What to do in Madison this week: Madison Mallards and more

by

Memorial Day, Monday, May 30: Madison area Memorial Day commemorations include the Madison Veterans Council event, which begins with music by the VFW Post 1318 Band at 9:15 a.m. followed by the ceremony at 10 a.m., at Union Rest in Forest Hill Cemetery; Fitchburg's observance, at 12:30 p.m. at Gorman Wayside Veterans Memorial Park; and the American Legion Post 151 ceremony, 2 p.m. at Sunset Memory Gardens. The Monona Memorial Day parade is preceded by a 9:30 a.m. ceremony at Monona Grove High School; the parade starts from there at 10 a.m. along Monona Drive to Sennett Middle School, with more ceremonies following at 11:15 a.m., Blooming Grove Cemetery; noon, Roselawn Cemetery; 1 p.m., Highland Memory Gardens; and 3 p.m., VFW Post #7591. Activities in Cross Plains include a parade, ceremony and chicken barbecue, beginning at 11 a.m. at American Legion Park. And Veterans for Peace-Clarence Kailin Chapter hosts a peace rally with speakers and music, starting at 1 p.m. at Gates of Heaven.

Madison Mallards, Monday, May 30, Warner Park Duck Pond, 4:05 p.m.: Signs of summer abound in this week's picks, but perhaps the most summery of all is the return to action by the Madison Mallards. The team has been a steady presence in the college developmental Northwoods League since 2001, and a good time is always guaranteed at the Duck Pond. The Mallards take on the Lakeshore Chinooks for the season opener, with the first 1,000 fans through the gates receiving a Maynard bobblehead; the series continues with Lakeshore at 6:08 p.m. on May 31, with the regular season continuing through Aug. 13. Find the schedule and tickets at mallardsbaseball.com.  

LunART Festival, May 31-June 5, downtown venues: Madison-based nonprofit LunART works to center the voices of women in the arts, through interdisciplinary performances, educational programs for artists and the community, and more. LunART's annual festival returns after a couple years of virtual events with a week of programming loosely focusing on the theme of “identity.” Chamber music concerts include new music by festival composer-in-residence Stacy Garrop, as well as Alexis Bacon, Ula Goldstein, Katie Jenkins, Patricia Lopes, Nicole Murphy, Rosita Piritore and Yuting Tan (the winners of LunART's Call for Scores program). The schedule also includes music by the Ellen Rowe Jazz Trio; the premiere of Threads, a new theater work written by and starring Deborah Hearst and Dana Pellebon; a stand-up comedy showcase; and lectures. Find the full schedule and ticket info at lunartfestival.org.

Never Come Down, Tuesday, May 31, The Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: This Portland, Oregon, five-piece plays the RockyGrass bluegrass circuit, but they’re more evolved than the usual suspects who walk on and crank it out by rote. They’ve only been together since 2018 and that’s a good thing; the players are still listening carefully to one another as they play Northwest American bluegrass, sounding like a pretty, high-lonesome version of The Head and the Heart. With Ben Majeska.

Walking Wednesday Tours, Wednesday, June 1-15. San Damiano Friary, 1 p.m.: Monona Parks & Recreation director Jake Anderson and a special guest will lead small group (limit 10) walking tours of the San Damiano property on Lake Monona and inside the historic Frank Allis House. There will also be updates on the planning process for the future of the property. Free, but you have to sign up for a Monona recreation account: details here. Tours continue Wednesdays through June 15.

Kayla Bauer, through June 17, Chazen Museum of Art: The Panczenko Prize goes yearly to an outstanding master of fine arts degree recipient from UW-Madison, and these artists never fail to wow. Being given their own gallery in the Chazen this early in their careers is a rare opportunity. This year Kayla Bauer has created I Left My Heart…, a love letter to San Francisco that is a photo essay of her own photographic prints, coupled with the impulses of a collector — there's a curio cabinet of city souvenirs and a wall filled with San Francisco-themed plates.

Moments With Paul, June 1-3 and 5-6, Bartell Theatre, 2 and 7:30 p.m.: A true Renaissance man of the 20th century, Paul Robeson was an All-American athlete in college and earned a law degree, but left the profession for the stage, becoming an international star as an actor and singer. He was also a leader as an activist for racial justice and labor rights; Robeson's outspoken advocacy led to him being attacked as communist, his career derailed by McCarthy era government suppression and entertainment industry blacklists. Moments With Paul is a play telling his story, starring Milwaukee native Jason S. McKinney as Robeson and Christopher A. Bagley as Lawrence Brown (a frequent accompanist to Robeson on piano). Find tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore + Zena Sharman, Wednesday, June 1, Crowdcast, 7 p.m.: A Room of One's Own hosts two writers/editors of recent essay collections for a virtual discussion titled "The Queer Art of the Anthology." Between Certain Death and a Possible Future: Queer Writing on Growing up with the AIDS Crisis, edited by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, is a 2022 Lambda Literary Award finalist. Zena Sharman's The Care We Dream Of: Liberatory and Transformative Approaches to LGBTQ+ Health mixes essays by Sharman with stories and nonfiction by other writers and interviews. Register here to join the event on Crowdcast.

Gin, Chocolate & Bottle Rockets, Thursday, June 2, Bakken Park, Cottage Grove, 6 p.m.: Get a jump start on the weekend with some three-part harmony courtesy of Gin Chocolate & Bottle Rockets. The Madison-based trio features Jen Farley (also on percussion), Beth Kille (guitar and mandolin), and Shawndell Marks (keyboards), who keep the music stripped down to let focus remain on their stellar vocals. This concert kicks off the Music in the Grove series, which brings free performances to parks in Cottage Grove on select Thursdays all summer. Find the schedule at facebook.com/CGMusicInTheGrove. (Note: This concert was rescheduled from May 26.)

Disaster Passport, Thursday, June 2, Shitty Barn, Spring Green, 7 p.m.: The schedule of touring artists tends to sell out seemingly instantly at the friendly, rustic Shitty Barn (pro tip: tickets for shows starting in August are on sale July 1). However, occasionally a local show will slip under the radar of the Wisconsin River valley venue's dedicated concertgoers. Such is the case as of the week ahead of an appearance by Madison's Disaster Passport, playing their live soundtrack to the documentary/art film Koyaanisqatsi. The four band members each composed new music for a section of the film (including space for improvisation); it's not a replication of the original Philip Glass score. William Z. Villain opens; check ticket availability at shittybarnsessions.com.

Amanda McCavour, through Sept. 11, Chazen Museum of Art: First off, don't think traditional embroidery. McCavour's large-scale “thread drawings” in the exhibit Suspended Landscapes will fill the Paige Court in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Chazen Museum and its inaugural Elvehjem building. McCavour stitches with a sewing machine on a fabric base that dissolves in water, leaving a strong but delicate-seeming web of images. The Toronto based artist visited Madison several times to create a site-specific work incorporating images of Wisconsin flora on a big scale. McCavour also curated a show of artwork on campus that inspired her installation, alongside her own preparatory drawings and materials. The installation is on display through Sept. 11.

We hope it’s handy for you to find Picks grouped together in a single post. The individual Picks can still be found in the usual places online: collected here, and sprinkled throughout all the events.

Note: Many venues and businesses may continue to maintain individual requirements for masking, as well as proof of COVID-19 vaccination and/or a negative test for entry. Before heading out for any in-person event, confirm it is still taking place and check for any attendance guidelines on the relevant business websites or social media accounts.