What to do in Madison this weekend: Winter Carnival, UW Dance Faculty Concert, and more Isthmus Picks

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Winter Carnival, through Feb. 12, UW Memorial Union: The Lady Liberty head and torch rising from frozen Lake Mendota? She’ll be there, on Feb. 10-11. That iconic image and other traditional activities return as part of the annual Wisconsin Union Winter Carnival, Feb. 6-12. But 2023 also includes more than a dozen new things to do, from Canadian maple taffy making (1 p.m., Feb. 9) to a Snow Ball dance with the Hoofer Sailing Club (7:30 p.m., Feb. 10), to an ice boat exhibit (Feb. 10-11). (Note: The previously announced Ojibwe ponies event is postponed, but the Winter Carnival has been extended by a day to add Sledding on the Terrace, noon-4 p.m. on Feb. 12.) All events are free, but some require a ticket or reservations. Find the details and schedule updates due to any Wisconsin winter weather surprises at union.wisc.edu/wintercarnival.

Hand Made in America: Contemporary Custom Footwear, through May 14, UW Nancy Nicholas Hall-Mecklenburg Textile Gallery; reception Feb. 9, 4-7 p.m.: We are so used to mass-produced shoes we have mostly forgotten that they can be made for a specific someone's foot — and be works of art. The shoes and boots in “Hand Made in America: Contemporary Custom Footwear” come from 11 makers from across the United States who are part of a renaissance of handmade footwear. Curator, shoemaker and artist Amara Hark-Weber will speak along with others at 4 p.m. on Feb. 9, followed by an opening reception. Current gallery hours: 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday; and noon-4 pm Saturday-Sunday.

Terri Laxton Brooks, Thursday, Feb. 9, Mystery To Me, 6-7:30 p.m.: Reedsburg native and Madison resident Terri Laxton Brooks will discuss her no-holds-barred book, On Loneliness: How to Feel Less Alone In an Isolating World, with Doug Moe. Published late last year, the book explores Brooks' own struggles with feeling alone despite having a successful career, and it is the “culmination of four years of soul-searching conversations with America’s leading psychologists and psychiatrists about loneliness — how to cope with it, why it is a normal and necessary stage of healthy growth, and how to stop resisting it,” according to the author’s website. Seating is limited, but Brooks’ conversation with Moe also will be livestreamed on Crowdcast; find registration at mysterytomebooks.com.

CANCELED: PechaKucha, Thursday, Feb. 9, Monona Terrace, 6 p.m.: PechaKucha is a storytelling format like a TEDX talk with PowerPoint slides. Sort of. Each presenter shows 20 images for 20 seconds apiece...that's right, presenters have 400 seconds to tell their tale before the orchestra starts playing them off. Tonight's topic is about working in the biohealth field. It's free, but you will need a ticket. Feb. 9 update: Canceled due to weather.

Natural Satellite, Thursday, Feb. 9, North Street Cabaret, 7 p.m.: The sound of this husband-wife duo from Menasha, Wisconsin, is built on unique finger plucking of the cello played by Karli Reisdorf. She also happens to sing like an angel. Jason Reisdorf’s tenor sax blends as if another singing voice is there. The subjects trend serious, Karli’s experiences with depression among them. The vulnerability that comes with the music is the bargain Natural Satellite makes with its audience.

A Valentine's Affair, Feb. 9-11, Brink Lounge, 7:30 p.m.: Madison Shakespeare Company presents its fifth installment of Valentine's Day-appropriate scenes from the works of Shakespeare, plus contemporaries Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Middleton. All eight scenes are new to the series, but returning is one wild card each evening: “Sonnets from a Hat” puts the cast to the test of performing a sonnet randomly selected from audience suggestions. Annie Jay returns as director of this year's production. Find ticket info at madisonshakespeare.org (note, showtime is 7:30 p.m., not 7 p.m. as published in the February print edition).

Airness, through Feb. 12, Overture Center-Playhouse: Is air guitar the most truly American of the art forms? This comedy by Chelsea Marcantel centers on Nina, who enters an air guitar competition only to find levels of meaning she didn't suspect were there, like the importance of setting yourself free. Forward Theater Company's production of Airness is the Wisconsin premiere. For those about to rock, we salute you. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, plus 2 p.m., Feb. 11. Read Gwendolyn Rice's review here.

