Hoancoming Adds Madison Twist For 2025
Pop-up version of the Memorial Union Terrace will be featured at Sept. 18 event.
Hoan Bridge. Photo courtesy of the Hoan Group.
Hoancoming is set to return for its third consecutive year later this month, closing out summer with a boat parade, drone display and light show on its namesake bridge.
This time around, the Milwaukee tradition will add a Madison twist, transforming part of the lakefront into a pop-up version of the Memorial Union Terrace, complete with its signature sunburst chairs and waterfront views.
The free experience, dubbed Terrace on Lake Michigan, comes from a partnership between The Wisconsin Union, UW Credit Union and the Hoan Group. It will be open to the public Sept. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Milwaukee’s terrace will set up near the lighthouse at Lakeshore State Park, offering brats, beverages and live entertainment from DJ LoLo and the University of Wisconsin Marching Band. But the event aims to be more than a sum of its parts, said Mark Guthier, director of the Wisconsin Union and University of Wisconsin–Madison’s associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs.
“Terrace on Lake Michigan is about more than brats, chairs and music; it’s about the shared connection between Milwaukee and Madison,” Guthier said in a statement. “The Wisconsin Union’s Terrace experience is a source of community, joy and pride for Wisconsin, and bringing that experience to Milwaukee is the perfect way to join the communities together.”
Those with ties to UW-Madison, Wisconsin Union and UW Credit Union will be eligible to enter a prize drawing for their very own terrace chair—recognizable to Milwaukeeans as the same colorful, metal chairs at Colectivo Coffee‘s lakefront cafe.
Attendees can bring a current or expired UW–Madison student ID, a current UW–Madison staff Wiscard, a Wisconsin Union lifetime or annual membership card, or a UW Credit Union debit or credit card to enter. Each card equals one entry.
“Madison and Milwaukee are home to the majority of our members,” said Anne Norman, UW Credit Union executive vice president and chief marketing and product strategy officer. “This event is a way to bridge the two communities and celebrate what makes them so unique. There is a lot of shared love among these markets, and this is such a fun way to bring that to life.”
Hoancoming will also feature a boat parade at 6 p.m. and a light and drone show—synched with Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge—at 7:45 p.m. Attendees can rsvp online for Terrace on Lake Michigan and other Hoancoming activations.
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