, South Milwaukee

Tagged as , ,

by | June 27, 2015 · 7:34 pm

Celebrating South Milwaukee’s Top Garden Spots: And The Mayor’s Choice Winner Is …

Garden 4 Garden 2 Garden 1 Garden 3

Update: I have posted photos from all eight gardens on my Facebook page.

The South Milwaukee Historical Society’s seventh-annual Garden Tour was in full bloom on Saturday.

What a terrific showcase for South Milwaukee!

My family visited all eight gardens on the tour, and we came away so impressed with the painstaking work put into keeping these homes beautiful. These are just amazing outdoor spaces.

I can’t thank the volunteers from the Garden Club and Historical Society enough for all the hours they put into this event. It paid off with a wonderful celebration of what makes South Milwaukee so special — our unique neighborhoods, homes, people and, of course, gardens.

So, who was the best of the best?

For the first time, I was asked to give out a Mayor’s Choice Award, and instead of one, we are giving out four. Here is the list …

  • Mayor’s Choice Award Grand Prize: The home of Jerry and Kay Grant, 1414 Fairview Avenue. Their backyard is home to a working model railroad, complete with a station, and some beautiful plantings. A few photos are in this post. They receive a wonderful piece of window art from Garden Tour vendor and local resident Deb Sindric (Flowers and More by Deb), $50 in local restaurant gift certificates, a Historical Society membership and a proclamation from the city.
  • Mayor’s Choice Award Honorable Mentions: The homes of Becky Gresser (906 Fairview Avenue), Judy Lewandowski (800 Lake Drive) and Tom and Peggy Bartelt (111 16th Avenue). All three of these were special in their own right, with immaculate and meticulous gardens, seating and entertainment areas. Each honorable mention winner receives a Historical Society membership, a copy of the society’s “Letters to Mettie” book and recognition in the proclamation.

Congratulations to everyone who took part in this, and I wish I could have given all eight participants an award. These spaces were that outstanding. But, in the end, the real winners here are the people who had a chance to experience these terrific South Milwaukee homes on Saturday, including a number of folks from outside our fair city.

I can’t think of a better postcard for South Milwaukee.

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, History, South Milwaukee

Tagged as

by | June 20, 2015 · 4:24 pm

Baseball + Outdoor Movie = Summer Fun

SMLL movie night

See you there!

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, South Milwaukee Little League

Tagged as ,

by | June 17, 2015 · 8:38 pm

Reminder: Outdoor Movie Friday, Downtown History Walking Tour On Saturday (And The Market On Thursday)

Dinner and a Movie 2 Train station old

Update: Here is a list of participating restaurants for the first “Dinner and a Movie”: Azteca, China Chef, Barbiere’s, Muskie’s Gourmet House and MKE City Sippers. Be sure to patronize these local businesses!

So, it’s farmers’ market on Thursday, outdoor movie on Friday, and then this on Saturday …

The cool downtown events continue with the South Milwaukee Historical Society Downtown Walking Tour starting at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday, June 20.

From local historian Nels Monson, who is leading the walking tour …

Lace up your walking shoes and join us on Saturday June 20 for a walking tour of Downtown South Milwaukee led by City Historian Nels Monson. Tour starts at the Railroad Depot and is expected to last about two hours. Cost is $5 per person. Children under 12 and seniors over 80 are FREE. All proceeds benefit the South Milwaukee Historical Society.

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, South Milwaukee

Tagged as , , ,

by | June 15, 2015 · 10:59 pm

Mobile Beer Garden Opens Wednesday!

Beer garden 2

Beer garden 1 Beer garden 3

The 2015 Milwaukee County Parks Traveling Beer Garden tour makes a stop in South Milwaukee and Grant Park starting Wednesday.

Join me at 4 p.m. for a ceremonial keg tapping at Picnic Areas 5-6. The garden is then open to 10 p.m., with last call at 9.

The garden will appear at Grant Park through June 28.