UW Dance Faculty Concert, Feb. 9-11 and 16-18, UW Lathrop Hall-H'Doubler Performance Space: This year, a highlight of the faculty concert will be “Manifesting Destiny,” from visiting artist Charles O. Anderson. The dance, an excerpt from a larger work in progress, imagines equity, particularly women's equity. Also look for Chris Walker's new work developed in response to “Sifting & Reckoning,” the UW-Madison's Chazen exhibit on its own histories of discrimination and exclusion. Performances at 8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays; a livestream option is also available Feb. 11. Ticket info here.

The Abortionist: A Woman Against the Law, through Feb. 11, Broom Street Theater: Anyone missing the days when Joel Gersmann was artistic director of Broom Street Theater, or anyone who missed those exuberant years altogether, take note. The company is bringing back one of Gersmann's trenchant plays, The Abortionist: A Woman Against The Law, in a new adaptation directed by Scott Feiner. Sadly, the 1995 play is even more timely now than when it was written given the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning a constitutional right to an abortion. The play is about a real woman, Ruth Barnett, who ran an illegal abortion clinic in Portland, Oregon. Performances will be held at 1119 Williamson St. at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Walk-up tickets are available; advance tickets here.

Stephen Perkins: Mining the Archive, Feb. 10-April 9, Overture Center-James Watrous Gallery: Prints, ephemera, and accordion books from the collection of artist and curator Stephen Perkins will be joined by even more accordion books from Kiki Smith, Kara Walker, Richard Long, Bea Nettles, Guillermo Gomez-Pena and Anish Kapoor, among others. The display highlights “activities that operate outside the traditional gallery system,” according to Perkins. A reception will take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Feb. 17. Current hours: noon-6 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday.

Garden & Landscape Expo, Feb. 10-12, Alliant Energy Center: Yes, it's only mid-February, but it's never too early for thoughts of spring to begin sprouting. The Garden and Landscape Expo is a good place to find some ideas of what to do when the snow is gone for real. This year is the 30th annual event hosted by PBS Wisconsin, and your biggest challenge may be choosing which of the more than 125 demonstrations and talks to see. There's also 200-plus vendor booths, a flower show, kids' garden activities and play area, and meet-and-greets with show hosts such as Inga Witscher. Hours are noon to 7 p.m., Feb. 10; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Feb. 11; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Feb. 12; find tickets and the full schedule at wigardenexpo.com.

Sketchy Ideas, Feb. 10-12, Overture Center-Wisconsin Studio: TNW Ensemble Theater brings Madison artist Randall Berndt's illustrated letters to the stage in Sketchy Ideas. With the art and text projected behind them, actors Anthony Novich Leonard, Liz Light, Andrew Lonsdale and Patrick Mahoney will present monologues for 15 of the illustrated panels. Topics range from COVID-19 to the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Read Richard Ely's interview with Randall Berndt here. Performances are at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 10; and at 3 p.m., Feb. 11-12; tickets at overture.org.

The Odd Couple, through Feb. 12, Central Heights Middle School, Sun Prairie: “Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?” The original Neil Simon play incarnation of The Odd Couple — which spawned both film and TV adaptations — is perhaps his best work, with some of that witty playwright's most indelible lines. For those who don't know the setup: Divorced sportswriter and slob Oscar Madison and news writer and obsessive/compulsive Felix Ungar end up sharing an apartment. Felix also gets a divorce. It's all very New York, and an obvious precursor to Seinfeld. Simon hits on universal themes about friendship, marriage and difficult personalities. This Sun Prairie Civic Theatre production shows at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 10-11; and 2 p.m., Feb. 12.

