PrideFest, a party for Les Paul and more See, and listen to, ‘West Side Story’
Let your Pride flag fly
The lakefront festival season is officially on: PrideFest lands at Maier Festival Park, 200 N. Harbor Drive, for a weekend of community, partying, parades and one of the best entertainment lineups this side of Summerfest. Highlights include an appearance by keynote speaker Danica Roem, the first openly transgender person to hold an elected seat in a state legislature, at 3 p.m. Friday; fireworks at 9:30 p.m. Saturday; singer-actor Jussie Smollett (“Empire”), performing at 10:10 p.m. Saturday on the Miller Lite Mainstage; the Milwaukee Pride Parade, starting at 2 p.m. Sunday at S. 2nd St. and W. Lapham Blvd. (see
prideparademke.org for the route); and the B-52’s, headlining the 8:15 p.m. show Sunday at the Miller Lite Mainstage. PrideFest’s hours are 2:30 p.m. to midnight Friday, noon to midnight Saturday and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $13; four-day weekend passes are $39. Children 12 and younger free with a paid adult admission. Info: pridefest.com
Party on Locust St.
Six stages of live entertainment, food from more than a dozen vendors and what’s likely Milwaukee’s longest-running beer run make up this year’s Locust Street Festival of Music & Art
Sunday, along E. Locust St. from N. Humboldt Ave. to N. Holton St. The street party kicks off with the 42nd annual Riverwest Beer Run or Walk at 11:30 a.m., and lasts until 8 p.m. Performances include live music, DJs, comedy and, at 3 p.m. at the outside stage at Riverwest Public House, a mass singalong of “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Admission is free. Info: locuststreetfestival.org You’d be hard-pressed to find a more vital and alive movie than “West Side
Story.” This weekend, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra turns the Oscar-winning classic up to 11, performing Leonard Bernstein’s powerful and romantic score along with the movie, showing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Uihlein Hall at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 N. Water St. Tickets start at $22. Info: mso.org
Get up, get up, get … outside
Saturday is National Get Outdoors
Day (in Milwaukee, that’s any day it’s not 47 degrees and drizzling). Several of Milwaukee’s outdoors-thinking outfits are offering ways to get you out there.
Riverwest Outdoor Educational Adventures is getting the word out by promoting the day with free activities from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., including biking, starting at Truly Spoken, 604 E. Center St., and riding to Hubbard Park via the Oak Leaf Trail; hiking, canoeing and kayaking, starting at River Revitalization, 2134 N Riverboat Road; and rock climbing and rappelling, at 1420 E. Belleview Place. Info: riverwestoutdoors.org/go-day.
The Urban Ecology Center and Milwaukee’s Let’s Move Outside coalition host a day of hiking, bird-watching, canoeing, ecology lessons and more in Washington Park, 1859 N. 40th St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Info: urbanecology center.org.
Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, 1111 E. Brown Deer Road, Bayside, offers guided hikes featuring the center’s many sights, as well as up-close-and-personal visits with animals in the center’s Great Hall, from 9 a.m. to noon. Info: sanc.org.
Food fest on Vliet Street
Participating restaurants and other establishments on W. Vliet Street, from N. 43rd to around N. 62nd streets, are offering deals and more Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. for
Eat on Vliet. It’s a chance to sample both some good eateries and a great Milwaukee neighborhood. Info: Eat on Vliet Facebook page
Happy birthday, Wizard of Waukesha
Les Paul, the godfather of the solid-body electric guitar (and with it, rock ‘n’ roll), would have turned 103 this Saturday (he died in 2009), but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t still appreciate a birthday party. At least, that’s the thinking at
Discovery World, 500 N. Harbor Drive, where they’re throwing an activities-filled bash to celebrate the Waukesha native’s birthday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Participants can design and build their own musical instruments, learn about electricity and sound, and more. Veterans from Guitars For Vets will be on-site giving guitar lessons (and accepting guitar donations for veterans.) It’s part of regular admission at Discovery World: $19; $16 for seniors 60 and older and kids ages 3 to 17; $14 for college students with I.D., veterans and active members of the military; and free for children 2 and younger. Info: discoveryworld.org
Another chance to have some time together
Have a question for a TV legend?
Carol Burnett is taking the old opening of her landmark variety show — in which she took questions from the audience — to the Riverside Theater at 8 p.m. Saturday for “An Evening of Laughter and Reflections Where The Audience Asks Questions.” (The comedy legend is also taking questions in her new gig, the Netflix series “A Little Help With Carol Burnett.”) Tickets are $55 to $175, at the box office at the Riverside, 116 W. Wisconsin Ave.; (414) 286-3663; and the Pabst Theater website. Info: pabsttheater.org
Last call
This weekend is your last chance to see this performance.
“Urinetown”: Skylight Music Theatre’s production of the dark-funny musical about power, love and the importance of indoor plumbing concludes its run Sunday at the Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. Info: skyligh-tmusictheatre.org.