Brats on the brain

I admit, I went to Brat Fest more than once this weekend.
I couldn't help it.
Here is a picture of those that accompanied my first trip (except B&M):

Here is why I think the goal wasn't met this weekend: inconvenience of the Alliant Energy Center for the drop-by brat-buy. It is pretty impossible to run in and buy a bunch of brats for a huge crew of people (or for your next four meals...).


My advice, set up a drive thru brat booth. Put some high schoolers in charge of it. Send the cheerleaders around with mustard bottles. Have the drama group do saurkraut and the chess club do relish. Just seems a natural fit.

other photos and thoughts:
1) I caught B sucking his finger.


2) he wouldn't do it for the camera again. But, hey! what is that in the background of this photo?

3) close up of that interesting sight:

Are you guessing that it is a little girl with a bear backpack and the dad (or man with her) holding the very long leash like tail?

yes, you are right my friend. what an odd world we live in.

Long live festivals that celebrate meat!

Free and cheap summer events

As an unemployed Madison-lover, I felt compelled to compile a list of recommended cheap and free events I plan to take full advantage of this summer. The list was culled primarily from a section in the Isthmus last week.

* denotes 11frogs favorites.

Outdoor Music and Other Shows

Sundays

• free Mad City Ski Team shows (Law Park, east of Monona Terrace) - 6 p.m., May 27 to September 2.

Mondays

• free Warner Park Concert Series (Warner Park Shelter) - 6:15 p.m., June 11 to July 23, except not on July 2.

Tuesdays

• free Olbrich Gardens Concert Series (Olbrich Gardens) - 7 p.m., June 5 to July 31.
• free Lunchtime Live Concerts (Hamilton corner of Capitol Square) - noon, June 12 - July 31.

Wednesdays

• *free Concerts on the Square (Capitol Square) - 7 p.m., June 27 to August 2.
• free Jazz at 5 (100 block of State Street) - 5 p.m., August 8 to August 29

Thursdays

• free Cork n' Bottle String Band (Memorial Union Terrace) - 6 p.m.

Fridays

• cheap MMoCA Rooftop Cinema, screening of artsy short films on various themes (Overture Center rooftop garden), 9:30 p.m., June 8 - June 29.
• free Dane Dances, live concerts with dance-able ethnic music (Monona Terrace Rooftop, except Aug. 17 at the Memorial Union Terrace), 5-9:30 p.m., August 3 - August 31.

Almost every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night

• free Live music on the Memorial Union Terrace

June 23: free Blues Picnic (Warner Park
July 21: free Opera in the Park (Garner Park)

Festivals
June 9: Clean Lakes Festival (Warner Park)
June 7-10: Isthmus Jazz Festival (Memorial Union)
June 9-10: Marquette Waterfront Festival (Yahara Place Park)
June 16: Juneteenth Day, celebration of Afro-American heritage (Penn Park)
*June 16: 11frog's 30th Birthday Party ;)
June 30: Rhythm-n-Booms fireworks display (over Lake Mendota at Warner Park)
July 4: Fourth of July fireworks and festival (Elver Park)
July 13-15: Fete de Marquette (future Central Park site, 201 S. Ingersoll)
July 14-15: Art Fairs On and Off the Square
July 18-22: Dane County Fair
*July 21-22: Greekfest (Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, E. Wash)
July 28: Fiesta Hispana (Warner Park)
July 28: Atwood Summer Fest (uh, Atwood Ave.)
August 11: Savor the Summer Fest (Troy Gardens)
August 14-15: Hippie Christmas, a.k.a. Moving Day (Downtown)
*August 18-19: Sweet Corn Festival (Sun Prairie)

Other Summer Must-dos
A little less cheap, but fabulous enough to be well worth it.

• *Show at American Players Theater (Spring Green)
• Wisconsin winery tour
• Self-pick berries
• *Camping, both a car-camping trip and a backpacking trip
• Mallards game

Brat Fest: Let's keep it simple, people

Turns out the World's Largest Brat Fest wasn't quite as large this year: they missed the goal of selling 200,000 brats by quite a bit. As of the 5 o'clock news Monday evening, they hadn't quite reached 150,000, and that was about an hour before the event was closing. I think the lower numbers were due in part to the higher cost of $1.50/brat this year, compared to $1.00/brat in previous years. I really don't think the price increase is that big a deal, considering that proceeds go to charity and that this is the first price increase in 25 years.

More relevant to the apparent decline, in my opinion, is the fact that there's a whole lot more crap now. When Brat Fest was in the Hilldale parking lot (before the Hilldale parking lot became condo-, chain-restaurant-, and parking-ramp-filled), Bratfest was simple: a few too few tables, some loud local bands of questionable quality, and long lines of people anxiously awaiting their brats. Now, there are ferris wheels and much associated carny paraphernalia, a full slate of higher quality local bands, i-pod dancers (to fill the gap in the 'questionable quality entertainment' category), booths of sponsors and their attendant crap, etc., etc., etc. It's just too much and doesn't feel quite right.

Case in point: We attended Brat Fest on Friday evening and gave in to participate in selected carny crap, including a shooting-at-targets-with-water-guns game that resulted in our resident knight winning a horrific purple dog that happened to match his fiance's outfit. A lil' bit funny and a lil' bit freaky and a lil' bit much, similar to the belligerent and possibly drunk carny that bellered, "Yeah, if I were you I would ignore me, too!" as we tried to move past his game.

Despite all of the crap, the essense of the thing remains wonderful: brats and good mustard and good friends. We sat on a blanket on a cool early-summer evening to enjoy our respective sausage products, and it was lovely. Mmmmm!

Finally blogging

So this is my first attempt at anything blog-like. Wish me luck.
I promise to post only fun things and even funnier pictures :)

~the blogger formerly known as Tuckawicz

What to do in Wisconsin?

I have lived in Madison for about four and a half years now and I still love it. It totally rocks! So much so that I have overcome that Committment Fear and bought a house here. Actually, it is in the "City of Pride", Monona. - more like the City of Social Security - it seems like everyone is over 65 here. But, we are on the East Side (shout out to my East Side Homeowners Association Ladies!) and that is the best side.
- odd side note, my high school's (Thornton Fractional North) song said - Stay on the North side of Fractional, and never cross that line. Stay on the North side of Fractional, the going's mighty fine.
Back to the core story here:
My mother is coming for a week in June and I am taking vacation.
I want to entertain her with Wisconsin-ness, so I solicit my Wisconsin resident friends for ideas and they pull through. Thus far:

Tuckowicz (I don't know what her online name will be.)- said Farmer's Market in Madison - excellent recommendation, it is already my mother's favorite thing to do in Madison. We will hit it two times if we are lucky.

11Frogs sent a list about a mile long, as expected. No one loves Wisconsin and Madison as much as she does.

I will keep you posted on what happens.