The Justice System and its Treatment of the Mentally Ill Page 8
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08 Justice System Should Treat Rather than Punish the Mentally Ill
12 Democracy Dies in Economic Ignorance
Issue of the Month
14 Palestinian Storytelling Through Cuisine with Bint Jamila's Table — Hero of the Month
16 Marquette University President Kimo Ah Yun — MKE SPEAKS: Conversations with Milwaukeeans
19 This Modern World
FOOD & DRINK
20 Apollo Café’s 25 Years of Classic Greek Dishes
22 Falling in Love with Wine: The Story of Anna Hutcheson — Beverages
26 Time to Talk Rice — Flash in the Pan
30 Dogs on Duty: Therapy Dogs 101 — Pets 34 Summer Festival Guide 48 2025 Farmers Market Guide
52 Current Electric: Ask The Experts — Home
54 Rain Gardens Beautify Homes While Filtering Rainwater Runoff — Garden
56 Regional Music Festivals Attract Milwaukee Acts
60 This Month in Milwaukee
66 Ask Ally 68 Freedom of Mind — Out of my Mind HEAR ME OUT
70 Boyfriend Brings New Meaning to “Rise & Shine” — Dear Ruthie 72 Pridefest 2025 — My LGBTQ POV
74 From the City that Always Sweeps
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Justice System Should Treat Rather than Punish the Mentally Ill
A HEARTFELT MILWAUKEE ATTOURNEY SPEAKS OUT Justice System Should Treat Rather than Punish the Mentally Ill
As a criminal defense attorney, I’ve stood beside clients in courtrooms who are not just facing charges, but battling inner demons the justice system often fails to fully acknowledge. Mental health intersects with the legal system in ways that are both complex and deeply troubling, and from where I stand, the gap between law and compassion is far too wide.
Many people assume that those who commit crimes are simply “bad people.” But that assumption fails to account for the reality I see daily: many of my clients suffer from severe mental illnesses—schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD and major depressive disorder, among others. For them, their actions are not always driven by malice or criminal intent, but by untreated or poorly managed psychiatric conditions. Yet the legal system is built on the premise of personal responsibility and clear intent, leaving little room for nuance when mental illness blurs the lines.
One of the biggest challenges we face as defense attorneys is ensuring that mental health is properly considered at every stage of the criminal process. From arrest to sentencing, the system is rarely equipped to deal with these cases appropriately. Police are often the first responders in mental health crises, but they are not mental health professionals. This mismatch can lead to tragic outcomes, from unnecessary incarcerations to deadly confrontations.
LACK OF TRAINING
Even when individuals with mental illness make it through the arrest phase, the courtroom presents its own set of barriers.
Judges and prosecutors often lack the training or perspective to understand how a mental health condition impacts behavior. For example, a client of mine once walked into a store and began shouting at customers, believing he was being followed by government agents.
Photo by GettyImages/Nadzeya Haroshka.
He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. To the untrained eye, this looked like simple aggression. But to those of us who knew his history, it was a textbook psychotic episode. It took months of fighting and mental health evaluations to get him diverted into treatment instead of jail.
The legal concept of “competency to stand trial” is another area where the system falls short. Clients must be able to understand the charges against them and assist in their own defense. But many individuals, particularly those with severe mental illness, may not meet this standard. Still, courts are hesitant to delay proceedings or dismiss charges, often preferring to push cases forward even when defendants are clearly unwell. Incarceration, in these instances, becomes a holding pattern—not a path to justice or healing.
And then there's the issue of sentencing. In too many cases, a person’s mental illness is used more as a footnote than a mitigating factor. Judges may acknowledge it, but they’re often bound by mandatory sentencing laws or public pressure to appear “tough on crime.” The result? Individuals who need therapy and psychiatric care are instead locked in prisons that are unequipped to offer either.
MAKING PROGRESS
Some jurisdictions have made progress with mental health courts and diversion programs, which aim to treat rather than punish. These alternatives offer hope, but they are far from universal and often underfunded. For every client I’ve been able to get into a treatment-focused program, there are several more I’ve watched fall through the cracks.
My role is not only to advocate but to humanize—to remind the court that the person sitting at the defense table is more than their charges. They are someone’s child, friend or parent, struggling with a condition that deserves empathy and medical care, not just legal judgment.
The justice system cannot continue to be the de facto mental health provider in our society. It is neither designed nor trained for that role. What we need is a system that prioritizes treatment over punishment and recognizes mental illness as a legitimate factor in both criminal behavior and rehabilitation. Until then, defense attorneys will keep fighting—case by case, person by person—to bridge that gap.
Democracy Dies in Economic Ignorance Democracy Dies in Economic Ignorance
BY WILLIAM HOLAHAN
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and, since 2013, the owner of the venerated Washington Post, has told readers of a shift in policy for the editorial page:
“We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.”
It is no surprise that he is enamored of his own liberty and freedom but, when he invokes free markets, he implies an economy that is working in the public interest, not just his own.
CONSIDER TWO COMPETING DEFINITIONS OF FREEDOM:
I. Freedom from government interference in business and personal activity. Today this means less regulation and lower taxes, the core goal of Project 2025. It is this version of freedom that is used to justify the indiscriminate cutting of federal agency employees.
II. Freedom from scarcity. Economic freedom increases when people have greater access and choice among goods and services. For example, when the economy was recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic during 2021-22, prices rose faster than wages and economic freedom fell; later, as wages rose faster than prices during 2023-24, economic freedom rose.
WHAT IS A “FREE MARKET” AND WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH “FREEDOM?”
The standard model of the “free market” is an abstract description of how the price system provides incentives for investors, innovators and entrepreneurs to form enterprises that produce and sell goods and services to buyers. But, for real markets to fit this description, certain rather stiff preconditions are required.
In the model, consumers are well-informed of the quality, durability, safety and other characteristics of the goods and services they are buying. Moreover, all market exchanges—buyer/seller; employer/worker; entrepreneur/ banker, etc.—are voluntary and "mutually advantageous.” Business firms compete on price, product quality, services, as well as innovation and cost-control. That competition compels profit-seeking firms to serve the public interest—i.e., by increasing buyers’ choice and freedom—even though that is not their intent. If these pre-conditions are in place, the market system performs this feat without government direction on price or quality of the product or service.
MISTAKEN USE OF FREE MARKET CONCEPT
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent presumes that private sector free markets are the optimal system of production and distribution of goods, services and assets, while the public sector is a “toxic” drag on the economy. He asserts that the shift from public to private spending will require a difficult “detox period” compensated later by the detoxified free market.
Photo by GettyImages/Greggory DiSalvo.
Once the private sector market system is presumed to be superior to the public sector, it follows immediately that government should be made smaller regardless of how its size is reduced. Faith in the free market justifies the indiscriminate DOGE-style firing of federal employees across government agencies.
BUT WHAT IF THE PRECONDITIONS ARE NOT PRESENT?
The standard free market concept relies not on faith but deductive logic; if the pre-conditions for it to work are not present, then the beneficial results cannot be expected. One important category of the economy that cannot be produced and distributed efficiently by markets are “public goods.” A partial list of these goods and services includes streets and roads; sewer and water; police and fire protection; national defense; gun safety; air quality; biodiversity; flood control systems; disaster relief; social insurance for health, disability and poverty in old age; the legal system; infrastructure investment; and public parks. These incredibly important activities are a public responsibility.
Careful study of the free-market concept debunks Secretary Bessent’s notion that a detox would be followed quickly by economic resurgence. To the contrary, indiscriminate cuts in government spending will slow the already inadequate investment in productive public sector assets—bridges, roads, rural and inner-city broadband—extending the drag on economic growth.
Another important lesson from the free market model: efficiency requires that markets are directed by the preferences of the people it serves. To mimic, in the public sector, the lessons of the free market model, representative voter preferences should determine the right mix of public investments—e.g., rural roads versus urban roads, public schools versus publicly financed private voucher schools, acceptance or rejection of federal dollars for Medicaid expansion; legislative district gerrymandering must be eliminated.
If Bezos devotes his opinion page to describing free market concepts, he should do it right, not as a faithbased justification for anti-government reflexes, but as a foundation for understanding the role of government in a market economy.
William Holahan is emeritus professor and former chair of UWM’s department of economics.
Palestinian Storytelling Through Cuisine with Bint Jamila's Table
BY BEN SLOWEY
Gastronomy is a crucial component of preserving one’s culture, history, storytelling and identity. With her business, Bint Jamila’s Table, Muna Riyad Sharma creates dynamic, artful tablescapes of Palestinian cuisine through uniquely-curated community events and her private catering services. She named her business, which translates to “Jamila’s daughter” in Arabic, as a way of honoring her mother and the powerful relationship they share.
“Food is one of the most beautiful, poetic, multisensory ways to tell a story that you can’t do with anything else,” Muna affirms. “It is a form of art, and I see my tablescapes as an extension of that.”
As a Palestinian-American, Muna recognizes how her people’s connection to their land is not just ancestral, but everything about the land is connected to their physical being and the food that they eat.
“Our food comes from this soil. It came from seeds that came from a tree before it. Every dish is an inheritance of its own that connects me to people I’ve never even met. The same way I come from a generation of women and families, every single tree and every single za’atar bush comes from their own generation.”
EACH DISH IS DIFFERENT
She continues, “You will likely never meet two Palestinian people who make the same dish the same way. That is because of how we have been divided and separated and disconnected from one another and the land.
It’s one of the only cuisines in the world that is like that. For every person to be able to showcase their own dish on a table is an act of resistance because you’re telling your family’s story. Everything I do is laced with Palestinian-ness because of that.”
Muna grew up with a big family in Al-Bireh, Palestine. Her mother is a wonderful cook, and their house would be a hub for grand feasts with over 15 people. Muna loves bringing people together, and food does exactly that.
“Life happens around the kitchen table … the gossip, the updates, the news, the planning …anything that’s going on in a family is happening around where food is being prepared and enjoyed.”
During the Second Intifada, Muna noticed her mother starting to preserve food in different ways, such as baking her own bread or making fruits into jams. “As a child, you don’t understand what’s going on, but seeing my mom take something that’s usually consumed quickly and stretching it so we could have it for an extended period of time piqued my interest as an eight or nine-year old.”
CONNECTING WITH HERITAGE
In 2021, Muna took time to feel more connected to and visible in her Palestinian and Muslim identities. Around the same time, she and her husband moved to Milwaukee from New York. “I did not know Milwaukee had such a large Palestinian population,” Muna laughs.
“I connected with people I went to high school with in Palestine, which is wild to me. I felt safe to be Palestinian here.”
Muna started Bint Jamila’s Table in 2022 as a way to not only share a part of herself with others but build vibrant, immersive experiences in doing so.
In early 2024, everything shifted for Muna when she created a tablescape for the “For Palestine, For Humanity: Food is a Form of Resistance” art show by Amal Azzam and Liala Amin. “The centerpiece was inspired by Al-Bireh itself. One of the most beautiful experiences that I had during that event was seeing other Palestinians see themselves in the table, like someone taking a bite of the warak dawali and being reminded of the one their family makes back in Palestine.”
Muna adds, “I really enjoyed seeing my friends’ kids interact with the table, trying stuff they would never try like salty goat cheese, or olives, or spicy labneh, and seeing their faces light up. It felt so wholesome.”
CURATED MENUS
Subsequently, in collaboration with Muna’s mother, Bint Jamila’s Table hosted a series of workshops focusing on different aspects of Palestinian cooking, including ones on stew and fermentation, complete with curated menus that featured bamya and mulukhya stews, makdous and vermicelli rice.
Bint Jamila’s Table also created tablescapes for the Palestine solidarity encampments at UW-Milwaukee last spring, a summer Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) fundraiser hosted by Cloud Red, “Unladylike: Sticky Licky Foods; A Tablescape Experience” with Braided Magazine at Task Creative, and the Second Annual Community Appreciation Iftar with Milwaukee 4 Palestine and UMMA at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee.
They have hosted a book club as well, discussing “The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey” by Laila El-Haddad, where they cooked and discussed dishes from different chapters of the book.
Muna hopes to tap into different communities in the liberation movement and collaborate with more chefs on pop-up events. Have an idea? Email bintjamilastable@ gmail.com or message them on Instagram. Muna affirms, “We will be there to bring their vision to life in a way that truly represents them.”
