Madison Museum of Contemporary Art is open Wednesday through Sunday. | Photo by Franco Folini, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
You don’t need major funds to have major fun in Madison; just look at these free activities.
Arts
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art | Community support ensures this local resource stays free to the public, which means you can explore 6,000+ art pieces without spending a penny.
Edu
UW Geology Museum | We’re back on campus and it’s a blast from the pre-historic past. Rocks, fossils, and minerals all make for an educational day here, and it’s way more interesting than your high school science class.
Outdoors
Henry Vilas Zoo | Lions, tigers, and (grizzly + polar) bears — oh my. But you won’t need to sell off your ruby red slippers for admission here, because it’s free.
Aldo Leopold Nature Center | Choose your own adventure at this local nature reserve that offers free trails and specialty events designed specifically for kids, adults, or both.
Monarch Tagging | Thursday, Sept. 4-Satuday, Sept. 13 | 1-3 p.m. | Pope Farm Conservancy, Middleton | Registration required | Royal butterflies are flapping into the conservancy and environmentalists need help tagging these kings and queens.
Friday, Sept. 5
Strollin Middleton Jazz Festival | Friday, Sept. 5-Saturday, Sept. 6 | 5-9 p.m. | Free | Bring your lawn chairs and blankets, get cozy, and watch jazz bands perform all evening.
Party Iconic: Justin Bieber Night | 9 p.m. | Majestic Theatre | $23+ | The Biebz won’t be here, but you can still groove all night to his best songs at this dance party.
Saturday, Sept. 6
Summer Market & Pub Crawl | 12-5 p.m. | Multiple locations | Free | Hop, sip, and crawl your way through eight different local venues, including The Sylvee, Working Draft Beer, and Hotel Indigo Madison.
Middle Tennessee State vs. Wisconsin Badgers | 3 p.m. | Camp Randall Stadium | $15+ | Jump around, Badgers — Wisconsin is back to its regularly scheduled program of weekend football.
Curd Fest XII | 3-6 p.m. | Breese Stevens Field | Free | Name a more Wisconsin festival — we’ll wait. We recommend purchasing a VIP ticket to skip lines and enjoy unlimited samples.
Sunday, Sept. 7
Monroe Street Farmers Market | 9 a.m.-1 p.m. | Edgewood High School | Free | Stock your fridge and cupboards with locally produced vegetables, fruits, meats, and artisan cheeses.
Yin Yoga | 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Ether Wellness | $22+ | Round out your busy weekend with a relaxing yoga class in the evening.
Fall weather combined with free THC seltzer? Yes, please.
Presented by Cycling Frog
Kick back and unwind this month with some hemp goodness. | Photos courtesy of Cycling Frog
Golden hour by the lake hits differently with something chill in hand.
This fall, Cycling Frog is offering a free THC seltzer (just pay $2 shipping) — perfect for unwinding at the Terrace, post-bike ride recovery, or lazy lawn hangs. These fruit-forward sips are light, legal, and tuned for peak lakeside vibes.
Choose between Black Currant, Wild Cherry, or Ruby Grapefruit flavors, each loaded up with both THC and CBD. Grab your free can while supplies last.†‡‡
The city is seeking a local artist to give a new parking garage a much-needed makeover. The deadline to submit an application is Thursday, Sept. 25 at 2 p.m. (Wisconsin State Journal)
Civic
$285 million. That’s the proposed capital budget for next year as proposed by Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. See the full breakdown here. (Wisconsin State Journal)
Sports
Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers are heading into Saturday without their starting quarterback. Billy Edwards Jr.'s knee is still injured, so SDSU transfer Danny O’Neil is getting the start. (Spectrum News 1)
Transit
The Ironman Triathlon is this weekend, which means many roads throughout Madison will be closed. The event is from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., so plan your routes around racers accordingly.
Trending
Welcome to Wisconsin, Micah Parsons. The Packers defense made a huge upgrade by adding the former Cowboy to their roster, and you can see what the guys had to say about their exciting new teammate.
Feel Good
Dan and Patti Rashke — two local philanthropists — are making sure the United Way can operate for at least the next decade. They vowed to cover the operating and fundraiser costs for the nonprofit for the next 10 years, valued at nearly $15 million. (WKOW 27)
Try This
Say cheese. Join award-winning chef Andrew Zimmern at the Wisconsin Cheese Ball on Friday, Sept. 26. Enjoy a night of unlimited artisan cheese, sensory experiences, and discover what a tyromancer does. Use code 608TODAY at checkout to get $50 off. Snag tickets + VIP access.*
Read
Madison Public Library has had many versions of its library card throughout its 150-year history, but the artist-designed card available only this month might just be our favorite. Are you thinking what we’re thinking? There’s never been a better time to sign up for a library card.*
Older Adults
Aside from megapacks and weekly coupons, did you know several retailers offer customers 55+ hefty discounts — sometimes up to 20% off? Learn about key Senior discounts and several more savings hacks older adults should know about to continue saving and building wealth at age 50+.*
Finance
When some of the big investors who backed companies like Uber and eBay before they IPO’d invest in a new company, people take note. That’s the case with Pacaso — 10,000+ everyday investors are already in. But the chance to join them ends Thursday, Sept. 18. Learn more about the opportunity.†‡*
This former Zillow exec is targeting a $1.3 trillion market
Presented by Pacaso
Austin Allison’s Pacaso has already earned $110 million+ in gross profit to date. | Image provided by Pacaso
Austin Allison sold his first company to Zillow for $120 million. Now he’s building another real estate innovator in Pacaso.
Pacaso has already made $110 million+ in gross profits to date by disrupting the $1.3 trillion vacation home market, and the same big investors that backed Uber and eBay have already invested.
But unlike Austin’s previous companies, everyday investors (like you) can invest in Pacaso as a private company. Over 10,000 individuals already have.
The fun doesn’t have to end here. After reading the newsletter, head over to our games page. Games refresh with new challenges every day at 6 a.m. from crossword puzzle to Sudoku to themed word search.
Happy Thursday, Madison. Between college football and the start of the NFL season, it’s looking like a long weekend of being on the couch for me. That being said — can someone drop off some cheese curds?
‡‡Limit 1 can of seltzer. First-time customers only. Must be 21+.
‡‡Finance “investment method” disclaimer: This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the Nasdaq is subject to approvals. Comparisons to other companies are for informational purposes only and should not imply similar success. Under Regulation A+, a company has the ability to change its share price by up to 20%, without requalifying the offering with the SEC.
