Watch the Riverkeeper Boat Parade

Photo: All Hands Boatworks

There’s plenty to do in the Milwaukee area this week while still maintaining social distancing.

Each week, Urban Milwaukee is curating a list of events that are taking the necessary safety precautions provided by the CDC in order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

This week, you can watch a float parade travel up the Milwaukee river in person or from the safety and comfort of your home. You can also put a few more miles on your bike while summer is still here by participating in the Great Brewery Bike Race, or celebrate Gathering Place’s third birthday at the brewery’s beer garden block party.

August 27: Virtual Jazz in the Park featuring Cigarette Break

Jazz in the Park has been taking place at Cathedral Square Park since 1991. It’s not safe for the summer event to take place in actual park this year, so Jazz in the Park has gone virtual. From 6:30 p.m to 8:30 p.m., Milwaukee hip-hop group Cigarette Break will perform. Watchers are encouraged to hang out in a grassy area and share selfies of their picnics using the hashtag #JazzintheParkMKE. The performance will be livestreamed via Facebook. Donations can be made to support Jazz in the Park by clicking here.

During our long winters, Milwaukeeans often remind themselves of summer and its many events.Unfortunately many of the events were canceled this year. But the Milwaukee County Historical Society is offering a free virtual presentation that will take a look at past Milwaukee summers through the lens of some of Milwaukee’s best photographers. The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. and can be streamed on the MCHS Facebook and Youtube pages.

August 28: Third Space Brewing Releases New IPA

Third Space Brewing is celebrating the release of its new Double IPA: The Fjord Explorer. The Double Kveik IPA uses Norwegian farmhouse Kveik yeast, creating tropical and stone fruit aromas, and pineapple, passion fruit and citrus flavors. The Fjord Explorer will be available in 16 oz. 4-packs in the taproom and via curbside pickup. The beer will also be on draft in the taproom starting at 2 p.m., and the brewery has outdoor seating for those who would prefer to socially distance outside. Just make sure you have a designated driver — the Fjord Explorer boasts an 8.3% ABV.

August 29: The Covid Couch Series featuring The Demix

The Cooperage has been featuring local artists with its Covid Couch Series — allowing them to takeover the venue’s Instagram live feed and perform to raise donations. This week, The Demix, a Milwaukee electronic artist and DJ that pulls from a wide variety of experimental influences, will take the stage. The concert will begin at 9 p.m. and run until 11 p.m.

August 29: Gathering Place’s Third Anniversary Block Party

It’s been three years since Gathering Place Brewing Company opened in River West, and they’re celebrating with a socially-distanced party. The brewery will have plenty of outdoor space with additional seating and tables for what its calling a “socially-distant beer garden experience.” The brewery is releasing its anniversary beer: Atsumaru, a Japanese rice Saison clocking in at 6.8% ABV. A special variant of the beer made with yuzu — a Japanese citrus fruit — will also be available. Both beers will be available on draft and can be purchased in bottles for $8 a piece, but supplies are limited to just 200 bottles. Preorders for the two beers can be made by clicking here. The anniversary celebration will run from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

August 29: Tosa Farmer’s Market 

Every Saturday until Oct. 17, the Wauwatosa Farmer’s Market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon. In accordance with guidelines from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and local health officials, the market has added new safety precautions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Some important guidelines include limiting families to one healthy adult shopper (leave the kids at home if possible), one-way walking traffic routes and preordering for quick pick-up. For a full list of guidelines, check out the Facebook event page. The market is located at Hart Mills Parking Lot at

Every Saturday until the end of October, the Oak Creek Farmer’s Market will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market has new safety precautions in place and added an online ordering option that includes a drive-thru. Vendors start taking orders for pickup each Monday. The market is located at the Drexel Town Square, at 8040 S. 6th St.

August 29: South Shore Farmer’s Market

Every Saturday until the end of October, the South Shore Farmer’s Market at South Shore Park in Bay View will be open from 8 a.m. until noon. The market is following a new social-distancing format that will allow for safe, fast and easy transactions. Preorders can be made from the online store Monday through Thursday.

August 30: Greenfield Farmer’s Market 

Every Sunday up until the end of October the Greenfield Farmer’s Market at Konkel Park, 5151 W. Layton Ave., will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The market encourages social distancing and mask wearing. And there are one-way traffic arrows to help prevent crowded spaces. The market is accepting cash, Visa, Mastercard and SNAP benefits for payment. For more information, visit their website.

August 30: Riverwest Farmer’s Market

Every Sunday until Oct. 18, the Riverwest Farmer’s Market will take place on N. Pierce Street between E. Center Street and E. Hadley Street  (next to the basketball court). Fresh produce, flowers and baked goods are just some of the goods for sale at the market. Vendors will be set up from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

August 30: The 2020 Milwaukee Riverkeeper Boat Parade

Standard parades might be canceled this year, but this one fits the socially-distanced guidelines perfectly. Every year the Milwaukee Riverkeeper Boat Parade features artists and performers riding floats down the Milwaukee river. The floats are art installations designed to celebrate the importance of Milwaukee’s waterways, with this year’s theme being “Where there is water, there is life.” The parade will feature floats from All Hands Boatworks, Milwaukee Community Sailing Center, Plastic Free MKE and more. It will also feature performances by Lex Allen, SistaStrings and Jahmes Finlayson. The parade will begin at noon in the Mooring Basin and will travel north to the Humboldt Blvd. bridge and will end by circling back down the river. For those who are uncomfortable with watching the event in person, it will be livestreamed via Facebook or Youtube.

While there was no actual Riverwest 24 race this year, there are plenty of ways to fill that competitive biking void. Take, for instance, The Third Annual Great Milwaukee Brewery Bike Race — a race with no set course. The goal is to get from one brewery to the other and back as fast as you can, or at your own pace if you’re not feeling competitive. Participants can choose between two teams: Team Bay View (which will see racers traveling from Enlightened Brewing and biking to Gathering Place Brewing Company) or Team Riverwest (which sees racers doing the opposite of the former team.) When the race starts, you drink a beer at your starting brewery, ride to your destination to drink a second beer and then ride back to your starting brewery for a third and final beer. The fastest three finishers on each team will win prizes, and the team with the overall fastest time will win a trophy that will be displayed in the winning brewery until the next race. Registration fees are $15 in advance or $20 the day of. Click here for more information and to register.

September 1 – ongoing: Virtual Stargazing with the Milwaukee Public Museum

Starting on Tuesday, Sept. 1, the Milwaukee Public Museum will be offering a virtual tour of the September night sky led by Planetarium Director Bob Bonadurer. The 45-minute experience will touch on the upcoming Harvest Moon, Jupiter and Saturn’s conjunction, the close approach of Mars and more. Tickets are $10 per household but is free for members. Once registered, an email with a Youtube livestream link will be sent one day prior to your show. This event will start at 7 p.m. and run through the end of September.

See something we missed? Send us details about your event to info@urbanmilwaukee.com.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Company Brewing was affiliated with the brewery bike race. Gathering Place Brewing Company is the Riverwest brewery affiliated with the race.