Last week we promised you fun and excitement, music and a sneak peek at Madison's Favorites at our annual block party on East Main Street on Saturday night. Well, we were washed out on East Main, but recovered nicely around the corner in the sheltering confines of the Great Dane Pub. Many thanks to our promotions team of Janine Wachter and Linda Baldwin for pulling off the last-minute relocation when it became obvious there would be no respite from the deluge.
This week we deliver Madison's Favorites in all their illustrated glory as part of the Annual Manual, that big bulge in the middle of your Isthmus. There is always interest in who and what our readers deign to anoint as exemplars of things Madison, but there's a lot more than Favorites in the An Man, a book that is meant to be your operating manual for this good town.
Bill Lueders contributes "A Madison Almanac," a compendium of nonessential yet interesting statistics that describe our city. If you want essential, then go to the maps. You'll find most of what you might be looking for somewhere within David Michael Miller's cartographic wonders. And if you can't find it on a map, there's always the Resource Directory, a catalog of the groups, agencies, venues and sources that make Madison work. Does Madison eat? Yes it does. And almost everywhere it does so is listed in "Restaurants A to Z."
We can't be as comprehensive about what we'll be doing for the next year, but we give your social agenda a good headstart with the Calendar. And then, just for fun, there's "Where Is This in Madison?" a pictorial quiz that tests whether you've been keeping your eyes open around town.
Of course, it's possible you're new to Madison, especially this time of year; that's why we produce the Annual Manual late every August to begin with. And it's also why we feature "Live/Local" on the cover of this week's paper. Rich Albertoni does the honors, leading the way into the local music scene for the benefit of all lovers of popular music, recently arrived or not. Speaking of which, if you're out and about on Thursday night (Aug. 23), catch Adam Isaac & the People at the Great Dane, the latest in the Madison Music Project's Charter Club Tour.
And if it rains all weekend, at least you've got plenty to read.