Ben Slowey is a Milwaukee writer and frequent contributor to shepherdexpress.com.
Photo of Muna Riyad Sharma by Faisal Quersh.
Photo
Marquette University President Kimo Ah Yun
“WHEN
I MAKE DECISIONS, I
BEGIN
WITH THE NOTION OF STUDENTS
FIRST.”
BY TOM JENZ
My dad laid carpet and linoleum tile for a living, and I worked for him part time as a kid,” Marquette University President Kimo Ah Yun told me in his office overlooking Church of the Gesu on Wisconsin Avenue.
“By the time my dad was 40, he had blown out his knees and his back. He told me he would teach me floor laying, or he’d work me so hard that I’d want to go to college.”
Young Kimo got up off the floor and chose the college route. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communication studies from California State University, Sacramento, his master’s degree in speech from Kansas State University, and his doctorate in communication from Michigan State University. Ah Yun is a Black American whose parents are of Chinese, Hawaiian, and Portuguese descent. He is a native of Compton, California, but he grew up in Sacramento. In November 2024, he took the president’s job and became the first Marquette President of color. He is a lifelong Catholic.
You call your personal history an “underdog story.” Tell me about your history, your parents, neighborhoods, schools, and your path to a higher education career in California.
I’m a first-generation college student. Neither of my parents graduated from high school. I was the only one of my family to go to college. I was born in Compton, California, then my parents moved to Sacramento where I attended public schools. I went to Cal State Sacramento for undergrad college, later got my master’s at Kansas State and my Ph.D. at Michigan State. All of my degrees are in communication. My first teaching job was back at Cal State Sacramento, taught there for 20 years. I taught research design courses and also communication courses.
What were your parents like?
Neither of my parents had a high school degree. They were hardworking people with high integrity. You showed up and did your job.
Photo of Kino Ah Yun by Tom Jenz.
Photo of Marquette University courtesty of
Our family medical plan was a bag of cash they had saved, which was stored under my parents’ mattress. If one of us kids got sick, my parents took the bag out and hoped there was enough money to cover the medical expenses. My dad was a carpet and tile layer, and I worked for him part time. By the time he was 40, he had blown out his knees and his back. He told me he would teach me floor laying as a career, or he’d work me so hard that I’d want to go to college. My mom was a house cleaner and a cook in a bar/restaurant, and she worked in the tomato fields. Our family lived in primarily rented homes. But we always had enough food, and we scraped to keep our used cars running. My dad knew how to fix them.
You have worked for Marquette for nine years in various administrative jobs. What drew you here in the first place from California?
It’s the Marquette mission, having religion and prayer at the center of our work life for both me and my wife. We were both teaching at big public universities in California. And I was impressed with Mike Lovell, who was Marquette’s president at the time. I knew I could work for him.
You are now the 25th President of Marquette University. What are your responsibilities as the President?
I am the caretaker of the direction and vision of the university. Our board of trustees just passed our next strategic plan, and I work with the university to execute that strategic plan. There are three parts. One, that our students thrive and our retention and graduation rates are high, and also that we have good teachers and teaching spaces. Two, that we have a healthy campus. Three, how we maintain an affordable university. Tuition is high. In our last fundraising campaign, we raised over $800 million, and over $300 million was allocated for student scholarships. I also try to find ways we can be a good partner to the Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin area, and I speak at alumni gatherings.
What do you see as Marquette’s mission?
We are called to serve God, and we do that by serving our students and contributing to the knowledge of the world. There are three pieces to that: One, help students to find their moral and ethical compass. Two, foster a care for others so that students have a sense that there are people in need. Three, for students to engage in action, do something to help others and act on that caring part of their lives. Then, there is the research our faculty does to make the world better, for instance, our neurorecovery clinic that helps debilitated people walk again. We also have faculty doing research on early detection of cancer. Other research involves faculty and students working with children who have autism and providing tools for their families to help those children at home.
Marquette is a Catholic Jesuit college. Who are the Jesuits and how does Marquette differ from a traditional Catholic College?
The Jesuits is an order of the Catholic Church. The Jesuits are very much academic. They go through lengthy educations. They talk about caring for the whole person or the whole organization. Getting people to be mindful of the world, helping them be reflective and then actively doing something. You might say they walk with the excluded and meet people where they’re at.
Could I say that the Jesuits are more liberal and intellectual than traditional Catholics?
Yes, I’ve heard them described at the more liberal continuum.
Speaking of Jesuits, here is a quote from you, and I’m paraphrasing. “Jesuit education means changing fundamentally who you are as a person and how you interface with the world. It means making sure you have a moral compass that tells you what is right and what is wrong. It means growing to be someone who is engaged in helping others.” Can you expand on that?
In a way, that is kind of an overview of your job. Yes, that is what I try to do here at Marquette every day. The Jesuits talk about careful discernment. Your life preMarquette and your life post-Marquette. When I make a big decision, like hiring an athletic director or a provost, I get to a place where I have all the information I need to have by Friday. Then, I take the weekend to sit with it in silence. I do not need to rush the decision.
When I think about the Jesuits, I see them as reflective, as intellectual, as very learned. Yes, learned, good word. A lot of schooling. Occasionally, I go to lunch with the Jesuits at their campus residence. I sometimes discuss what is on my mind. For instance, I told them that I wasn’t a Jesuit, but I was leading a Catholic Jesuit university, and I asked for their advice. They all said the same thing: Pray every day. If you pause and are prayerful, you will make the right decisions.
Let me read another quote from you. “When we make decisions, I begin with the notion of students first. We should always ask the question: How does every decision impact the ability for students to be transformed?” I find that statement quite profound. Can you comment further? When I think about what our obligation is to our students, most are here for four years. One of our jobs is to prepare them for their entire life. They will go off and get jobs and change jobs. Many will get married and have families and be members of communities. I ask students, “What will you do with your life the rest of time, weekends, vacations, summers or retirements?” A Marquette education helps people to find fulfillment in all of life’s aspects, and that helps with inner happiness. My goal is to prepare students to live a fulfilled life and pass that on to future generations.
On that subject, here is another quote from you. “How do you give people a vision that says, your job was one thing that you do in life, but the degree to which you’re a good parent, a good sibling, a good friend, a good community member—all of those things should be worked into our fabric.” What do you see as the Marquette fabric?
The fabric is what makes life exceptional. I love calling it the Marquette fabric.
You recently said, “Of all the universities in America, Marquette has the highest percentage of students who are involved in public service.” How does Marquette promote public service to its students? A student who comes to Marquette already has to have a heart open to serving others. We make it clear to applicants that students are called to serve other people. That is part of the Marquette culture. It’s easy for a student to get involved in helping others because they see so many fellow students giving time to others like feeding the homeless or donating time to a church or working with Big Brothers & Big Sisters.
Quoting you again, “I want to help the community heal.” Are you speaking of the Marquette community or of the national community? And how will you help with the healing?
I am speaking of all communities. There is a nonprofit group called Scaling Wellness in Milwaukee located on 27th and Wells.
Our trained students volunteer there with physical therapy, and they help people who have trauma in their lives.
You know, I’ve done stories on many inner city residents who have experienced trauma. I can almost feel the trauma in some of their neighborhoods. More and more research talks about trauma as generational. If you happen to be born with parents who experience trauma, you might carry that with you. Some of our students and faculty try to help those people you are talking about.
At Marquette University, the student body is predominantly white (67%), with Hispanic/Latino students making up 13%, followed by Asian students at 6.3% and Black or African American students at 4.8%. More women than men are enrolled at Marquette. Undergrad enrollment is down slightly over the last 10 years. Are those numbers satisfactory to you?
We’d love to continue to diversify, and we’ve made great strides in the last ten years. To create more diversity, we are including more classes and programs that deal with the subject. We are also creating more scholarships that take diversity into account. We know we are better when we are more diverse. As for enrollment figures, nationally, demographics are changing. There are fewer students in the pipeline. All colleges are feeling that change. However, this year, our applications for the fall of 2025 are higher than they have been in the last 15 years.
Not long ago at a gathering at Marquette Law School’s Lubar Center, Ah Yun said, “Marquette needs to stick to its core competencies. It’s not a university that aims to succeed by building online education. It’s an in-person university. We engage and transform people.”
Tom Jenz is a Milwaukee writer-photographer and author of the weekly Central City Stories column on shepherdexpress.com.
Apollo Café’s 25 Years of Classic Greek Dishes Apollo Café’s 25 Years of Classic Greek Dishes
BY DAVID LUHRSSEN
How does a restaurant survive for 25 years? In March, Apollo Café marked a quarter-century on a busy East Side thoroughfare, Brady Street, that has seen many changes this century. However, Apollo has changed little over the years and is now an anchor on Brady—a neighborhood gathering place and a destination for anyone hungry for Eastern Mediterranean dishes in an unpretentious setting.
The ambiance is pleasing with a style of its own. Named for the Greek sun god, Apollo’s exterior is decorated with solar bas reliefs; inside, the solar design is worked into the floor and tabletops. The high ceiling, painted sky blue and flecked with white clouds, gives the compact space an airy dimension. One wall is padded for comfortable seating. Order at the tiled counter and be prepared for generous portions well prepared and attractively served.
The Hellenic modern aesthetic of the family-owned restaurant extends to the menu. The appetizers and sides ($5-$10) mingles American bar food (mozzarella sticks, cheese fries) with Old World mezze such as tiropita (feta wrapped in filo) and saganaki (flaming cheese). The Greek fries served in a brimming basket is a Greco-American fusion smothered in oregano and feta.
Traditional Greek avgolemono (egg lemon and rice) soup is available, along with daily soup specials ($5-$6) chalked on the blackboard. Salads ($10-$16) combine feta and olives with various ingredients (and can be topped with grilled chicken).
Gyros ($10-$14)? Of course. But the sandwich list ($10$12) is more extensive and includes chicken, beef and tuna souvlaki; a veggie pita; falafel on pita; and the Apollo burger with feta, onion, lettuce and tomato, along with other burger selections. Add $4 for choice of fries or pilaf.
Entrees ($15-$20) involve all major food groups. Ground beef fills the mighty stuffed green pepper drizzled with tomato sauce and is laced through the pastitsio and moussaka. The half Athenian chicken is broiled tender with herbs and lemon juice. There is even lamb shank with pilaf.
Whether you’re vegetarian or not, Apollo’s veggie sampler ($17) offers a delicious way to explore many of the café’s offerings. As colorful as it is tasty, the sampler includes a half dozen cubes of snowy feta, a half dozen black olives, two grape leaves stuffed with herbed rice with a lemon slice, two crunchy brown felafel balls and a half dozen toasted pita wedges for dipping into the creamy hummus washed golden with olive oil.
Desserts are usually available, including baklava and flan, and can be accompanied by mint lemonade or highly caffeinated Greek coffee. There is a short list of domestic and imported beer and Greek wine.
With spring underway, Apollo will set tables and chairs on the patio. But whether indoors or out, the café affords patrons the leisure for good conversation or a place to sit and watch as the Brady Street traffic rushes past.
Apollo Café
1310 E. Brady Street
(414) 272-2233
ApolloCafe.com
Reservations: No
Handicap accessible: yes $-$$
David Luhrssen is Managing Editor of the Shepherd Express and author of several books on cultural history.
Photos by Timothy Czerniakowski.
Falling in Love with Wine The Story of Anna Hutcheson
BY GAETANO MARANGELLI
You're in a restaurant or a wine bar or a café. Your sommelier recommends a wine to you. They pour the wine for you. You taste the wine. You love the wine. And you wonder to yourself, Who becomes a sommelier?
What makes somebody devote themself to the sommelier’s art and skill? What makes somebody travel around a city or a region or a country or the world to serve wine to people in restaurants and wine bars and cafés? What makes somebody fall so deeply in love with wine?
This is the story of Anna Hutcheson, an American sommelier in Vienna, where she oversees sales and distribution for a boutique Champagne distributor. Anna grew up in rural Montana, studied art in Seattle, fell in love with wine in Chicago, and fell in love again with her first love in the Arctic Circle.
“I did not grow up around wine or good food,” says Anna, “I grew up in very rural areas of Montana, in a time and place where red sauce Italian restaurants were the most exotic dining options, and mostly seen as pretentious. My Mom has never been a drinker.
