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Summer bucket list

Sunday, June 15th, 2014

When you live a northern state like Wisconsin, you have to really take advantage of the seemingly few warm days we have. Madison, like Milwaukee, Chicago and other nearby cities, really crams a lot of events together from May to September.

Here is a list of things I look forward to doing each summer in and around Madison:

  • Community festivals such as Verona Hometown Days
  • Dane County Farmers’ Market, followed by Bloody Marys at Genna’s (which is open at 10 a.m. Saturdays during Farmers’ Market)
  • Concerts on the Square
  • Bike Night at Quaker Steak
  • Boating
  • Sitting on the swings at the Beach Bar at Mt. Olympus
  • Memorial Union Terrace
  • Golf outings
  • Sand volleyball
  • Mallards Duck Blind
  • Brewers tailgate
  • Betty Lou Cruise
  • A double-feature at Highway 18 Outdoor Theatre
  • Live on King Street
  • Mad-City Ski Team show
  • Maxwell Street Days
  • Taste of Madison (and Taste of Madison judging)

What’s on your summer to-do list in Madison? Let us know in the comments section.

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Looking for things to do outside Madison? Check out the site Summer Bucket List.

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Madison-area community festivals

Sunday, May 11th, 2014

I love how much we pack into our summers here in Madison. In addition to events like the Dane County Farmers’ Market and Concerts on the Square, I always look forward to the community festivals in the area. I’ve rounded them up in a grid and included some notes for each. And yes, I will be watching Cherry Pie perform at least four times this summer, twice during these festivals.

Events Dates Of note
Syttende Mai (Stoughton) May 16-18 Is a marathon just a bit too long for you? Try the annual 20-mile run from downtown Madison to Stoughton. New this year is a strongman competition called the “Viking Games.”
Fitchburg Days May 16-18 On the same weekend we’re celebrating our Norwegian heritage in Stoughton, we can celebrate our Irish heritage in Fitchburg. That means annual performances by both Pat McCurdy and The Kissers.
Verona Hometown Days June 12-15 Hometown Days always books great bands, and this year in no exception with local favorites Charm School Rejects, Madison County and Cherry Pie. The big parade takes place on Sunday.
Fireman’s Festival (Cottage Grove) June 12-15 This festival has a little bit of everything, from a rodeo to craft beer tasting to the Smokin’ Hot BBQ contest to a rugby tournament. Doesn’t have the music lineup of Hometown Days, though.
Oregon Summer Fest June 26-29 See cars from all decades in the annual car show, and enjoy ribs, ribs and more ribs at the Oregon-Brooklyn Lions Club “Thrilla on the Grilla.”
Monona Community Festival July 3-4 I’ve always enjoyed the hole-in-one challenge, which seems to be won with some frequency. And believe it or not, the festival hosts the annual Wisconsin Wife Carry Championship.
DeForest Area 4th of July Celebration July 3-4 Not one, but two, parades to watch (the second is in Token Creek). Lots of free events, including a Super Tuesday concert and pony rides.
Waunafest July 24-27 Waunakee has such strong community spirit, which is why this event has the largest attendance … and also the largest beer tent. Be warned that parking can be difficult.
Sweet Corn Festival (Sun Prairie) Aug. 14-17 As the name implies, you can’t attend this event without eating some of the 75 tons of sweet corn. Since the event is at Angell Park, there will be midget car racing and a tractor pull.
Middleton Good Neighbor Festival Aug. 22-24 Here we are at the end of the summer festival schedule. Check out the huge craft fair and the kiddie parade. Hopefully event organizers add a lot more porta-potties by the beer tent.

Note: I didn’t include the McFarland Family Festival, since it takes place in the fall.

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Food version of the Sweet 16

Sunday, March 23rd, 2014

Congrats to the Wisconsin Badgers and the other 15 teams that made the NCAA Sweet 16. Let’s replace the basketball players with foods/beverages that are representative of the university, city or state of the team. You’ll now have the following as a bracket:

Florida Key Lime Pie    Arizona Prickly Pear Cactus
UCLA Pink’s Chili Dog San Diego State Fish Taco
  
Dayton Cincinnati Chili    Baylor Brisket
Stanford Google (Synthetic) Burger Wisconsin Babcock Ice Cream
  
Virginia Country Ham    Kentucky Burgoo
Michigan State Cherry Pie Louisville Mint Julep
  
Iowa State Sweet Corn    Tennessee “Meat and Three”
Connecticut Quahog Michigan Blimpy Burger

Based on these food items, I have UCLA over Florida, Dayton over Stanford and UCLA over Dayton in the South bracket; San Diego State over Arizona, Baylor over Wisconsin (sorry!) and Baylor over San Diego State in the West bracket; Virginia over Michigan State, Connecticut over Iowa State and Virginia over Connecticut in the East bracket; and Louisville over Kentucky, Michigan (barely) over Tennessee and Louisville over Michigan in the Midwest bracket. In the Final Four, I have UCLA over Virginia and Baylor over Louisville. In the national championship game, I give the nod to Baylor over UCLA in a tough matchup.

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