A virtual WTF

We laugh, register to vote, Ortonize and even more, in Isthmus Picks for Aug. 27-Sept. 3

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With the print version of Isthmus on pause, we thought it might be handy to have the Picks in a single weekly post. You can still find the Picks in the usual places online: collected here, and sprinkled throughout all the events.

Extraordinary, Thursday, Aug. 27, 6 pm: At its annual celebration every August, the Wisconsin Conservation Voters honors conservation leaders and gets fired up for the fall election. This year's event moves to Zoom, and honors retiring state Sen. Mark Miller; Emiliana Almanza Lopez, a recent UW-Madison graduate working to highlight racial justice concerns in the environmental movement; and former WCV board President Victoria Vollrath.

Harmonious Wail (album release), Friday, Aug. 28, 7 pm: Madison Gypsy jazz trio continues their Quarantini Friday night livestream concert series with a show marking the release of Beyond the Pale, a new album available digitally everywhere, as well as on LP and CD. The record mixes original songs with covers of classics by legends both squarely in a swinging jazz zone (Dan Hicks) and not (Allman Brothers). In other Wail news, vocalist Maggie Delaney-Potthoff participated in the semifinals round of the AARP Superstar Contest; those moving on to the final round of voting will be announced on Aug. 31.

WTF: What’s the Future, Aug. 28-30: Madison/Milwaukee events platform UnderBelly teamed up with local creators to create a virtual festival that is not a "live" event that is just being broadcast online; it's really a festival that explores the unique aspects of what a virtual happening can be. Described as an "immersive art experience" with music from Madison's Maggie Cousin and Dudley Noon, during What's the Future, participants will also encounter imaginative visuals (including work by Araceli Zuniga, pictured at top), Easter eggs and hidden Q&As, performances, and more. Two ticket options: $15 buys you access and a surprise art goodie bag that will arrive via the good ol' U.S.P.S.; a pay-what-you-can ticket includes just an access code.

Lady Laughs Comedy, Aug. 28-29 and Sept. 2-5: We can't imagine a better cure for the pandemic blues than a star-studded comedy festival you can enjoy safely at home. This year's Lady Laughs festival includes local standouts and organizers Dina Nina Martinez (pictured) and Vanessa Tortolano plus a bevy of national comedians: Aida Rodriguez (Last Comic Standing and They Ready), Shawn Pelofsky (Community), Sarah Hartshorne (America’s Next Top Model), and Milwaukee's Chastity Washington (Step Off The Block). Another bonus: IRL you would have paid $90 for an all-access pass to see these funny people, but in the festival's virtual incarnation you get the whole shebang for $19.99 — and a portion benefits the Funny Women Care Fund, to assist comedians during the current crisis. Find the schedule and tickets at LadyLaughsComedy.com.

Souls to the Polls Weekend, Saturday, Aug. 29, Urban League, 1-4 pm; Sunday, Aug. 30, 3 pm: Urban League of Greater Madison hosts a drive-through version of its annual Unity Picnic on Saturday (enter the parking lot from Hughes Place), featuring barbecue from BP Smokehouse and Kipp's Catering (from the legendary Kipp Thomas) for pickup. The event also doubles as a voter registration location (bring proof of residence) and there will be information available on the 2020 Census. On Sunday, the Urban League hosts speakers on the importance of voting and how to vote absentee, as well as a screening of the documentary Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot, on Zoom. Register for a link to participate.

Orton in Place, Saturday, Aug. 29, 4-10 pm: The latest in summer cancellations is Madison's oldest music gathering, Orton Park Festival, which has taken place under the oaks in the near-east-side oasis for 55 years. This iteration is a collaboration with WORT-FM 89.9. The station will broadcast and livestream six hours of performances from past years: local acts Acoplados (pictured), Booty Froot, Back to the Country Revue, and the Clyde Stubblefield All Stars; and touring bands Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express and JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound. At ortonparkfestival.com, you can shop from craft and food vendors without delivery fees. Even the auction is taking place, with items from local businesses and artists. In a move to support artists and businesses through the pandemic, the organizers purchased items rather than asking for donations, so you can be sure that your bids support locals. The proceeds will go toward creating a new Marquette Neighborhood Housing Crisis Fund at the Tenant Resource Center. Fans of Cycropia Aerial dance, another Orton tradition, should watch out for an online performance of a new work on Sunday, Aug. 30.

StoryWalk, Through Sept. 14, Lussier Family Heritage Center: Walk the lush prairie trails around the Lussier Family Heritage Center at Lunney Lake Farm County Park while reading a book to the kids. Over in the Meadow by Jane Cabrera is the inaugural children's work in this collaboration between art and nature. Pages are posted along the trail for children and parents to read together. Cabrera's counting book is apt for the pastoral scene: fish, froggies, rats, and rabbits populate the narrative. And that’s not all! Books will be changed monthly; find the schedule here.

Kelli Hoppmann, Aug. 29-Nov. 8, Abel Contemporary Gallery, Stoughton: The Abel Contemporary Gallery in Stoughton has been hosting in-person opening receptions for its new shows, controlling attendance by making them reservation-only. And seeing art in a gallery with others, even at a social distance, is popular enough so that the opening night reception for Madison's own Kelli Hoppmann's latest exhibit is already "sold out." (Tickets are free, but required.) But you can see Hoppmann's "The Party" during regular gallery hours, 10 am-5 pm Tuesday-Sunday. The finely-rendered oil paintings of fairy tale-like scenes featuring both human beings and macabre human-like animals that Hoppmann is known for are front and center, but she has also crafted sculptures for this show, and it's available as a book. Tickets are still available for the next opening, Friday, Sept. 4, for the 17th Annual Ceramics Invitational and "no. 5: Failed Mascots" from artist Gail Simpson.

The Mascot Theory, Sunday, Aug. 30, 7 pm: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to prevent large groups from gathering safely. The situation has created an ever-growing financial hardship for professional performers of all kinds, and six months in, it’s also an existential threat for the venues that host them. The National Independent Venue Association's Wisconsin chapter has started a petition drive to encourage Gov. Tony Evers to dedicate some remaining CARES act funds to shuttered performance halls. Fans of the arts can provide some direct support when possible, too, as on Sunday, when Madison folk rock quartet The Mascot Theory premieres a new concert on Facebook Live, filmed at Mineral Point Opera House. Viewers are encouraged to fill up virtual tip jars for the venue and band.

Overture Forums: Intermission Edition, Monday, Aug. 31, 7:30 pm: As with essentially all dedicated performance venues, Overture Center for the Arts remains closed indefinitely due to COVID-19. How is Overture coping with the crisis? Learn more during the first of a series of virtual panel discussions, with a "State of the Industry" theme. Registrants can submit questions for the panel, which includes a trio of Overture vice presidents: Jacquie Goetz (operations), Emily Gruenewald (development) and Tim Sauers (programming and community engagement).

The ERA Today, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 7 pm: The Equal Rights Amendment, which would guarantee gender equity by including it in the U.S. Constitution, passed the House and Senate in 1972; before a seven-year deadline had passed, not enough states ratified the amendment to make it law. But the fight for its passage has continued; every year it has been introduced in both legislative branches, and in 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA (though others over the years have rescinded ratification). Where does the fight stand today? Learn more at this League of Women Voters of Dane County forum, with Virginia ERA supporter Janette Dean. RSVP here for a link to the webinar; learn more background on the amendment at the LWVDC website.

Editor's note: Updated to include new information on the Urban League of Greater Madison's Sunday event.