I think she’s had the same box of Franzia White Zinfandel stored on the back porch for ‘special occasions’ since the early Eighties. She refuses to believe that wine goes bad. Do not, and I can’t stress this enough, ever accept a glass of wine from my mother.
“In 1998, I moved to Seattle to attend art school, and my roommate got me a job as a busboy at the fancy Italian restaurant that she worked at near Pike Place Market. It had everything. Celebrities, opera singers that would sing at your table, expensive wines, and I hated it, but I’d never made so much money in my life.
PIZZA PARLOR WAITRESS
“I moved to Chicago in 2003. I was sure I would find a job working for some cool, independent art gallery, and I ended up getting a job as a waitress at a pizza parlor and was then promoted to manager when the acting manager died. It was here that I won some sort of contest, and the owner gave me a case of white wine from Italy. I wasn’t much of a wine drinker, maybe a bottle of something like Yellowtail for a special occasion, but never white wine.
Photo courtesy of Anna Hutcheson.
I ended up opening a bottle of that wine eventually, and it was delicious, I had no idea that wine could taste like that. It was Feudi di San Gregorio, Falanghina, and I have put that wine on every menu that I have had the chance to since, because looking back, this was the moment that cracked open the wine door for me.
“I got a job at the fanciest place I’d ever worked. There were tasting menus, so many different glasses for all the different wines. I was overwhelmed, but dove in. We had to take weekly wine classes, that were taught by the amazing Alpana Singh [a Master Sommelier, restaurateur, and television personality], and I grew more and more interested in the restaurant’s all-Italian wine list and started asking her for recommendations for books on Italian wine and found myself going home after my shift and studying those books and maps and making flash cards. I studied and passed the first exam for the Court of Master Sommeliers. I realized that I really liked learning about wine. It was everything that I’d always been interested in. It was art, history, science, passion, friendship, love, literature, and so much more! And I realized I could make it a career.
“Over the next several years, I immersed myself in wine and food. It was wonderful. I worked at a lot of different places and learned a lot of different approaches to hospitality and service, and I met so many characters in the Chicago restaurant industry that I still cherish to this day. I worked at a three-star Michelin restaurant with a terrifying French chef, I worked at the hottest new small plates restaurants with the coolest wine lists, I worked at a Latin restaurant that turned into a crazy nightclub after eleven, and then, just before 2010, I somehow got a job with Domaine Select, a wine importer and distributor.
“After three more jobs with three more wine importers and distributors, out of the blue, an old friend from high school reached out to me on Facebook. He was working as a chef for a hotel group up in Norway, in Svalbard, and they were looking for a sommelier. Would I be interested? I didn’t really have much desire to go back to restaurants, but I couldn’t turn it down. Then, there I was in Svalbard, taking care of one of Norway's largest wine collections in the middle of the Arctic, riding snowmobiles and minding my own business, when I ran into my high school sweetheart while he was vacationing in Svalbard. A year-and-a-half later, we were married, and a year after that, I moved to Vienna, where he was living, and here we are!”
Gaetano Marangelli is a sommelier and playwright. He was managing director of a wine import and distribution company in New York and beverage director for restaurants and retailers in New York and Chicago before moving to Wauwatosa.
Photo courtesy of Anna Hutcheson.
Time to Talk Rice Time to Talk Rice
BY ARI LEVAUX
As we approach the growing season, and the kaleidoscope of fresh produce it brings, this is a good time to discuss rice, the ultimate blank slate of cooking. I say this because a rice dish is likely to be more compatible with whatever is in the garden, CSA box, or that cloth bag you brought home from farmers.
Thus, rice is less likely to send you to the grocery store than any other carb. A pasta meal, by contrast, will typically have a narrower list of ingredients, such as tomatoes, garlic and basil. But carrots, squash, corn, peas … not so much. With an entire growing season of diversity ahead of us, flexibility will be key to consuming as much earthly bounty as possible. And rice is more flexible than most yoga instructors.
When it comes to cooking rice, I consider myself something of a less muscular version of John Henry, the steel-driving man who could out pound a steam driver. I may be nothing special with a sledgehammer, but I can cook rice better than any rice cooker. I don’t even measure the amounts of rice or water I add to the pot. I just pour the rice from a 25-pound sack until it looks like enough. And then I stick my finger in it. Based on what my finger tells me, I might add more water or pour off excess.
RICE AND WATER
My rice finger senses its environment like a blind person’s cane, comparing the relative depths of rice and water, and then notifies me if I need to add more water or pour some off. I realize that you, dear reader, might need a bit more to work with than simply “stick your finger in the rice pot and listen to what your finger reports.”
Alas, I have been doing this for so long that I didn’t really know what my finger was sensing, so I grabbed a tape measure and reverse-engineered my technique, in order to be able to translate into English what my submerged digit is looking for.
But first, a few words about rice varieties. There is a bewildering number of them, each with different flavors, textures, colors and cooking needs. The beauty of my technique is it works with any rice, even if you don’t know what kind it is. White jasmine is my favorite rice. It has a mesmerizing fragrance that fills the house as it cooks. I also like white basmati, the flavor of which is a bit more nutty, less floral, but just as intoxicating. Supposedly brown rice is healthier, but I prefer the flavor and texture of white rice. The only problem is that my preferred types of white rice are coated in a starchy powder. I rinse the starch off so the rice will be more fluffy and less sticky.
As you read the following instructions, they may strike you as more complicated than just measuring out your rice and water. That might be an easier way to make one meal, but in the long run the finger technique will save time and guesswork from your future rice-based meals. My method helps you to vibe with whatever rice is on hand. So, if you hang in there and push through the learning curve, you will come out the other side as a legit rice master.
TIGHT AND STIR
Add two or three-ish cups of rice to a small pot that has a tight-fitting lid, preferably a glass lid so you can monitor progress. Fill it the rest of the way with water and stir it around. If the water turns cloudy, you’ve got starch.
Photo
Dump the cloudy water and add more, stirring again. Repeat this process until the water stays clear. Then stick your finger in it. According to my tape measure the water depth should exceed the rice level by about 3/4 of an inch.
Put the lid on and turn the heat to high. When it reaches the boil, turn the heat down to medium. After about 10 minutes the water will drop below the rice level, and the rice will puff up and begin to look done. At this point, remove the lid and pluck a grain from the top.
If the grain tastes done, simply replace the lid, turn off the heat and let the rice peacefully come in for a landing. If it’s just a little crunchy, stick a spoon straight down and gently create a gap so you can see how much water is left. If it’s almost gone, add just a little more, like a half cup, and turn off the heat. The rice will still be plenty hot enough to absorb that water and finish cooking. If it’s a lot crunchy, add maybe a cup and replace the lid, and cook a few more minutes on low.
I’m being vague on the quantities because I have no way of knowing what you see in front of you. But the more you do this, the easier it will be to taste the rice, look in the pot, and decide how much water to add. Whatever you do, don’t let it run out of water while the heat is on or the rice will burn.
A perfectly cooked batch of rice needs little else. A dash of seaweed sprinkles or a splash of soy sauce will make a simple but satisfying meal. Or serve it alongside the cooked veggies of your choice. Or make a little sauce. I’m gonna give you a recipe for a shoulder season stir-fry.
MEALS FROM SCRATCH
Although spring is here, we remain on a winter diet because it’s still too early for the new growth. If we are eating locally then we are still in the root cellar zone dominated by storage crops like carrots, onions, garlic, and squash.
I’m leaving this recipe loose because I don’t want to micromanage. As with the rice cooking, my goal here is to set you free, not boss you around. I am here to teach you how to fish, so to speak, rather than simply hand you a fish. I don’t want to send you to the store. Rather, I want you to be able to create a rice-based meal with whatever you happen to have on hand. This will help build the flexibility to make new dishes as the season evolves from radishes to peas to zucchini, corn, peppers, tomatoes and so on.
Since the squash harvested last fall is still readily available, I decided to serve my rice with a carnival squash, which is basically a delicata squash that’s shaped like an acorn squash. I like delicata and carnival squashes because they are so easy to pan-fry. The thin skin is edible, so you don’t need to peel it. The small seeds get crispy in the pan, adding texture to the dish.
Pan-Fried Squash Chunks on Rice
2 servings
Ingredients
1 lb. carnival or delicata squash
3 tablespoons of your choice of fat: I like olive oil, butter, bacon or sesame oil. Or a combination of any of these.
1/4 medium onion, minced.
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons oyster sauce. If you don’t have it, use fish sauce or soy sauce.
White pepper if you have it, otherwise black pepper. Juice of a 1/4 lemon or a tablespoon of rice wine, for acid
Procedure
Cut the squash into 1/2-inch slices. Lay the slices on the cutting board and chop them into chunks.
Turn the heat to medium below a heavy bottomed pan. Add the oil and squash, including the skin and seeds, and fry in the oil until the seeds begin to pop.
Add the onion, stir it up, and cook until the onion bits become translucent. Deglaze the pan with the lemon juice or cooking wine. Add the garlic, stir it around, and as soon as you smell the magical aroma of garlic cooking, add the oyster sauce and ground white or black pepper.
Stir it all together and serve with you-know-what. (Hint: it rhymes with “nice”)
Ari LeVaux has written about food for The Atlantic Online, Outside Online and Alternet.
Photo by Ari Levaux.
Photo
Dogs on Duty: THERAPY
DOGS 101
BY DAWN JACQUES, FOUNDER OF CANINE EINSTEIN
Dogs provide us with a series of benefits—we all know that. From the increased exercise we get walking them to the mental health benefits, dogs enrich the lives of their owners.
There are many studies being produced that show the positive effects that dogs have on anxiety, depression and other emotional disorders of their owners. Some dogs have been trained to complete specific tasks to aid their owners such as detecting seizures, anticipating panic attacks, guiding the visually impaired and picking up items for owners.
There has been a recent increase in people stating their dogs are Emotional Support Animals—a key and valuable tool for people dealing with a variety of mental health issues including PTSD, anxiety and depression. However, there is some confusion on this topic. This article seeks to clarify the differences between a service dog, a therapy dog and an emotional support dog.
WHAT IS AN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL?
A dog can be considered an emotional support dog when the owner has a verifiable emotional or mental health condition that specifically benefits from the presence of the dog. The owner must be under the treatment of a mental health professional (psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker), and have a letter from the professional.
Stating that an owner receives mental health benefits from the presence of the dog is very different from the typical “I love my dog and want to spend time with him” feeling. Emotional support dogs serve a therapeutic purpose for their owners. Many patients with social phobias, or anxiety are able to get through situations that would otherwise be unbearable for them without the presence of their emotional support dog.
Emotional support dogs can be an integral part of the mental health treatment for their owners. As such, emotional support dogs are afforded special rights that companion dogs are not.
While emotional support dogs provide their owners with an important service, there can be confusion between a Service Dog, a Therapy Dog and an Emotional Support Dog—let’s clear up the difference!
SERVICE DOGS, THERAPY DOGS AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT DOGS
Let me take a moment to clarify a few points. Many people use the phrases “service dog,” “therapy dog” and “emotional support dog” interchangeably. This is not accurate, there are significant differences between these types of dogs.
A service dog is a dog that has been specially trained to assist their owners with a specific task to aid in their daily life. The most common, or most well-known, example of this is the seeing eye dog. The seeing eye dog has undergone extensive training to assist their blind or visually impaired owner to safely navigate the world.
Service dogs are governed by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Service dogs will often wear a vest that states “Service Dog: Do Not Pet” on it, though this is not a requirement.
These dogs are working dogs with a specific task for their owners. Under the ADA, service dogs are permitted to accompany their owners in public locations not typically open to dogs such as movie theaters, public transportation and stores. All service dogs must demonstrate a high degree of training and must be able to demonstrate the following:
• not urinating or defecating unless being released to do so
• not sniffing unless being released to do so
• not seeking attention or food
• not exhibiting any aggressive behavior including barking, growling, biting, jumping etc.
