Join the Return of the Spring River Cleanup

Milwaukee Riverkeeper Spring Cleanup. File photo taken by Jack Fennimore.

There’s plenty to do in Milwaukee this weekend while practicing safe social distancing. It’s Earth Day this weekend, and the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center and Milwaukee Riverkeeper have some fun events that will get you outside. Rock the Green is celebrating its 10th Annual Earth Day Celebration with an eco-friendly, pedal-powered stage and a performance by Trapper Schoepp. Dinosaurs are once again returning to the Wisconsin State Fair with a family-friendly drive-thru event.

Ongoing: Florentine Opera Presents Shakespeare

The Florentine Opera Company is celebrating music inspired by Shakespeare with performances of Britten, Gounod, Verdi and more. The hour-and-a-half long program will take place in a secret room in a Milwaukee landmark home with ties to England and bootlegging. Historian John Eastberg will make an appearance to provide some historical background. The performance is digital only and can be purchased for $25 by following this link.

The Mitchell Park Domes is putting on its spring floral show titled “Seasons of Legend.” The show will look at the ways different cultures have crafted intricate stories to explain the changing of the seasons. The show will be divided into five sections, each exploring a different folklore legend. For safety purposes, the domes are now offering timeslot reservations. For more information on admission fees and reserving your time slot, click here.

April 22-May 2: Dino Safari at Wisconsin State Fair

Traverse the globe in search of dinosaurs all from the comfort of your car with the Dino Safari at the Wisconsin State Fair grounds. See true-to-scale versions of over 40 colossal, moving dinosaurs and learn about their origins, how they evolved over time and their behaviors. Tickets are $49.95 for regular vehicles with up to seven occupants and $59.95 for larger vehicles. For more information on ticket pricing, click here.

April 22: Harley-Davidson Museum Virtual Gallery Talk

Harley-Davidson’s virtual gallery talk series continues with a discussion titled History of Harley-Davidson Fashion. Learn how Harley-Davidson’s fashioned have influenced pop culture and everyday life, and watch as the museum’s retail team recreates authentic clothing from the Harley-Davidson Originals Collection. The event runs from 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Tickets to the event are $6 and can be purchased here.

Florentine Opera has returned to the stage, but is maintaining some of its digital options from its experience with virtual performances. A digital copy of a recent sold-out performance is now available for purchase. The performance, titled “La Vie En Rose” after the famous song by Edith Piaf, can be purchased for $25. To purchase virtual tickets, click here. To check out Urban Milwaukee’s coverage of the opera’s current season, click here.

April 24: Rock the Green’s 10th Annual Earth Day Celebration

Rock the Green is bringing back its pedal-powered eco-friendly stage for its 10th annual Earth Day Celebration featuring a performance by Trapper Schoepp and his band. This virtual event will include remarks from Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee Riverkeeper’s Jennifer Bolger Breceda and Rock the Green’s Lindsay Stevens, who will also be presenting the inaugural Dan Aukofer Earth Day Rockstar Award. The event will begin at 7 p.m. Click here for more info.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper is bringing back its annual Spring Cleanup this year after cancelling in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the event, volunteers pick up trash along waterways in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties. The goal is to remove 100,000 pounds of trash from the river system. Milwaukee Riverkeeper will provide gloves, trash and a commemorative t-shirt to participants. Pre-registration to the event is required. For more information, click here.

April 24: Schlitz Audubon Earth Day Celebration

Celebrate Earth Day outdoors at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center with educational activities and litter cleanups. The nature center will have stations set up throughout the grounds, with naturalists challenges to the ecosystem and possible solutions. Participants will search for macro-invertebrates in the ponds, identify native and migrating birds and make an eco-friendly craft to take home. Tickets to the event are $10 for members and $15 for non-members.

April 25: Tables Across Borders Community Cooking Series

The Lynden Sculpture Garden presents a virtual home cooking series that takes viewers on a global food tour while highlighting local refugee chefs and the diverse food culture of Milwaukee. For this session, head chef Tahani Fadel, an immigrant from Syria, will showcase traditional desserts while featuring other chefs from the Somali, Karen and Rohingya/Burmese communities.