Scares, skills, craftiness — and more beer
A fest of creativity
Maker Faire Milwaukee brings together a diverse mix of people — artists, engineers, crafters, etc. — with one thing in common: They love to create stuff and show how they got there. The Maker Faire returns, with scores of creators and vendors in the house, to the Exposition Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park, 8200 W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis, 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Info: milwaukee.makerfaire.com
Celebrating the harvest
Also at State Fair Park this weekend: Harvest Fair, the 25th annual bash to mark the end of the growing season and all the autumnal eats that go with it. Activities include live music, pumpkin bowling, scarecrow-making and more, with lots of food (dozens of vendors, many of them familiar from the Wisconsin State Fair), and other wares available for sale. Harvest Fair takes over multiple locations on the fairgrounds. It’s open from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.
Info: wistatefair.com/harvestfair Ending September with Oktober(fests)
As we’ve told you many times, Oktoberfest got its start in September. Around here, the beer-centric festival is just hitting its stride. Among this weekend’s Oktoberfest bashes:
Oktoberfest at The Schwabenhof, N56-W14750 Silver Spring Drive, Menomonee Falls. Live music nightly, imported beers on tap, German food for sale. 4 to 11 p.m. Friday (with a keg tapping at 6 p.m.), 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Info: Oktoberfest at The Schwabenof Facebook page.
Garden Park Oktoberfest: The second annual Oktoberfest bash in the Riverwest park, 909 E. Locust St., runs Saturday from 1 to 7 p.m., with live music; Masskrugstemmen competitions (whoever holds a stein full of beer, with arms extended, the longest) at 6:30 and 6:45 p.m.; a yodeling contest; a dog costume contest; and more. Info: 2nd Annual Garden Park Oktoberfest Facebook page.
Bavarian Bierhaus: The weekendlong Oktoberfest at the Bierhaus, 700 W. Lexington Blvd., Glendale, has been an institution for 60 years, since back when the venue was known as the Bavarian Inn. Old Heidelberg Park, the expansive park-like space behind the beer hall, hosts Germaninspired meals, a kid-friendly midway, and live music (inside the Bierhaus) twice a day. There are still two weekends left, with the gates opening at 5 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. General admission is $10; table reservations are $10 (for a table of eight) on Fridays, $35 for a table for eight on Saturdays. Info: thebavarianbier
haus.com. The start of fright season
It’s here — the time of year when horror is king. One indicator is that haunted attractions are starting to open their doors. Among the spots starting up this weekend:
The Hill Has Eyes, at The Rock Sports Complex, 7900 Crystal Ridge Road, Franklin, debuts for the season Friday. The haunt’s five attractions cover more than 45 acres, and organizers say 50% of it’s been revamped. The Hill Has Eyes is open Thursdays through Sundays through Oct. 28. General admission is $25 to $45, with VIP speed passes and group tickets available. Info: hillhaseyes.com. The Dark Carnival Haunted House begins its run in downtown Oconomowoc Saturday, and continues on Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 27 in a haunted house with more than 40 rooms of, um, attractions at 212 E. Wisconsin Ave., Oconomowoc. Ticketed check-ins start at 6:30 p.m.; the doors open at 7. General admission is $18, with a $25 fast-pass option. Info: thedarkcarnival.net.
To keep up with these and other haunted attractions, which begin opening in earnest in October, dive into the definitive Haunted Wisconsin website: hauntedwisconsin.com.
Playing on/with the furniture
The new exhibit at the Milwaukee Art
Museum, “Serious Play: Design in
Midcentury America,” goes inside the playful side of American design, looking at how everything from furniture to corporate identities was shaped by the idea of “play” as part of serious design. The exhibit includes more than 200 works, from tables to toys, from 40 groundbreaking designers. “Serious Play” starts Friday at the art museum, 700 N. Art Museum Drive, and runs through Jan. 6. Admission to the art museum is $19; $17 for students, seniors 65 and older and members of the military; and free for kids 12 and younger, and for museum members.
Info: mam.org
Friday is Bay View Gallery Night, with more than 50 businesses and artists taking part from 5 to 10 p.m. There’s even a free shuttle running in a 20minute loop from 5 to 9 p.m., with stops at Lincoln Warehouse, 2018 S. First St.; Highbury Pub, 2322 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.; Urban, 939 E. Lincoln Ave.; and the Hide House, 2625 S. Greeley St.
Info: bvgn.org New on stage
“Guards at the Taj”: The drama, about the friendship of two guards stationed at the Taj Mahal in 17thcentury India, begins its run Friday at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Stiemke Studio, 108 E. Wells St. (The show runs through Nov. 4.) Info: milwaukeerep.com.
“The Eagle in Me: An Evening of Carl
Sandburg”: Milwaukee stage stalwart Jonathan Gillard Daly plays the historian, poet and former Milwaukee newsman Carl Sandburg in In Tandem Theatre’s world-premiere production opening Friday at Tenth Street Theatre, 628 N. 10th St. (It runs through Oct. 21.) Info: intandemtheatre.org.
“Outside Mullingar”: David Cecsarini, Deborah Staples, James Pickering and Carrie Hitchcock star in a production of John Patrick Shanley’s drama of land, love and family in the Irish countryside courtesy Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St. Info: nextact.org.
“Red Herring”: Windfall Theatre opens its season with a noir comedy involving love, nuclear secrets and murder set during the Cold War, with the show starting Friday at Village Church Arts, 130 E. Juneau Ave., and running through Oct. 13. Info: Red Herring event Facebook page.