• the dogs must be well behaved and calm in public situations
A Therapy Dog also undergoes specific training. However, the training is very different. Therapy dogs accompany their handlers and may provide relief from stress, anxiety or depression. These dogs are not trained to accommodate the needs of one particular person, but rather to provide benefits to many people. Therapy dogs do not have the same benefits under the ADA as service dogs do. They are not permitted to enter places closed to dogs. Therapy dogs are most often seen visiting nursing homes, hospitals, mental health clinics and recently college campuses during exam weeks.
Therapy dogs must show good social behaviors, not be aggressive and be able to remain calm in a wide variety of situations. Therapy dogs have been shown to be a valuable tool for rehabilitation of physical and mental health issues.
Emotional support dogs are dogs that provide emotional support to their owners. Emotional support dogs can be an integral part of their owners' treatment plan. They do not need to be specially trained to complete a task but do need to be well behaved in public. Emotional support dogs are also afforded some protections under the law.
BENEFITS OF AN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT DOG:
Emotional support animals provide just that- emotional support- to their owners. While these dogs are not permitted in public locations not open to dogs (like movie theaters, public transportation and stores),
emotional support dogs may be permitted to fly in the cabin of an airplane with their owners (this is determined by each airline) and are permitted in housing that may be closed to pets or have breed and size restrictions.
Emotional support dogs used to be able to fly in the cabin of airlines with their owners at no extra charge, but this changed in 2024 after many people took advantage of this rule, bringing dogs that were not well trained or prepared into airplane cabins. The increase in behaviors and for safety reasons, only service dogs are now required to be allowed in the cabin of planes. Each airline can set their own rules for pet or companion dogs, so check with your airline.
Landlords are required to make reasonable accommodations for service dogs and emotional support dogs under the Fair Housing Act.
This is true even when the building does not allow dogs or has breed and size restrictions. Emotional support dogs must be well behaved and not present a danger to others in the building (i.e. it may not exhibit aggressive behaviors) or a nuisance (i.e. excessive barking, jumping or whining). If the emotional support dog does exhibit aggressive behaviors or is deemed to be a nuisance, it can be required to leave the building.
It is important to note that emotional support dogs do not have to allowed in “short term lodging.” This includes hotels, motels and other lodging not used for full time living arrangements. Owners of emotional support dogs are expected to provide them with care and to clean up after their pet. It is the responsibility of the owner to ensure that their dog is not a threat to the health and safety of others.
HOW DO I REGISTER MY DOG AS AN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT DOG?
There is a process for calling your dog an emotional support dog, although there is not a registry for emotional support dogs. Having an emotional support dog requires the owner to get specific documentation and to be ready to present that documentation when asked for it.
Owners must first have a specific mental health or emotional disability (such as depression, anxiety, PTSD). Owners must be under the treatment of a professional and have a letter from the treating professional. The letter must include a few items:
• that the owner has a mental health or emotional disability that is benefitted from the presence of the emotional support dog.
• that the owner has been prescribed an emotional support dog for therapeutic purposes
• that the emotional support dog is part of the treatment plan for the owner
These letters must be written on the treating professionals letterhead. It must be signed and dated by the professional and include the professionals license number, the date and place the letter was issued.
As stated earlier, there is not a national registry for emotional support dogs. It is the responsibility of the owner to be able to provide the required documentation when requested by airlines or landlords to prove that your dog is an emotional support dog.
A FEW FINAL THOUGHTS:
Today it is more acceptable than ever to acknowledge a mental health or emotional problem, as it should be. Lifting the stigma off of mental health issues is important for all of us- it increases research on treatment, opens up support and provides the patient with less shame.
Having an emotional support animal can be a huge benefit to patients with emotional disabilities or mental health issues. Is it important to be honest about whether your dog is a companion pet, an emotional support dog, a therapy dog or a service dog. Stating that a companion dog or emotional support dog is a service dog is illegal. Laws vary by state, but every state considers it illegal to portray an emotional support dog as a service dog.
Emotional support animals provide a valuable form of treatment to those who need it, abusing this right, endangers this form of assistance for those who benefit from it. Abuse also gives the public a poor perception of service dogs and emotional support dogs. Any dog who is called a service dog, therapy dog or emotional support dog that is not well trained, does a disservice to all service, therapy and emotional support dogs.
One final note, there are a lot of agencies that are happy to certify that your dog is a service dog without actually requiring the training. There are even more that will offer to send you a letter so your dog can be considered an emotional support dog. Please do not go these routes. As a pet owner, and former mental health professional, I know how important support dogs are in the treatment plans of patients. If you feel that you would benefit from your dog being considered an emotional support dog, please see a therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker and follow the protocol. If your desire is to have your dog be registered as a service dog or therapy dog, get the appropriate training and follow the rules and regulations for that. Doing so, helps to protect the image of service dogs, therapy dogs and emotional support dogs everywhere.
Dawn Jacques
Milwaukee Paws Pet Care and Canine Einstein work together to provide personalized pet care for Milwaukee Area Pets.
Located in Bay View at 1601 E Oklahoma Ave. Milwaukeepaws.com (262-794-2882) canine-einstein.com (414-215-9809)
Photo by GettyImages/Drazen Zigic.
MAY - SEPTEMBER 2025
Summer can seem like the shortest season in this part of the country, but in Milwaukee we take advantage of every day. In the City of Festivals, every weekend brings opportunities to gather in the sun for food, music and community. At our press time, dates for several events were To Be Determined (TBD). Check for updates.
Illustrations by Timothy Czerniakowski.
BUDWEISER WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE
May 21-Aug. 27 at 7 p.m.
(Wisconsin State Fair Park, budpavilion.com)
CINCO DE MAYO FESTIVAL
Sunday, May 4 11 a.m.–7 p.m. (3000 S. Howell Ave)
Enjoy this annual celebration with Mexican foods, music, dance, fun contests, and the best taco trucks in Milwaukee.
THURSDAY BIKE NIGHT CONCERT SERIES
Thursdays through Sept. 25 (Harley-Davidson Museum, harley-davidson.com.)
All bikes are welcome on the campus of the HarleyDavidson Museum for free live music, food and drinks.
MILWAUKEE MAKERS MARKET
(May–December, milwaukeemakersmarket.com)
Local small businesses rotate the markets throughout the season from April thru December at venues such as Discovery World and The Ivy House.
MAIFEST GERMANTOWN,
May 16-18
(Fireman’s Park, Germantown)
Mark the arrival of spring with a weekend of German food, beer and bands.
Wednesday Night Live is a free weekly summer concert series held at the Budweiser Pavilion on the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds.
THE DEPOT BEER GARDEN
May 16–Sept. 27 (Old Falls Village Old Falls Village, Menomonee Falls, oldfallsvillage.com)
The historical museum's grounds will host hands-on activities, old-fashioned children's games, country market food vendors and live music.
CEDARBURG ART MUSEUM SUMMER BEER GARDEN
May 29–Oct. 2 (Cedarburg Art Museum, cedarburgartmuseum.org/beer-garden)
Enjoy a lineup of local music a local food truck on Thursday evenings.
PAINT CEDARBURG: A PLEIN AIR PAINTING EVENT
May 31– June 7 (Downtown Cedarburg, cedarburgartistsguild.com/paint-cedarburg)
FESTA ITALIANA
May 30–June 1 (Henry Maier Festival Park)
Enjoy Italian culture with live music, food, dancing and more on the lakefront.
Photo courtesy of VISIT Milwaukee Media Library.
JUNE
MARGARITA FEST - PRESENTED BY SHEPHERD EXPRESS
June 1
(The Cooperage, shepherdexpress.com/shepherdevents)
Come for live entertainment, food trucks and one of the city’s great waterfront views.
LOCUST STREET FESTIVAL OF MUSIC & ART
June 1 (Riverwest, locuststreetfestival.org)
Four stages of live music with food and art vendors and the Locust Street Beer Run.
PRIDEFEST
June 5-7 (Henry Maier Festival Park, pridefest.com)
Wisconsin’s largest LGBTQ+ event offers music, drag shows and comedy on Milwaukee’s lakefront.
MUSIC & MORE CONCERT SERIES
June 5-Aug. 15 (First Presbyterian Church, Racine, firstpresracine.org/music-more)
SUMMER SOUNDS AT CEDAR CREEK PARK
June 6–Aug. 15 (Except July 4) (Cedar Creek Park, Cedarburg, summersounds.net)
PIG ROAST AND PINCHO FEST
Sunday, June 8 from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. (4531 W. Forest Home Ave)
Celebrate National Puerto Rican Day with traditional music, food and drinks.
JAZZ IN THE PARK
Every other Thursday June 5 & 9, July 3 & 31, August 14 & 28, September 11 & 25 (Cathedral Square Park, easttown.com)
The popular evening music series returns to Cathedral Square.
TOSA GREEK FEST
June 6-8 (Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, Wauwatosa, stsconstantinehelenwi.org)
Greek food, music and dancing are highlights of this long-running event.
ART 64
June 6-7 (Village of Wauwatosa, Art64tosa.com)
The Midwest’s largest live performance bracket-style painting tournament.
CHILL ON THE HILL
Tuesdays, June–August (Humboldt Park Chalet, bayviewneighborhood.org/chill-on-the-hill)
Live music by local musicians in an idyllic South Side setting.
MUSIC & MORE CONCERT SERIES
June 5-Aug. 15 (First Presbyterian Church, Racine, firstpresracine.org/music-more)
BAYSHORE ART AND MUSIC FESTIVALS
TBD (The Yard at Bayshore, thebayshorelife.com/events)
MILWAUKEE HIGHLAND GAMES
June 7 (Croatian Park, Franklin, milwaukeehighlandgames. org)
Bagpipers, Scottish athletics including the caber toss, sheep herding dogs, Highland dancing and more.
GREEK FEST
June 13-15 (Wisconsin State Fair Park, annunciationwi.org)
LAKEFRONT FESTIVAL OF ART
June 13-15 (Milwaukee Art Museum, mam.org/events/ lfoa0)
A weekend of art, food, music and activities for all ages on the museum grounds with paintings, ceramics, fiber, metalwork and jewelry by artists from across the country.
POLISH FEST
June 13-15 (Henry Maier Festival Park, polishfest.org)
Explore the food and culture of an ethnic group prominent in the making of Milwaukee.
Illustrations by Timothy Czerniakowski.
SOL GRASS MUSIC FESTIVAL
June 13-14 (Washington Island, solgrassmusicfestival.com)
BRADY STREET ART WALK
June 14 (bradystreet.org/event/brady-street-art-walk)
Artists will line the sidewalks of Brady Street creating and selling their art. Grab a drink or a meal.
OUTDOOR MOVIE NIGHT
June 18, July 9, Aug. 16 (Drexel Town Square, Oak Creek)
BAYSHORE MAKERS MARKET
June 21-22 (Glendale, https://amdurproductions.com/ bayshore-makers-market/)
Along with arts and crafts vendors, the event will feature live music, food trucks and kids activities.
GREEN LAKE FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
June-August (Shows in Green Lake, Ripon, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, greenlakefestival.org)
SUMMER SOULSTICE MUSIC FESTIVAL
June 14 (Milwaukee’s East Side, summersoulsticemke.com)
JUNETEENTH JUBILEE PARADE & STREET FESTIVAL
June 19 (juneteenthmilwaukee.com)
SUMMERFEST
June 19-21, June 26-28 and July 3-5 (Henry Maier Festival Park, summerfest.com)
The Big Gig returns with its three three-day weekends format this year. Headliners include Def Leppard, Gary Clark Jr, Hozier, Japanese Breakfast, Lukas Nelson, DEVO, Willy Porter, The Killers and Social Distortion.
METRO JAM
June 20-21 (Washington Park, Manitowoc, metrojam.org)
On Saturday, The Jayhawks headline this festival of free music featuring national, regional and local acts rock, Americana, alt-country, blues, jazz and more.
MAKE MUSIC DAY,
June 21 (Davidson Park, Milwaukee)
SUMMER SOLSTICE MUSIC FESTIVAL
June 21 (Drexel Town Square, Oak Creek)
17TH ANNUAL GREAT MIDWEST BOOK FEST
June 21 (3334 N.Holton St.)
This annual book fest brings together black authors from near and far of all genres.
WILD ONES: VINTAGE MOTORCYCLE RALLY
June 21 (Harley-Davidson Museum, harley-davidson.com/ us/en/museum/explore/events.html)
A vintage 1940s-style motorcycle rally with an antique motorcycle ride-in show and motorcycle field games.
STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL
June 28-29 (Historic Cedarburg, cedarburg.org/events)
Everything strawberry, from strawberry shortcake to strawberry wine, Art on the Avenue, contests, festival foods, shopping, and live music.
CLOCKTOWER CLASSIC
June 28 (Drexel Town Square, Oak Creek)
Oak Creek hosts the Tour of America’s Dairyland, bringing electrifying bike racing through a fast, dynamic course.
OAK CREEK NIGHT MARKET
June 28, July 19, Aug. 16 (Drexel Town Square, Oak Creek)
JULY
BRISTOL RENAISSANCE FAIRE
July 5–Sept. 1: Saturdays, Sundays and Labor Day (Kenosha, renfair.com/Bristol)
FLORENTINE OPERA'S MOZART IN THE PARK
July 5 (Lake Park)
MUSICAL MONDAYS
July 7–August 25 (Lake Park Summer Stage, lakeparkfriends.org/visit/events/music-in-the-park)
A weekly series in one of Milwaukee’s finest parks featuring world music, rock, blues, Americana and something for everyone.
ANIMAL CRACKERS
July 9, July 23, Aug. 6, Aug. 20 (Racine Zoo, racinezoo.org)
Invite your friends, grab your folding chairs, and enjoy the scenic view of Lake Michigan while listening to live music.
WONDERFUL WEDNESDAYS
Wednesdays July 9-Aug. 13 (Lake Park)
Illustrations by Timothy Czerniakowski.
Photo courtesy of VISIT Milwaukee Media Library.
HARLEY - DAVIDSON MUSEUM
HARLEY-DAVIDSON HOMECOMING
July 10-13
(Museum and Veterans Park, hdhomecoming.com)
Celebrate Willie G. Davidson with music by Hank Williams Jr., Chris Stapleton and Sierra Ferrell.
IOLA CAR SHOW
July 10-12 (Iola, WI, iolaoldcarshow.com)
FRIDA FEST
July 12-13 (4511 S. Sixth St.)
This annual celebration of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo promotes Southeastern Wisconsin artists in a two-day cultural festival with live music, interactive art exhibits and food trucks.
WHITEFISH BAY ART FEST
July 12-13, (Downtown Whitefish Bay along Silver Spring Drive, https://amdurproductions.com/whitefish-bay-artfest/)
MILWAUKEE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL
July 12
(Lakeshore State Park, milwaukeedragonboatfest.org)
Even includes dragon boat races, dance performances, folk music, martial arts and hands-on opportunities for the young and to make opera masks and lanterns.
HOMEGROWN MUSIC FESTIVAL
July 12-13 (Regner Park, West Bend)
RIVERWEST SECRET GARDEN TOUR
July 13 (https://www.facebook.com/secretgardentour)
Stroll through Riverwest visiting gardens that offer the joy of seeing, touching, and smelling the beauty of nature.
RAINBOW SUMMER
July 14-20
(Marcus Performing Arts Center, marcuscenter.org)
The free, weeklong event features live performances, local food trucks and beverages on the Marcus PAC grounds.
BASTILLE DAYS
July 17-20 (Cathedral Square Park, easttown.com/bastille-days)
One of the largest French-themed festivals in the U.S. features local and national music, French and Cajun cuisine and a marketplace.
WAUKESHA COUNTY FAIR
July 16-20
(Waukesha County Expo Center, waukeshacountyfair.com)
PORT FISH DAY
July 17-19
(Port Washington Lakefront https://portfishdays.com/)
The fish will be frying all weekend long in Port Washington, along with live music on multiple stages and activities for the whole family.
MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS
July 19-20
(John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, jmkac.org/ event/midsummer-festival-of-the-arts-15)
Free admission with 100 artist booths, live music, exhibitions, demonstrations, art making and food trucks
FALLS LAVENDER FEST
July 19
Enjoy everything lavender from art and jewelry to specialty food and drinks.
MILWAUKEE AIR AND WATER SHOW
July 19-20 (Milwaukee Lakefront from Bradford Beach to Veterans Park, mkeairwatershow.com)
ARMENIAN FEST
July 20 (St. John the Baptist Armenian Orthodox Church, Greenfield, armenianfest.com)
The popular attraction features live music from Near East and kabobs, bureks, and unique Armenian dishes and flavors.
SOUTH MILWAUKEE HERITAGE DAYS
July 20-27 (smheritagedays.org)
Band concerts, a brat fray, a golf outing and many other events call attention to one of the city’s Southshore suburbs.
EAA AIRVENTURE
July 21-27 (Wittman Regional Airport, Oshkosh, eaa.org/ airventure)
The international gathering of aviation enthusiasts includes workshops and a lecture and the daily afternoon air show.
WASHINGTON PARK CONCERT SERIES
Wednesdays July 21-Aug. 20 (Washington Park)
Photo by Don Rask.
ARMENIAN FEST
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIR
July 22-27 (Washington County Fair Park, West Bend, wcfairpark.com/fair)
Foreigner headlines on July 25
WASHINGTON PARK BANDSHELL SUMMER CONCERT SERIES, Wednesdays, July 23–Aug. 13 (washingtonparkneighbors.com/calendar)
Early evening event with live music in the bandshell and local food trucks.
PRAIRIE DOG BLUES FEST
July 24-26
(St. Feriole Island, Prairie du Chien, prairiedogblues.com)
WISCONSIN BLUEGRASS BASH
July 24-26 (Iola https://www.wisconsinbluegrass.com/)
TASTE OF WISCONSIN
July 25-27 (Celebration Place at Kenosha’s Harbor, tasteofwi.com)
GERMAN FEST
July 25-27 (Henry Maier Festival Park, germanfest.com) Germans were foundational to Milwaukee and their heritage is celebrated each summer on Milwaukee’s lakefront with German Fest).
SCENIC SHORE RIDE FOR A CURE
July 26-27 (Lake Michigan Shoreline from Mequon to Sturgeon Bay https://pages.lls.org/events/vtnt/2025ss150 )
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society sponsor a two-day, 150-mile cycling event open to riders of all ages and abilities along the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline.
CANNABIS EXPO - PRESENTED BY SHEPHERD EXPRESS
July 26 (Bavarian Bierhaus, shepherdexpress.com/shepherdevents)
Discover the variety of legal cannabis products available in Wisconsin at this event sponsored by Shepherd Express.
BRADY STREET FESTIVAL
July 26 (Brady Street, bradystreet.org)
Running every year since the early ‘70s, the annual event has become an enduring part of summer in Milwaukee.
MILWAUKEE BREWFEST
July 26 (McKinley Park, milwaukeebrewfest.com)
OZAUKEE COUNTY FAIR
July 30–Aug. 3 (Ozaukee Pavilion, Cedarburg, ozaukeecountyfair.com)
Billed as one of the last free fairs in the Midwest, it has all you'd hope for in a county fair, including a full midway, fair food, live entertainment, magic shows, animal judging, truck and tractor pulls, demolition derby and fireworks.
WISCONSIN STATE FAIR
July 31-Aug. 10 (Wisconsin State Fair Park, West Allis, wistatefair.com)
Our great Wisconsin State Fair boasts 30 entertainment stages featuring local and national acts and enough food and shopping to keep you busy for days. Did we mention the cream puffs? Almost anything on a stick!?
AUGUST
CARIBBEAN & LATIN AMERICAN FESTIVAL
Saturday, Aug. 2 (4531 W. Forest Home Ave.)
Celebrate the culture, food and music of the Caribbean and Latin America with this annual cultural festival.
RACINE STARVING ARTIST FAIR
Aug. 3 (DeKoven Center, Racine, racineartguild.com/safracine)
This juried fair features the work of over 120 artists from Racine County and all over the Midwest.
PENINSULA MUSIC FESTIVAL
Aug. 5-23 (Door Community Auditorium, Fish Creek/Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor, musicfestival.com)
The 71st Peninsula Music Festival features symphonic concerts of major classical pieces.
LUXEMBOURG FEST, AUG. 7-10
(https://www.lacs.lu/luxembourg-fest-week/)
WAUKESHA ROTARY BLUESFEST
Aug. 8-9 (Naga-Waukee Park, Delafield, waukeshabluesfest.com)
This year’s headliners include Mitch Ryder and Marcia Ball.
MORNING GLORY ART FAIR
Aug. 9-10 (Fiserv Forum Plaza, morninggloryartfair.com) Milwaukee’s free and fine juried art and craft show brings together 130+ outstanding artists from around the country.
HANK AARON STATE TRAIL 5K RUN/WALK
Aug. 9 (American Family Field–Tailgate Haus, hankaaronstatetrail.org/events/23rd-annual-hast-5k)
MILWAUKEE IRISH FEST
Aug. 14-17 (Henry Maier Festival Park, irishfest.com)
The world's largest Irish festival features nonstop Celtic music from traditional to rock, Irish dance, cultural area, theater performances, food, drink and more.
MINERAL POINT BLUES & ROOTS FEST
Aug. 15-16 (Orchard Lawn, Mineral Point, mineralpointbluesfest.org)
WISCONSIN STATE FAIR
Photo courtesy of Wisconsin State Fair.
MOWA ART AND CHALK FEST
Aug. 16-17 (Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, wisconsinart.org/art-chalk-fest)
A free live arts weekend featuring artists from the Wisconsin arts community.
CENTER STREET DAZE FESTIVAL
Saturday, Aug. 16 (East Center Street between Holton Street and Humboldt Boulevard, centerstreetdazefestival. com)
Pulaski Park Bluegrass Festival, Aug. 16 (Pulaski Park, Cudahy)
FRESH COAST JAZZ FESTIVAL
Aug. 21-23 (Pabst Theater, (https://www.freshcoastjazz. com/)
TASTE OF EGYPT
Aug. 22-24 (Saints Mary and Antonious Coptic Orthodox Church, Oak Creek)
Get a taste of one of Earth’s oldest civilization with music and cultural booths.
MEXICAN FIESTA
Aug. 22-24 (Henry Maier Festival Park, mexicanfiesta.org)
Mexican Fiesta is much more than three days of tamales, Mariachi music and dancing. It's an education in Mexico's rich culture and history encouraging people of all backgrounds to share in the beauty of Mexico's culture. live music, food trucks, activities and local craft beer.
COUNTRY IN THE BURG
Aug. 22-23 (Cedar Creek Park, Cedarburg, countryintheburg.com)
Two-day country music festival includes performances by the Brothers Osbourne and Emily Ann Roberts.
WMSE BACKYARD BBQ
Saturday, Aug 23 (Humboldt Park)
WMSE’s free music festival returns for another summer.
Showcasing the work of juried artists in mediums, ceramics, fiber, glass jewelry, sculpture, mixed media, paintings, drawings, photography, printmaking, wood and furniture.
SEPTEMBER
WISCONSIN HIGHLAND GAMES
TBD (Waukesha Expo Center, Waukesha, wisconsinscottish.org)
TOSAFEST
Sept. 5-6 (Hart Park, Wauwatosa, wauwatosavillage.org/ tosafest)
Tosafest is a community festival with live music, art, food and children's activities including pony rides, a petting zoo and face painting. All proceeds go to area charities.
WALK FOR WISHES
Sept. 6 (Henry Maier Festival Park, wish.org/wisconsin/ walk-wishes-milwaukee)
Proceeds from the 5K or one-mile run/walk will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin and grant the wishes of children with critical illnesses.
CASA GUADALUPE FIESTA LATINA
Sept. 19-21(Regner Park, West Bend, casaguadalupeonline.org/events/fiesta-latina)
Sample food and wine, much of it locally made, as you enjoy many family activities and live musical performances.
BAY VIEW BASH!
Saturday, Sept. 20
Bay View Bash is a community festival of food, art, music, crafts, books, and community organizations.
FROMM PETFEST
TBD (Henry Maier Festival Park, petfestmke.com)
Doors Open Milwaukee, Sept. 27-28 (historicmilwaukee. org/doors-open)
More than 100 buildings open their doors in this annual citywide celebration of history, architecture and neighborhoods organized by Historic Milwaukee. Expect performing arts events and children's activities.
