Milwaukee Black Theater Festival Begins

Milwaukee Black Theater Festival

The past few weeks have been hot and humid, but there are plenty of ways to beat the heat this weekend. For example, hop on a boat, grab a cocktail and sing along to Metallica’s Master of Puppets on Milwaukee Boat Line’s live-music booze cruise. Also, the Milwaukee Black Theater Festival gets a chance to hold its first in-person event, featuring a Youth Night that will showcase the talents of young Black artists and musicians in Milwaukee.

August 12-15: Cirque Italia

The traveling Cirque Italia makes its way to Milwaukee and has set up camp outside of the Southridge Mall. The show is 1950’s themed and features a stage that holds up to 35,000 gallons of water that performers will enact acrobatics over. Tickets range between $10 and $50 and can be purchased by clicking here.

What pairs better than a scenic view of the Milwaukee river than an entire performance of Metallica’s 1986 album “Master of Puppets?” Join Milwaukee Boat Line and Metallica tribute band Master of Puppets for a two-hour booze cruise down the river to the beat of some classic heavy metal. The event will begin at 8:30 p.m. and tickets are $25, which can be purchased by clicking here.

August 14-15: The Morning Glory Art Fair

The Morning Glory Art Fair is celebrating its 46th year with its biggest rendition yet, featuring 135 artists from around the country showcasing ceramics, digital art, photography, printmaking and more. This year, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will also showcase five student artists in its UWM Emerging Artist Tent, including a sculptor, printmaker, painter, ceramicist and metalsmith. The art fair is a free event and will take place on the plaza in front of the Fiserv Forum. The fair will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days.

August 13-14: Eagle Park Beer Release

Eagle Park Brewing Company is bringing back two fan-favorite beers this weekend that are sure to please fans of tropical flavors, as well as those with a sweet tooth. There’s Tiki Daves: Blue Hawaiian, a sour ale with pineapple, orange, coconut and blue spirulina; and Fat Stacks, a chocolate-chip-pancake inspired imperial stout with maple syrup and cacao nibs. Members will get first dibs on these tasty new beers, with a members-only release happening on Friday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Everyone else gets their chance on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eagle Park is taking walk-in orders only for this release.

August 18: Milwaukee Black Theater Festival Youth Night

The Milwaukee Black Theater Festival kicked off August 12th celebrating its second year of amplifying Black artists’ voices. With the first year of the festival happening virtually, there are many new events and shows that will make this year’s edition even better. One new edition is the Milwaukee Black Theater Festival Youth Night, a partnership with St. Ann Intergenerational Center for Care that will bring youth performers from theaters around Milwaukee to share art. The theme of the night is “The Strength and Resilience of the Black Woman,” and will feature performers from Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Professional Training Institute, Next Act Theatre’s Next Actors, Black Arts MKE’s Youth Ensemble and the band K-Stamp. The event is free and will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.