Friday, May 27, 2011

Madison will be the home of three alternative brat fests this Memorial Day weekend:

The The People's Bratfest is (quote) "intended to show the great local variety the people of the Farmers’ Market, Madison and the whole of Wisconsin can put on together." The event will be on the Square on Martin Luther King Jr Blvd from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m on Saturday, May 28. Proceeds will go to local charities.

Wurst Times will be held at the High Noon Saloon, The Brass Ring, and the Brink Lounge, all at 701 East Washington Avenue from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday, May 28. Attendees should bring one canned food item per person, with donations and proceeds going to Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin. A full slate of bands will be playing at all three venues in the building.

Alt Bratfest will be held at Orton Park from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 29. Local food will be served and sourced from Jordandal Farms, Black Earth Meats, Goose Chaser Farms, Underground Food Collective, Alchemy, Natt Spil, Weary Traveler Freehouse and others. There will also be live music. Bringing a food donation will reduce the admission price. Proceeds go to local charities. Advance ticket sales are available at BrownPaperTickets.com.

Join the Madison Tao Sangha to celebrate the children of the world and help raise fund for Japan earthquake victims living in a shelter in Sendai, Japan. Make dolls, kites, and eat locally made traditional Japanese deserts. This is on Saturday, May 28th from 11:30 to 4:30 at Happy Bambino, 4116 Monona Drive. For more information, contact Tao Sangha Madison at 257-4663 or visit taosangha-na.com.

Saturday is your last chance to get your garden plants from Fitchburg Fields. This will be at the Memorial United Church of Christ Church at 5705 Lacy Rd. in Fitchburg.

Madison Veterans for Peace invites members of the community to help raise over 6,000 tombstones along the frontage on Atwood Avenue to commemorate soldiers killed in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. This will begin at 9 am on Saturday. The public is invited to drive the week-long “Memorial Mile” installation in respect for the fallen soldiers and in hopes of peace.

Madison Veterans for Peace Memorial Day Commemoration will be at James Madison Park on Monday, May 30th from 1 to 2:30 pm. Matt Rothschild, editor of The Progressive, will be the keynote speaker. Music will be provided by the Madison folk group “Old Cool.” At the end of the program audience members will be invited to read the names of WI soldiers killed in the wars. Contact Richard Chamberlin at 222-7136 for more information.

There will be a free lecture by Lecturer B. Schneider of Germany titled "Help and Healing on the Spiritual Path through the Teaching of Bruno Groning". This is Friday June 17th at the Wil-Mar Center, 953 Jenifer St. Contact Susan at 608-215-6373 for more information.