2025 Farmers Market Guide
2025 Farmers Market Guide
BY CAROLINE DANNECKER
BROOKFIELD FARMERS MARKET
Brookfield Central High School, 16900 W. Gebhardt Road brookfieldfarmersmarket.com
Saturdays, May 3-Oct. 25, 7:30 a.m. - noon
BROWN DEER FARMERS MARKET
Village Park and Pond, 4920 W. Green Brook Drive browndeerwi.org/482/Brown-DeerFarmers-Market
Wednesdays, June 25- Oct. 15, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
BURLINGTON FARMERS MARKET
Wehmhoff Square, 355 N. Pine St. burlingtonwifarmersmarket.com
Thursdays, May 8-Sept. 25, 3-7 p.m.
Extended Night Markets June 19, July 17 and Aug. 21, 3-8 p.m.
CATHEDRAL SQUARE MARKET
Cathedral Square Park, 520 E. Wells St., Milwaukee https://www.easttown.com/ cathedral-square-market/
June 1-July 13, July 27-Sept. 28, and Oct. 12 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
120 N. Main St., West Bend westbendfarmersmarket.com
Saturdays, May 17-October 25, 7:30-11 a.m.
WHITEFISH BAY FARMERS MARKET
Aurora Health Center lot, 325 E. Silver Spring Drive, Whitefish Bay https://wfbfarmersmarket.com/
Saturdays, June 14-Oct. 25 (except July 5 and Aug. 30), 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Night Market June 28, July 26, Aug. 23 and Sept. 20, 5-9 p.m.
Rain Gardens Beautify Homes While Filtering Rainwater Runoff Rain Gardens Beautify Homes While Filtering Rainwater Runoff
BY SHEILA JULSON
As we learn more about contaminants such as fertilizers, oils and pesticides that travel into our drinking water via rainwater runoff, more homeowners are seeing rain gardens as a practical and aesthetically pleasing option to curb this pollution to our water supply.
Rain gardens are shallow depressions consisting of native perennials, shrubs and flowers. The root systems hold and absorb rainwater runoff from roofs, lawns, driveways and parking lots. The rainwater hydrates the plants, which in turn infiltrate water into the ground along root pathways.
The native plantings in rain gardens also attract birds, and native pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
Rain gardens can also be an effective way to keep water away from houses, which can help prevent basement and foundation damage.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, rain garden plants capture 30% more water than a regular lawn and filter that water into the ground instead of the water supply.
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District’s (MMSD) 2025 Rain Garden Plant Sale, in which community members can pre-order native plants at a discount to install their own rain gardens, sold out well before the upcoming June 7 pickup—a testament that interest in rain gardens is growing.
INSTALLING A RAIN GARDEN
The best time to plant rain gardens in is spring or early fall. The MMSD recommends choosing a location that’s six to 10 feet away from your house, and at least five feet from a septic tank and eight feet from a well. Don’t install a rain garden in an area where water ponds. The Wisconsin DNR suggests placing a rain garden within thirty feet from the mouth of the downspout. An ideal location is on a gentle slope that catches downspout water.
For more details on planning a location and terracing a rain garden, visit https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/sites/default/files/ topic/Stormwater/RainGardenManualPrint.pdf and https:// www.mmsd.com/what-we-do/green-infrastructure/raingardens.
When choosing plants for a rain garden, look for deeprooted native perennials that will infiltrate water. Certain plants attract butterflies while others attract birds. Butterflies are attracted to milkweed, woodland phlox, bergamot, black-eyed Susan, New England aster, wood violets, and sky-blue aster.
Plants which birds are attracted to include wild senna, sunflower varieties, black-eyed Susan, wild petunia and little bluestem.
For shady areas, consider jack in the pulpit, bellflower, various sedges, shooting star, white trout lily or great blue lobelia. The University of Wisconsin Extension recommends plants that have a well-established root system; use only nursery-propagated plants. Do not collect plants from the wild.
Hand-weed the rain garden during the first two years. Once the rain garden is well established, native grasses will mature and overtake any weeds. Over winter, leave stems and seed heads for wildlife cover and bird food.
Be sure to monitor the water level in the rain garden so there’s no standing water for more than a day. If young plants are mostly submerged, dig a small opening in the berm to let out some of the water. As your plants mature, standing water should diminish and the plants’ infiltration rates will improve. To learn more, visit https://fyi.extension.
MRegional Music Festivals Attract Milwaukee Acts
Regional Music Festivals Attract
Milwaukee Acts
BY BEN SLOWEY
ilwaukee is hailed as the “City of Festivals.” Wisconsinites and visitors from across the world flock here annually for massive events like Summerfest, PrideFest, Bastille Days, Harley Fest and many others, and that does not even get into the myriad neighborhood street festivals. Such festivals serve as robust showcases for local creative talent including musicians, artisans, vendors, businesses and organizations.
When it comes to music, the day a local festival announces its lineup always comes with anticipation. That said, our city’s hotbed of talent is in high regional demand, and a handful of recurring festivals across Wisconsin and beyond welcome Milwaukee acts to come perform year after year.
There is Wisconsin Hip Hop Fest held at Madison’s High Noon Saloon, which heats up the cold January stage with some of the state’s most seasoned hip hop and rap artists and DJs. It is part of the broader Wisconsin Fest series, which started in 2013 at the Majestic Theatre as a way to curate themed showcases with regional lineups during a quieter time for Madison venues.
“We usually mix up the themes a bit, but Hip Hop Fest has been a mainstay annually for at least the last five years or so,” talent buyer Joe Burbach says. “It’s grown to become a favorite show for a lot of people.”
Hosted by local promoter Gary Knowledge, the Hip Hop Fest blends up and coming artists with veterans of the Wisconsin hip hop scene. “The thing that sets it apart from other fests is the ability to see a few artists you’ve heard and find a few artists that are just starting to build a following,” Burbach explains.
High Noon Saloon does not have a date for Wisconsin Hip Hop Fest 2026 locked in but expect to start planning over the summer.
GLACIER VALLEY MUSIC FEST
Glacier Valley Music Fest, hosted every June at the Glacier Valley Campground in Cambria, Wisconsin, has been curated since 2016 by Marty “Party Marty” Morgan, whose family owns the campground.
“I casually said to my uncle that he should let me throw a music fest, and I was given the go-ahead,” Morgan recalls. “That year, we had five solo acts and used a golf cart to carry one small sound system from one stage to another.”
The following year, Glacier Valley Music Fest grew to 20 bands and sold out every site on the campground. It has since grown to over 40 acts on three stages, featuring rock, folk, country, jam bands and lots more, complete with a roster of food, drink and art vendors. Morgan estimates that over 600 attendees attended last year.
Photo
“It has an entire community of “seasonals” who camp there all summer long,” Morgan says about Glacier Valley. “It creates a unique mix of families, musicians and music lovers of all ages.”
2025 will be the tenth edition of Glacier Valley Music Fest and takes place June 5-7. Tickets include primitive camping and carry-ins are allowed. Bands are coming from seven different states this year. “It’s going to be the best one yet,” Morgan reckons.
MILE OF MUSIC
In Appleton, Mile of Music has been electrifying the city’s downtown district every summer for the past decade. The free, all-original music festival runs the first weekend of August, hosting over 200 bands and artists across more than 30 venues, with dozens of local businesses and community sponsors involved as well.
Fox Valley marketing firm Willems Marketing & Events launched Mile of Music in 2013, spearheaded by executives Dave and Paul Willems. “Numerous community partners and strategic contractors like singer-songwriter Cory Chisel helped shape the event from the very beginning,” promotions manager Kim Mauthe explains.
The fest welcomes many returning artists while always keeping the door open for new ones, bringing in vibrations of indie rock, country, folk, hip hop, soul and more.
“The music scene and artist community in Milwaukee brings us a lot of artists who we’ve grown to know, love and befriend over the years,” Mauthe affirms.
“We have a fun year-round music scene in the Fox Cities as well, so it’s nice to be able to invite them for other shows too.”
Mile of Music will return for its 12th year in 2025, bringing their popular music education team hosting workshops for all ages. “Of course, we’re hoping for four days of beautiful sunshine,” Mauthe remarks.
GBUFO INVASION FEST
Just northeast of Appleton, GBUFO Invasion Fest is an explosive summer gathering in Green Bay. It began in 2023 when curator “Timebomb” Tom Smith’s planned birthday party was postponed due to Covid concerns. He ultimately decided to morph it into a three-day fest, promoting the newly-opened Green Bay UFO Museum & Records.
“I had finally gone to Memphis for my first Gonerfest, and it was a life-changing experience,” Smith remembers.
“The community and camaraderie was amazing, and the greatest I have ever encountered in my 40 years immersed in the underground community. I wanted to bring some of this energy and magic to Green Bay.”
Smith and Pierre Jacque curate the UFO Invasion Fest lineup, featuring rock, punk and electronic acts that they have existing relationships with as well as fresh, new ones.
“Our goal is to quench the thirst of those whose thirst for new music is unquenchable,” Smith describes. “Bands we couldn’t fit in 2024 are on 2025’s festival.”
Photo
THE STINKEYES AT GBUFO INVASION FEST
Milwaukee music has a special place in Smith’s heart, and he credits seeing seminal ‘80s hardcore punk band Die Kreuzen at his first hardcore show as a major influence on his involvement in the Wisconsin music scene.
“Milwaukee musically has always brought a lot to the table,” he affirms. “We put Delicious Monsters on last year, and we were all so blown away that we instantly made the decision that they would be on the fest in 2025, right before the headliner.”
GBUFO Invasion Fest 2025 will be held July 25 at Badger State Brewing Company and July 26 at Riverside Ballroom. Sixteen bands play both days, each featuring a half-hour of comedy curated by Kristin Laurie. “We anticipate two days of cool folks watching great bands and hopefully people adding new members to their musical families,” Smith says.
YOOP! FEST
Far up north, Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula is home to YOOP! Fest, put together every September by Chris Judy since 2021. After previously throwing Kitschy Fest in Madison for many years, Judy and his partner moved up to the Keweenaw Peninsula in 2020. Friends from Milwaukee and Minneapolis started hitting him up to come play the U.P., so Judy decided to debut a new fest.
“You have to be adventurous enough of a band to even make the trip up here,” Judy notes. “I wanted to book bands that might not be natural fits or be considered for other local festivals, which ends up working out just fine because I’ve always been into the punk/heavier/weirdo scene anyways.”
As such, YOOP! Fest attracts local and regional bands that bring envelope-pushing experiences spanning punk, indie, electronic, psychedelic and experimental music.
“Milwaukee bands are usually very adaptable and easy to communicate with,” Judy attests. “Many of the punk bands have been playing together in different forms for many years, so they already know what to expect and are always jumping in and offering helping hands for me as an organizer.
“That’s what makes DIY music so special to me; you say you’re going to do this big thing in an off-the-beaten-path place that maybe doesn’t really make sense on paper, but people all come together to make it happen,” he continues.
“We had a delivery of Liquid Mike records, and Milwaukee bands helped me assemble like 300 LPs in the lobby of the Kitschy Spirit Records shop right before the fest.”
YOOP! Fest 2025 will be held at the Orpheum Theater in Hancock, Michigan. Judy looks forward to utilizing the historic space for a memorable live music experience.
Ben Slowey is a Milwaukee writer and frequent contributor to shepherdexpress.com
THIS MONTH IN MILWAUKEE 14 THINGS TO DO IN MAY
BY SOPHIA HAMDAN, DAVID LUHRSSEN AND BLAINE SCHULTZ
THROUGH MAY 8
Milwaukee Film Festival
Oriental and Downer Theaters
As always, this year’s festival involves multiple programming tracks including Cine Sin Fronteras (Latin America and diaspora), Cinema Hooligante (“For the grownups who never grew up”), Black Lens (focused on the African American experience), Cream City Cinema (Milwaukee filmmakers) and the self-explanatory Documentary Festival Favorites, among many others.
THROUGH MAY 24
“The Big 4.0 Vol. 2: New Views of the Collection” Haggerty Museum of Art
The Haggerty is a gem tucked away on the Marquette University campus, an institution with an impressive trove of art in its vaults and an admirably creative tradition of programming. “The Big 4.0 Vol. 2” is a something-for-almosteveryone survey of diverse work from the permanent collection to celebrate the Haggerty’s 40th anniversary.
