Venues

Festivals

• An Evening Of Poetry | Wednesday, April 10 | 7-8 p.m. | Central Library, 201 W. Mifflin St., Madison | Free | Celebrate National Poetry Month by listening to local poets read their work.

• OUT After Work | Thursday, April 11 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | The Rigby, 119 East Main St., Madison | $10 | Hosted by the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, the new networking event is a mix and mingle with local business professionals.
• Hot Club of Cowtown | Thursday, April 11 | 7:30-10 p.m. | Stoughton Opera House, 381 E. Main St., Stoughton | $27 | Coming from the Lone Star state, the Austin-based string trio has toured with Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, and others.

• Wisconsin Screenwriters’ Symposium | Friday, April 12-Saturday, April 13 | 3-5:30 p.m. | Vilas Communication Hall, 821 University Ave., Madison | Free | This new annual event convenes area storytellers, aspiring screenwriters, and film students for workshops, panels, pitch events, and more.
• The Blue Olives | Friday, April 12 | 8-11 p.m. | Red Rooster Madison, 2513 Seiferth Rd., Madison | $12 | Groove out to one of Madison’s best soul and funk bands.

• Mohawk District Pinewood Derby | Saturday, April 13 | 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. | Smart Motors, 5901 Odana Rd., Madison | Free | Race on over to cheer on local youth as they vie for glory at a pinewood derby emceed by Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball great, Charlie Wills.
• Bodgery Artisan Fair | Saturday, April 13 | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | Northstreet, 557 North St., Madison | Cost of purchase | Have a morning bun or a beer while perusing the works of artists and makers from the Bodgery.

• You better be-leaf that new trees are being planted throughout Madison. The city’s Urban Forestry division began planting 1,374 trees from 27 different species this week. The spring planting work is expected to continue through the end of the month to ensure a diverse, thriving canopy in the city.

• There will be plenty more play opportunities at Penn Park soon. The community is invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the park’s newly constructed basketball and futsal courts on Thursday, April 11 from 4 to 4:30 p.m.

• Gamma Ray, a new independent music venue and bar, will open on Saturday, June 1. Owned by Kevin Willmott II, the inclusive space is located at 121 W. Main St. The kickoff show will include Dearly Brearly, Cowboy Winter, and Jimmy Sugarcane. (Tone Madison)

• A 5,000-sqft gaming lounge is coming to State Street. The Guild, catering to gamers of all skill levels, will open this summer (date TBD) at 668 State St. Owned by two former UW-Madison students, the space will feature ~40 gaming computers and popular console stations. (Wisconsin State Journal)

• Here’s the scoop, a new ice cream shop is opening in Waunakee. Lundy’s Ice Cream, in partnership with Madison’s beloved Chocolate Shoppe, will have its grand opening on Friday, April 26 at 305 E. Main St. (In Business)

• William Walsh, a Madison-based fisherman, won the top “Project Pitch It” prize for Harpoon Lures, his patented fishing technology. You can watch him lure in local business moguls on the Wisconsin entrepreneurship show similar to “Shark Tank.”

• Cue drum roll. 2024 is here, and the personal finance experts at The Ascent have sorted through hundreds of credit cards to do the work for you. Presenting: These four credit cards, among the best bonus cards the experts have ever seen.*