Check out hours and more information here. From the parks …

Each of the stops on the 16-week tour features craft beer, gourmet sodas, Hard Root Beer, Hard Ginger Beer, and other refreshments from Sprecher Brewing. Authentic German food is available from Sprecher’s Restaurant & Pub. The Traveling Beer Garden™ is run by Milwaukee County Parks concessions staff. All revenue collected goes back into improving the parks across Milwaukee County.

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, Grant Park, Milwaukee County, Parks, South Milwaukee

Tagged as , , ,

by | June 11, 2015 · 9:03 pm

Celebrate Flag Day Sunday At City Hall

Flag-Day-Images-Free-2

Please join us for the city’s annual Flag Day ceremony this Sunday at City Hall.

The brief ceremony starts at 6 p.m. at the gazebo outside of the Grobschmidt Senior Center. It will feature a flag retirement ceremony featuring local veterans and scouts, music from the South Milwaukee Municipal Band, and refreshments. We’ll also read select writings from Rawson Elementary students, who were asked to answer this question: “What does the flag mean to you?”

See you there!

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, South Milwaukee

Tagged as ,

by | June 9, 2015 · 7:18 pm

Garden Tour Set For June 27

What a terrific way to showcase our city, its homes, its gardens and, most importantly, its gardeners …

Indeed, it’s the people who make South Milwaukee beautiful.

Let’s celebrate them! I hope to see you on June 27.

Garden tour 2 Garden Tour

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, South Milwaukee

Tagged as ,

by | June 8, 2015 · 8:59 pm

Annie! First Outdoor Movie Set For June 19

Just a reminder … see you in 12 days for “Annie”!

Dinner and a Movie 2

Leave a comment

Filed under Downtown, Events, South Milwaukee

Tagged as , , ,

by | April 29, 2015 · 5:12 pm

Food, Music And Baseball: Big Weekend In South Milwaukee!

I Love Jazz Concept MFTAcarnivalePostersmall

Update: Added item on the St. Luke’s UCC Spaghetti Dinner on Saturday.

It’s weekends like this that make South Milwaukee special.

Here are three big events happening Friday through Sunday in our fair city …

  • Friday: South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center 10th Anniversary Gala. A terrific evening of entertainment, celebrating a decade of this community treasure. Dozens of performers means there is something for everyone. The event starts at 6 p.m. with a pre-show social featuring some of the acts in the lobby, refreshments and hors d’ oeuvres. Get a full list of performers and learn more here.
  • Saturday: South Milwaukee Little League Opening Day. This day is another thing pretty unique to South Milwaukee. It starts with a parade down Milwaukee and 9th Avenues, starting at Papa Luigi’s and ending at Little League Park, where there will be ceremonies before the opening slate of games. Parade at noon, opening ceremonies at 1, games start at 1:45. See a schedule here. Also on Saturday is this St. Luke’s UCC Spaghetti Dinner from 4 to 7 p.m. at 2200 18th Ave. They are featuring chef-prepared spaghetti sauce and entertainment. Adults $7, children 11 and under $4.
  • Sunday: South Milwaukee Food Truck Carnival. Some of the area’s top food trucks pay a visit to downtown South Milwaukee for a first-ever event for our city. Live music by Water Street Bridge is also planned. Noon to 4 p.m. on 11th Avenue, south of Milwaukee Avenue. Thanks to the Milwaukee Food Truck Alliance and the award-winning Streetza Pizza – owned by South Milwaukeean Scott Baitinger – for bringing this event to our city, and for Educators Credit Union for stepping up as a sponsor just today.

See you this weekend!

Check out media coverage on the Food Truck Carnival from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and OnMilwaukee.com. You may also see a TV station or two on site on Sunday. This will be big. How big? More than 1,500 people have said they are going on just the Streetza Facebook invite alone.

4 Comments

Filed under Downtown, Events, South Milwaukee

Tagged as , ,