THROUGH JUNE 1
And then Down Became Up: New Works by Sonja Thomsen
Lynden Sculpture Garden
Sonja Thomsen weaves an intricate narrative across time and space, bringing together the legacies of pioneering women artists through a multidisciplinary exploration of balance, perspective and maternal lineage. The new work, visible just beyond the gallery’s windows, is echoed in the interior space in small, light-modulating objects, large-scale mural prints and transparencies and photographs.
ALL SUMMER LONG
“Ezy Ryders: History & Tradition, Heart & Soul”
Harley-Davidson Museum
Photographer Cate Dingley’s book
Ezy Ryders focuses on New York City’s Black riding culture today. Images and text from her book have been chosen for the new exhibition at the Harley-Davidson Museum. All of Dingley’s photographs are in black and white. “There’s a sense of timelessness to them, black and white can be a very expressive medium,” curator Ann Sinfield says.
MAY 4
414Flea
Zocalo Food Truck Park
Celebrate the vibrant Milwaukee community with 414Flea. Discover over 40 local vendors, savor a variety of delicious eats and dance the night away with a live DJ. From unique hand-crafted items to vintage clothing and goods, 414Flea is your one-stop shop for quality and community. For more information, visit 414flea.com.
MAY 7
Piñata Protest w/M545 and Meskales Anodyne (X-Ray Arcade presents at Anodyne)
An accordion-powered Tex-Mex punk rock band from San Antonio, TX, Piñata Protest combines the lively sounds and traditional rhythms of the Mexican button accordion with the upbeat tempos and attitude of punk rock. The result is a unique and wildly eclectic mix of aggressive and melodic songs sung in both Spanish and English. Their high energy live show ignites crowds to mosh, skank, and twirl their dance partners around.
MAY 9
Gang of Four
Turner Hall Ballroom Funky, abrasive and smart; Gang of Four is calling it a day. The pioneering English post-punk band is going out with a bang by celebrating the 45th anniversary release of the album Entertainment! The show will be two sets: Entertainment! in its entirety followed by the best of the rest in the second.
MAY 16-18
Carmen
Florentine Opera (Marcus Performing Arts Center, Uihlein Hall)
Georges Bizet chose Prosper Merimée’s novella Carmen as the source for his beloved opera. Considered shocking at its 1875 debut, the libretto concerns the promiscuous “gypsy” smuggler Carmen (mezzo-soprano) who seduces poor Corporal José (tenor) and turns his life toward crime. They are hopelessly mismatched; comedy turns tragic with a score of unforgettable melodies.
MAY 17-18
Paul Simon Riverside Theater
Paul Simon’s songs have long been part of the cultural fabric. His collaborations with Art Garfunkel include “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Mrs. Robinson” and “Cecilia.” When the duo split, Simon’s musical excursions led to albums Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints. With these shows Simon will present the live debut of the album Seven Psalms.
MAY 24
Dave Jacques & Jason Wilber from the John Prine Band: Present A Big Old Goofy Evening of John Prine Songs Shank Hall
The late John Prine was a musical treasure—a Mark Twain strumming a Martin guitar. His songs were stories and the musicians who accompanied his live performances always added the right mood. A big old goofy evening with Prine’s faithful longtime sidemen Dave Jacques and Jason Wilber pays homage. If you’re a Prine fan, you'll love hearing them share memories of their beloved, one-of-a-kind friend and boss, along with some of Prine’s classic songs.
MAY 25
Baroque Pop! With Julia Holter
Present Music (Milwaukee Art Museum)
Singer and composer Julia Holter appears for the first time in her Milwaukee hometown with Present Music. Her music incorporates elements of art pop, baroque pop and ambient music; she’ll sing her own songs, Alex Temple’s deeply personal “Behind the Wallpaper” and create a special “field recording” of her childhood memories from Milwaukee. LA-based composer Tashi Wada “brings ecstatic drones, unconventional tunings, bagpipes and sirens to the gorgeous Calatrava space.,” says PM’s Eric Segnitz.
MAY 30-31
Bernstein & Bartok
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
The link between Bela Bartok’s The Miraculous Mandarin and Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story is that both were written for an ensemble of dancers. It’s an imaginative coupling, supplemented by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana’s symphonic poem Vyšehrad. Stefan Asbury conducts, with Tai Murray as featured violinist.
MAY 31
Bay View Jazz Fest
Various locations
Celebrate Bay View Jazz Fest as part of Bay View Gallery Night with live jazz at seven locations. Troubadours of Rhythm, Jamie Breiwick Nu Trio and Neil Davis Quartet are among the artists playing at spots like Revel Bar, Jazz at The Vine and Rev Pop.
MAY 31
Lager & Friends
Gathering Place Riverwest Taproom (811 E. Vienna Ave.)
The 7th annual Lager & Friends event showcases lagers in range of styles and interpretations that fall under the broad umbrella. From Pilsners to Bocks and everything in between, enjoy unlimited samples of delicious lagers from 30 breweries from around the country. Participating breweries include Amorphic, Bavarian Bierhaus, Gathering Place, Lakefront, Revolution, Working Draft and more.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON MUSEUM
Dear Ally,
I’ll cut to the chase. I’m only attracted to men that treat me poorly. The romance is wonderful and always ends with heartbreak. What’s the matter with me?
Why can’t I break my pattern and choose a decent guy? Even if he was standing in front of me, I wouldn’t recognize him.
My best friend says to take time off and begin to love myself. How do I do that? She assured me that I’ll land on my feet. But I don’t even know what that means. I’ve never felt this lost.
How do I Self- Love
How do I Self- Love,
You will land on your feet. Thank God for supportive girlfriends who have our backs.
Loving yourself is more than self-care. It’s a journey of self-discovery and personal growth. It involves being present to our minds, bodies and spirits. Society teaches females to be people pleasers, contrary to what is best for us. This defining message from many aspects of our external world adds difficulty to finding out what we want for our own life.
When we’ve been raised with the false notion that we need to prioritize what others want over our own needs, we spend our lives working against our own self-interest. By the time we realize this, if we ever do, we need to start from scratch.
Glennon Doyle, in her book, Untamed, writes, “Every time you’re given a choice between disappointing someone else and disappointing yourself, your duty is to disappoint that someone else.”
She’s talking about self-love. Where do we start? For me, I recommend some important steps that you can do on a daily basis to kick start your journey to self-love.
Start your day with a 10-, 20- or 30-minute practice
If it makes you feel good: Meditation, TaiChi, journaling, stretching, yoga or a brisk walk outside in nature.
Elizabeth Gilbert (Author of Eat, Pray, Love) in Substack, writes a letter in her journal every day and asks: “Dear Love, what would you have me know today?”
In Elizabeth’s words, she says that this letter “is from love to me and through me.”
After writing, she waits for the response. She swears that one always comes. Elizabeth has been doing this for several years and swears that this one question has changed her life. Full disclosure, I have not tried this journal exercise yet, but I plan to. A good friend of mine has started and looks forward to it every morning.
Always check in with yourself first
When you are invited to any social event; small or big, best friends or strangers, find a way to check in with yourself. Go to a quiet place and listen to your own answer to see if you really want to go or not. When on the journey of self-love, we need to follow our own advice. How often have we wasted our time at something to avoid hurting others’ feelings? Time to change this behavior.
Retire the Judge
We are our own worst enemy when we judge ourselves. We immediately censor our best ideas, intentions and creative impulses. When our mind stops us with a negative judgement, say to yourself, “Not Now.” Ignore those thoughts. Be disciplined about this practice. Once you stop giving those thoughts power, they will show up less and less. You will start to feel better about yourself.
Healthy Relationships
You know you have a good friend because you’ve felt seen and heard by them. You feel safe. They don’t ever make you feel small and always treat you with respect. They’re willing to talk things through if you have a disagreement. They show up for you and make your soul happy.
Daily Physical Exercise and Nutritious Eating
These two habits are the foundation for a healthy lifestyle. You’ll find that as you learn to love yourself more, there two vital habits will become even more important.
You are attempting a challenging journey
I’m confident of your success. Remember that “Energy follows attention. Wherever you place your attention, that is where the energy of the system will go.” (Anonymous)
In other words, stay on course and your life will positively change. You will love yourself because you’ll hear your heart’s call and feel your own love coming home.
Here for you,
Send your questions to
Freedom of Mind
BY PHILIP CHARD
The most vital freedom has nothing to do with civics, politics or law. It’s called “freedom of mind.” It emerges from the power to define oneself, to formulate one’s own identity, rather than having it imposed by others.
Many of us don’t believe we possess the agency to determine or own minds, that we are permanently sculpted by genes, developmental experiences, early life trauma, family dynamics and the rest of the cooks in the mental kitchen. However, there is compelling behavioral science research suggesting most of us can, to a considerable degree, create our own state of mind and corresponding sense of self.
Are there exceptions? Sure. Victims of severe and prolonged physical, sexual or emotional abuse as children face a formidable challenge in this regard. As do folks with serious psychiatric conditions, such as bipolar disorder and various psychoses. However, for many, the right kind of care and their own stick-to-it-ness can make it happen. Not easy, but possible.
So, what does this transformative process look like? What is required to make my mind a product of me rather than my developmental past?
PERSISTENT MESSAGES
Consider Heather, a 50-something successful legal professional and mom who didn’t like herself and wanted to know why. I pointed her toward the repetitive patterns of thinking that controlled her behavior and shaped how she defined herself, which was negatively.
Shrinks call them “scripts.” They are persistent cognitive messages that occupy one’s mind, directly influencing emotions and actions. Many are subconscious.
These unrecognized scripts, sort of like a computer program, operate in the background of awareness yet directly shape conscious experience.
We all have them, and they often appear as subvocal speech (talking to ourselves). For Heather, these silent utterances issued orders (“You should eat less”), commented on happenings and people (“She’s such a bitch”), and judged her as well (“You always screw up”).
Basically, she was very self-critical, judgmental of others, pessimistic and cynical. Still, there was a part of her that disliked these characteristics, leaving her ill at ease much of the time, and setting up a classic internal conflict. Which brought her to my door.
SELF-SABOTAGING THOUGHTS
After she regurgitated some of the dysfunctional and selfsabotaging thoughts rattling around in her psyche, I asked the question. “Who put those in your brain?”
The usual suspects emerged. Emotionally distant parents, a strict religious education, social awkwardness and the absence of close friends. She was told who to be, how to be and why she should like it. Trouble was the self they shoved down her mental throat bore little resemblance to her true nature.
“They’re still running your life,” I told her. “Those voices in your head are not you. It’s time your true voice grabbed the microphone.”
It’s not easy replacing old, imposed scripts with those reflecting our choices about who to be, but it can be worth the struggle. How do you replace a transplanted mindset? Little by little over time.
TOUGH TO TACKLE
Heather decided to tackle her self-critical script first. That can be a tough one, but she felt it would make the most positive difference. She identified the authors of various negative scripts in her psyche and then heard the thoughts in her head with their voices. She gradually learned to recognize these thoughts as “not mine.”
When the thoughts/voices of others showed up, she replaced them with her own, which slowly grew more forgiving, self-compassionate and interested in learning from mistakes rather than using them for self-flagellation. She added journaling because writing down our thoughts and scripts affords us a certain power over them.
Repetition and persistence were key. Old scripts die hard. But Heather began to take back her mind. As her inner critic slowly turned into a coach, she found herself less judgmental toward others as well. No surprise there. Most of all, she felt a newfound freedom to be herself, to be the master of her thoughts rather than their slave.
It comes down to this. Who do you want running your mind? Voices from your past that got you all wrong, or you own voice, the one that speaks for you in a way nobody else can. Psychoanalyst Viktor Frankl put it this way:
“Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Philip Chard is a psychotherapist and author with a focus on lasting behavior change, emotional healing and adaptation to health challenges. For more, visit philipchard.com.
BOYFRIEND BRINGS NEW MEANING TO “RISE & SHINE”
DEAR RUTHIE,
My boyfriend and I moved in together four months ago. Things are solid except for one thing: He walks around nude all morning every day. At first, I thought this was sexy but now that we’re living together, it’s weird.
He sleeps nude and, because he works from home, he gets up nude, makes coffee nude, prepares breakfast nude, reads the paper nude, works nude, etc. Sometimes he doesn’t dress until after his noon shower! How can I make him put something on?
