Author: Lee Matz

Thousands of visitors gathered along Milwaukee’s lakefront for the inaugural Water Lantern festival on a damp evening with inclement weather to celebrate community, and cast their candlelit wishes upon the dark surface of the Veterans Park lagoon. The One World Water Lantern festival presented the June 9 event in Milwaukee as a venue that would bring people together for a magical night of food, music, and an awe-inspiring experience around the release lanterns onto the water. Family attendance was diverse not only for ethnicity, but also numerous languages could be overheard including German, French, Russian, Spanish, Korean, and Japanese....

The June 8 event featured behind-the-scenes access to the new streetcar maintenance facility, with two of the five fleet vehicles on display for access. The Milwaukee community was invited to get its first glimpse at the future of transit in city. The free open house for The Hop, presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, gave curious visitors a unique opportunity to go inside Milwaukee’s new streetcar system. “The Hop is an integral piece of the vibrant Milwaukee community we’re building,” said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. “I’m thrilled that the public will had the occasion to come downtown, get a...

The 31st Annual PrideFest Milwaukee kicked off its opening ceremonies on June 8 at the Henry Maier Festival Park grounds, with honored guests, elected officials, award winners, and guest speakers that included a keynote address from Danica Roem. Proudly celebrating local LGBTQ culture and community, the 2018 PrideFest Milwaukee officially kicked off the summer festival season. The world’s largest LGBTQ celebration with permanent festival grounds is owned and operated entirely by volunteers each and every year. The festival traces its heritage back to 1974, when 350 people attended the city’s first organized expression of pride at the Gay People’s...

Mayor Tom Barrett hosted the first of his community walk series for the summer of 2018 with Artists Working in Education (AWE) on June 5 along the Silver City neighborhood. The one mile trek from 30th and Scott Street to Arlington Heights Park on 35th and Pierce Street was part of Mayor Barrett’s Walk 100 Miles in 100 Days Challenge. It explored artwork created and installed in the community by Artists Working in Education (AWE). The art walk featured a variety of murals created by students at Doerfler Elementary School and Escuela Verde High School. Also highlighted along the...

Sculpture Milwaukee 2018 officially opened on June 1 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held at the Northwestern Mutual Gardens, and a free picnic lunch for 1,000 attendees. Celebrating a second season for the outdoor sculpture experience along Wisconsin Avenue, hundreds attended the kick off party held on the front lawn of the financial services company’s new tower. The site also features 2 of the 21 sculptures by 22 artists in the 2018 Sculpture Milwaukee line-up, Kiki Smith’s “Seer (Alice II)” at the west end and Robert Indiana’s iconic “LOVE, 1966-1999” at the east. Emceed by Sandy Maxx, host of “The...