Dan Navarro, Friday, Feb. 10, The Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Most famous as one-half of the singer-songwriter duo Lowen & Navarro — who penned “We Belong” for Pat Benatar — Dan Navarro has soldiered on as a solo performer after David Eric Lowen’s 2012 death from ALS complications. His latest record, last year’s Horizon Line, reveals Navarro still knows how to burrow into melodies and emotions. The hopeful “Circling the Drain” landed on American Songwriter magazine’s list of top 24 songs of 2022 and already has emerged as a Navarro classic. This performance has the potential to be one of Madison’s finest club shows of the winter.

Audifax, through March 9, Garver Feed Mill: Audifax, the current artist-in-residence for the Madison Public Library's Bubbler program, is a self-taught artist who creates murals/street art and other paintings as well as sculpture. View a sampling of Audifax's work in the exhibit “Centre” at Garver Canvas through March 9. New works on canvas and prints will be added during the exhibit's run, and Audifax will be working on a sculpture in the space as well (with an unveiling planned as part of the next Femmestival on Feb. 19). An artist talk takes place at 1 p.m. on Feb. 11, and a closing reception takes place from 7-10 p.m. on March 4.

Why Worry? Saturday, Feb. 11, Overture Center-Capitol Theater, 2 and 7 p.m.: What a pleasure it is to see a film at the Capitol Theater that seems to go hand-in-hand with this gorgeous silent-era room's elegant decor. The 1923 comedy Why Worry? stars the always adorable Harold Lloyd as a wealthy hypochondriac. Lloyd's character heads to South America, only to find himself involved in a revolution. Jelani Eddington accompanies the film on the organ. Tickets at overture.org.

The Vagina Monologues, Saturday, Feb. 11, Barrymore Theatre, 7:30 p.m.: Since its debut in 1994, The Vagina Monologues has grown from its Off Broadway roots into the global activist movement V-Day, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center presents a new production of the play by V (formerly Eve Ensler), with segments in English and Spanish performed by 23 Dane County artists, activists and community leaders. Sales of tickets and art (on display before and during the performance) will benefit Safe Harbor's legal fund to assist nonprofit clients dealing with immigration issues. Find ticket info at barrymorelive.com.

The Buckinghams, Saturday, Feb. 11, Middleton-Cross Plains Area Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m.: Bursting on the pop charts out of Chicagoland like a rocket in the mid-1960s, The Buckinghams had a run of huge hits — “Kind of a Drag,” “Don't You Care,” “Hey Baby,” “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” and “Susan” — all in about a year's time. While the group's original run was brief, the horn-driven sound they hit with proved hugely influential and paved the way for a myriad of horn rock groups (and massive successes like Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chicago). And though they broke up, most of the band remained active in the music industry; original guitarist Carl Giammarese and bassist Nick Fortuna have been keeping The Buckinghams flame alive since the early 1980s. Tickets here.

Winter Festival of Poetry, Sundays, through March 12, Arts + Literature Lab, 2 p.m.: What kind of lure do you need to get Wisconsinites out of the house in the dead of winter to hear a poetry reading? Cheese, apparently. This year the Winter Festival of Poetry series, Sundays at 2 p.m. at the Arts + Literature Lab, has adopted “The Big Cheese” as its theme, with each session of the eight-week series featuring a different cheese. Still, it's all about the poets. In upcoming weeks look for Isthmus contributors Guy Thorvaldsen (Feb. 12) and Charles Payne (Feb. 19).

Inside a Dream, Sunday, Feb. 12, High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.: Director David Lynch is the king of atmosphere. His dreamlike films have arresting soundtracks and incorporate moody pop music. Roy Orbison (whose “In Dreams” and “Crying” are featured in Lynch works) may be the definitive Lynchian crooner; Chris Isaak's “Wicked Game” didn't take off until it was featured in Wild at Heart. But then there's the indescribable “In Heaven” (aka The Lady in the Radiator Song) from Eraserhead, written by Lynch himself in collaboration with sound designer Alan Splet. Inside a Dream is a supergroup of musicians from Milwaukee groups (The Door Stoppers, Deadman’s Carnival, Sweet Sheiks, and Ruth B8r Ginsburg) that performs songs and scores featured in Lynch’s works.

Find the individual Picks collected here, and as part of the full calendar of events.

Editor's note: This post has been updated to add the cancellation of PechaKucha.