ANNOYED,
Not-So-Nudist
DEAR NOT-SO-NUDIST,
What? Who doesn’t like a little sausage with their scrambled eggs? I’m oddly more concerned about him not showering until noon. That said, if his ding-a-ling is making too much of an appearance at the breakfast table, buy him a robe or some tighty whities.
If that doesn’t work, have a chat about your a.m. awkwardness. Explain how you’re feeling and try to understand why he might value his nudie time. Next, see if the two of you can’t find common ground so you can both be comfortable in your own skin and in your new home together. XXOO
Ruthie
Ruthie's Social Calendar
MAY 3
'80S LADIES PARTY/DRAG SHOW AT POP (124 W. NATIONAL AVE.):
The first Saturday of every month Ramona the Drag Queen and I host a wild 4 p.m. bash celebrating the music, fun and fashion of the 80s! The party includes a 5 p.m. ‘80s-inspired drag show, craft cocktails, a menu of finger foods and pizza, trivia, prizes and more.
MAY 5
CINCO DE MAYO PARTY AT HARBOR ROOM (117 E. GREENFIELD AVE.):
Nothing kicks off the workweek quite like a good happy hour. Enjoy two-forone drinks from 3 to 7 p.m. followed by specials on Corona and Modelo beers. Savor a free 4 p.m. taco bar as well (with purchase of a drink).
MAY 10
RUTHIE’S BIG GAY CABARET AT STORY HILL FIREHOUSE (407 N. HAWLEY ROAD.): Join me and the boys in my band for this all-new, all-live night of music and comedy. Our four guest singers are sure to impress, and cocktails at the Firehouse promise to liven up your Saturday. Stop by www.eventbrite.com for tickets to the 7 p.m. fun.
MAY 14
EVEN THE SCALES AT LANDMARK LANES (2220 N. FARWELL AVE.):
Awkward Nerd Events serves up this game-show style competition every second and third Wednesday of the month. Cheer on your favorite team during the 7 p.m. night while enjoying drink specials, mingling with celebrity judges and more.
MAY 18
RINGING QUEENS: A POP CONCERT AT ZAO MKE CHURCH (2319 E. KENWOOD BLVD.): Milwaukee LGBTQ+ Handbell Ringers invites you to this change-of-pace concert featuring music from Lady Gaga and ABBA as well as favorites from Broadway. Find tickets to the 7 p.m. concert via the group’s Facebook page.
MAY 27
RAINBOW READERS AT MKE LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER (315 W. COURT ST.): This monthly gathering welcomes all members of the community to discuss their favorite books. What are you reading now? Which authors do you adore most? Make friends with fellow book lovers during the 7 p.m. gathering.
MAY 30
NIKKI GLASSER: ALIVE AND UNWELL TOUR AT MILLER HIGH LIFE THEATRE (500 W. KILBOURN AVE.): The popular comic, reality-show darling and podcast superstar struts her hilarious stuff into Cream City with two shows (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.). Don’t miss out on the LOL evening when you get tickets at www.pabsttheatergroup.com.
MAY 31
THE GREAT RIVERWEST RUMMAGE AND FLEA MARKET AT ART*BAR (722 E. BURLEIGH ST.):
See why this 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. street sale has become a citywide favorite. Dozens of sellers, live music, food, beverages and more make this market the perfect way to spend the day.
JUNE 1
SHEPHERD EXPRESS MARGARITA FEST AT THE COOPERAGE (822 S. WATER ST.): Take Sunday Funday to new heights with this crazy competition sponsored by Shepherd Express. Sample the best margs in the city, then vote for your favorite! Admission includes margarita samples as well as live entertainment, games, raffles and more. See www.shepherdtickets. com for details on the 1-4 p.m. event.
PrideFest 2025: Thanks to Loyal Corporate Sponsors and a Dedicated Production Team, the Show Goes On
BY PAUL MASTERSON
Within hours of the new regime’s inauguration on January 20, an executive order was issued that declared Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs “illegal and immoral discrimination.” Federal agencies would, therefore, no longer be permitted to observe Black History Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and LGBTQ Pride Month among other “special observance.” Idaho and Utah have since banned the display of rainbow flags on government buildings with more states expected to follow suit. A Federal ban is likely.
Fearing retribution and right-wing backlash, many corporations kowtowed and cancelled their DEI initiatives, effectively ending their support of Pride Month and the LGBTQ community. Target, a store that had once proudly sold LGBTQ-themed merchandise in celebration of Pride Month, was among the first to do so. Anheuser Busch, parent company of Bud Light, cancelled its sponsorship of St. Louis Pride. Other corporations followed suit. As a result, nationwide, Pride event donations, sponsorships and grants, whether from organizations, corporations or individuals, are not expected to reach funding goals. In response, Minnesota’s Twin Cities Pride (TCP) ditched sponsor Target. Although community support made up the difference, in the meantime the TCP organization faces a $200,000 deficit due to other lost corporate sponsorships.
RAINBOWS IN MILWAUKEE
In Milwaukee, however, the reality is quite different. Wes Shaver, president and CEO of Milwaukee Pride Inc., producer of PrideFest, offered a litany of loyal corporate sponsors who remain steadfast in support of the LGBTQ community.
“Miller Lite and Beer Capitol Distributing, SKYY VODKA and General Beverage, Vivent Health, the Milwaukee Brewers, US and BMO Banks, Kroger/Metro Market, Potawatomi Bingo Casino, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Kylie Minogue Wines among many more have come to the table in support of PrideFest 2025,” Shaver said. He added, “All of these highlighted returning partners have stepped up to intentional conversations and were always committed to partnering this year.”
The very idea of maintaining the festival’s donor base is especially stunning in light of the dilemma faced by other Pride organizations. Despite what is happening in San Francisco, St. Louis and elsewhere, Milwaukee’s Pride partners have committed to remain supportive. “The best part about the big news is I’ve retained our traditional sponsorships and partners,” Shaver continued. “We will not experience a fallout of partners in response to Republican anti-DEI executive orders.”
He admits, however, the effort was not without challenges. “It was not a year of rinse and repeat when one could simply assume that partners would stand by Pride. Instead, it was a matter of discussions and conversations with partners to ensure that they were showing up in the right way and creating a positive experience for them at PrideFest.” Shaver said. In fact, according to Shaver, the various sponsors, some of the PrideFest supporters for decades, “shared where they are at and confirmed their support of the community and their LGBTQ employees. It was clear that our partners understand what an event like PrideFest means to the city, the culture of the community as a whole…
not just slapping a name on an event for dollars.” This, as Shaver noted, reflects Milwaukee’s ability to create events for the population as a whole. The corporate leadership in turn supports the city and its message of welcome.
WIN-WIN STRATEGY
Speaking to the issues facing Twin Cities Pride, Shaver explained his win-win strategy. “I approached our partners by looking at the historical commitments they have made not only to the festival but on their daily engagement. I looked back at their participation and intentionality. I looked back and identified that they were part of our event long before 2020 with the advent of DEI. They were doing the work before it became a mainstream topic. I took that to heart: They were showing up.”
For other sponsors, however, there were obstacles. Some risk losing federal funding on which they rely if they are seen to be delivering care specifically to the LGBTQ community. “Our health care system is in fear for their funding and about what they can and cannot do. Under the circumstances I realized that we all have our community’s best at heart. Even when such tough subjects were discussed, the atmosphere was positive,” Shaver said.
When asked about reaching out to the Milwaukee LGBTQ community for financial support, Shaver explained his reply framed by the philosophy at Milwaukee Pride. “I feel our community faces so many housing and job insecurities every day. I didn’t feel it was responsible to ask it to fund Pride. It is the festival’s responsibility to work for its financial stability, but it should not fall on the back of the community.”
“We have to be honest and acknowledge that any event in the city that hires labor unions and vendors requires major investment. I could not sever a relationship with a corporate partner and ask the community to make up the difference. That’s not the model we operate nor our direction. We would rather reduce parts of the festival than impose that cost on the community,” Shaver said, adding, “The celebration is a privilege. Regardless of the nature of the event, it is provided to the communities for their enjoyment and cannot be taken for granted.”
Finally, Shaver commented on the factor of the PrideFest production team itself and how it contributes to the continued success of the organization even in these politically challenging times. “We didn’t expect people operating at 100% after the pandemic. We met people where they were. Our team continues to work hard and mutually support each other. Everyone knows their role and responsibility. It’s very exciting. Despite today’s challenges we remain empowered to do the work with integrity and not be discouraged,” Shaver concluded.
Paul Masterson is an LGBTQ activist and writer and has served on the boards of the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, Milwaukee Pride, GAMMA and other organizations.
FROM THE CITY THAT Always Sweeps
BY ART KUMBALEK
I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, you may recall from a year ago what I had to say about this fifth month of the year we call May.
Remember?
… it’s now the month of May belonging to the year 2024, the so-called “merry,” or perhaps “lusty” month as energetically sung whenever you go to sit through a musical production of the historically hodgepodge of a fock Camelot inside your local high school’s lunch room ’cause your kid has been cast for some unfathomable reason, or community theater effort performed in the danky basement of the local church where Sir Lancelot is your next-door dork neighbor whose ability to carry a tune in a bucket is ferkakta and it’s the bucket you borrowed him months ago that the fockstick has yet to return, what the fock.
C’est moi, the one to remind you’s to flip your calendar page from April showers to May flowers, one of the three months we have that can be enunciated with one syllable, caveman style, I kid you not.
History is so cool, unless maybe you reside in Florida, Texas or Ala-focking-bama these days ’cause I got a feeling that the goofball white-guy legislators wannabe in charge of the education systems for the young people just might have a problem with a word like “syllable”—“Fellow patriots, a ‘syllable’ sounds to me like some kind of outfit one of those so-called men who’d rather be women would squeeze into to put on some kind of dancing show dolled up like a regular Carol Channing or Bea-focking-Arthur. We will not tolerate these woke ‘syllables’ in our schools, libraries and general conversation. God bless America”
Good lord, a drag “syllable” show that might feature a cross-dressed Carol Channing, Bernadete Peters or Bea-focking-Arthur? Cripes, tell me where I can get a ticket. I’ll be there, what the fock.
But yes indeed, it’s now factually May 2025, so the experts say, but can you believe them, these “experts” what with their “facts”? Beats me. I guess that’s why we got Trumpel-thinskin and the Musky-odor running the geek show as they pull away their MAGA curtain to reveal that there are no “experts,” no “facts” in their manufactured universe of a reality they bought and try to sell. Or something like that.
Believe it or have faith, it’s May on your calendar: chock-focking-full of memorable calendar dates: International Workers’ Day, Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day, Miles Davis’ birthday and Mother’s Day, which reminds me of Oscar Wilde who said: All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his. O-Wilde, you be the man still to this day, you betcha.
This May also notches 39 years of me whipping out brain-jarring essays from off the top of my head for this news and entertainment empire called the Shepherd. Thank you for my service. But I could abso-focking-lutely pony up to a new challenge: Chief editor and correspondent of the “science section” this publication so sorely needs for the enlightenment of its readers, I kid you not.
For christ sakes, the discipline of science has been getting crucified by Christian and Republican nutbags for some time, and I say it’s high time that “The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation and theoretical explanation of natural phenomena” (i.e. “the criticism of myths”) gets some ink spewed from an objective source, like me, ain’a?
Cripes, I’d never run out of material, and I’d make sure to craft my coverage nice and lively if not dang near practical, to boot. It wouldn’t at all be like the butt-boring science they tried to cram down your throat in school ’til you could barf lunch’s pigs-in-a-blanket, no sir. I’d give you “who’s hot/ who’s not” on the latest Periodic Table, photos with captions on anatomy, cutting-edge info on the science of statistics you could use on your next Vegas junket.
And naturally, there’s “political science.” The old-fart Greek Aristotle wrote, “Therefore, the good of man must be the end (i.e. objective) of the science of politics.” Hey, nice try, Ari. But simple observation has surely proved you were full of crap on that one. I never bought the term “political science.” Combining something so foul with something so pure always sounded like bullshit to me, but of course if “politics” is involved, what the hell else could it sound like? You tell me.
And then I’ll tell you’s to keep your eyes to the sky ’cause that’s where heaven’s supposed to be, what the fock, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.
