What to do in Madison this weekend: Taste of Madison, Party in the Park and more Isthmus Picks

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Glow Zone, Thursday, Sept. 1, Madison Children's Museum, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.: All ages are invited to create a fairy-tale themed artwork...and then see what it looks like when viewed in black light. The Madison Children's Museum has transformed its Celebrations Room into an ultraviolet haven, and the last day is this Thursday. This activity is free with admission; note, the museum will close for its annual maintenance days Sept. 5-9, and switches to fall hours (Thursday-Sunday) when it returns.

Mean Girls, Aug. 30-Sept. 4, Overture Hall: Tina Fey adapted her screenplay for the 2004 film Mean Girls into a Broadway sensation, featuring music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin. Cady, formerly home-schooled, experiences culture shock when she starts attending a suburban Illinois high school. Revisit her war with “The Plastics,” rulers of the class. Fun fact: Fey based her screenplay on a self-help book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, by Rosalind Wiseman. Performances at 2 and 7:30 p.m., Sept. 1; 8 p.m., Sept. 2; 2 and 8 p.m., Sept. 3; and 1 p.m., Sept. 4.

The Sessions at McPike, Thursday, Sept. 1, McPike Park, 5-10 p.m.: The 2022 Sessions concert series comes to a close with a final evening of stellar music. Sept. 1 features the Lost Bayou Ramblers, a Louisiana band cross-pollinating Cajun music (mostly sung in Cajun French) with other genres; all-star regional support is provided by Cash Box Kings, The Civil Engineers, and Wagoner & Gaines in the tent between main stage sets. The Sessions at McPike are free, volunteer-run events to benefit six area nonprofit organizations: Intertribal Agriculture Council, Centro Hispano, Community Immigration Law Center, NAMI Dane County, WORT-FM and Urban League. Visit sessionsatmcpike.org for more information.

UW Cinematheque, Thursdays-Saturdays, 9/1-10/6, Vilas Hall-Room 4070, 7 p.m.: As the commercial theaters have all but abandoned art cinema in Madison, others continue working to screen new films that otherwise could only be seen at home, if at all. UW Cinematheque is taking its efforts to fill this programming gap to another level during the fall semester, screening a Madison premiere every Thursday. Sept. 1 kicks off the series with Fire of Love, an acclaimed documentary drawn from archival footage of volcano-studying scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft; upcoming Thursdays include films from France, South Korea, Belgium and Australia. Cinematheque is not abandoning its repertory of classics, though; of particular note this month are Little Murders, a 1971 directorial effort by Alan Arkin that is hilarious and horrifying, sometimes simultaneously (Sept. 10); and Francis Ford Coppola's neglected 1969 character study, The Rain People (Sept. 17). Find much more at cinema.wisc.edu.

Trevor Wallace, Sept. 1-3, Comedy on State, 7:30 & 10 p.m.: Trevor Wallace first built a following with Vine videos while he was in college, and continues making satirical videos on various topics; recent targets posted on his YouTube channel include entertaining slams on speakeasies and guys into vinyl records. He's also good at interacting with an audience, as documented in a clip from a recent tour stop in Canada ("She Got High on Kool-Aid??"). How will he slam audiences in Madison? If you bought tickets for his sold-out three-night stand, you will find out.

Rooftop Cinema, Thursday, Sept. 1, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 8 p.m.: MMoCA's rooftop film series explores a quartet of recent documentaries for its fall 2022 schedule. The final screening features North By Current, a personal documentary from filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax about truths discovered on returning to his hometown following the death of his niece, on Sept. 1. Ticket sales begin at 7:30 p.m. in the lobby; find more info on the series at mmoca.org.

The Bellwether Syndicate, Thursday, Sept. 1, Crucible, 8 p.m.: Dark, but often with a driving beat, The Bellwether Syndicate is definitely goth, but also, you know, fun. Or at least they're a good reminder of why loud metal can be a tonic to the soul. Stockholm's Then Comes Silence and Chicago's Bellhead open, in an equally dark and driving vein. Tickets here.

Rock River Thresheree, Sept. 2-5, Thresherman’s Park, Edgerton, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.: There is nothing like a tractor! They're powerful, but modest about it. They do more than plow. They'll pull your car out of a ditch. They maneuver like a freakin' robot! At this year’s Rock River Thresheree tractors made by Oliver, a 20th century American farm equipment manufacturer from the Midwest, will be featured. But there will be more vintage equipment on display, as well as demos of blacksmithing, milling, threshing and other farm activities, a huge flea market, and lots of food. More info at thresheree.com.

Party in the Park, Friday, Sept. 2, James Madison Park, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.: WSUM-FM, UW-Madison's student radio station, has planned a real blowout to celebrate the start of the fall semester. The free outdoor concert will feature two stages with nine bands and eight DJs filling the day with music, including favorites such as the mysterious and gothy guitar sounds of Interlay, genre-mixing UW student Deryk G, and emo-riffic Excuse Me, Who Are You? In case of rain, Party in the Park moves to Sept. 4; find schedule updates at wsum.org.

Kelly Jackson's Show Your Roots Band + She Rocks talk show, Friday, Sept. 2, Red Rooster, 5 & 8 p.m.: With the Impact Change campaign, singer-songwriter Kelly Jackson is working to raise awareness of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement, and raise funds to support victims and survivors of domestic violence. Learn more about the campaign during the She Rocks talk show (5 p.m., also streaming on Facebook), featuring the release of a new video for “Don't Speak,” a song from Jackson's 2015 album, Renditions of the Soul; advocates in the MMIW movement; performances by Indigenous artists; and more. Kelly Jackson's Show Your Roots Band will take the stage for a concert at 8 p.m.

Wisconsin State Cow Chip Throw, Sept. 2-3, Marion Park, Prairie du Sac: Behold the cow chip — a dried pile of odorless cow dung that provided life-sustaining fuel for early Midwestern settlers. Today, it’s the object of this long-running tradition in Prairie du Sac that includes live music, a food court, 5K and 10K runs, a volleyball tournament, children’s games, a parade, and (naturally) several different levels of competition ranging from the “Corporate Throw” to divisions for kids, adults and teams. Each contestant chooses two chips to chuck, and no gloves are allowed, according to the official “Chip Chuckin’ Rules.” Find the schedule at wiscowchip.com.

We Stand With Ukraine, Sept. 2-24, Overt Space Gallery, Stoughton: Ukraine native Ky Beskorovayny studied for a year in Cambridge, Wisconsin, as an exchange student. Following Russia's invasion, Beskorovayny has been working with former Cambridge classmates on fundraising projects; We Stand With Ukraine is an art exhibit featuring work by artists from Ukraine and the U.S. A portion of the proceeds from art sales will be donated, and other donations can be made via Flex Fundraising. The opening reception takes place from 6-8 p.m. on Sept. 2.

Love’s Labour’s Lost, Aug. 12-Oct. 2, American Players Theatre, Spring Green: APT's roots in Shakespeare will show as it mounts this talky but poetic early comedy, Love's Labour's Lost. The wordplay is never better as a king and his retinue commit to three years of distraction-free study. Then a princess and her party arrive. Artistic director of the whole company, Brenda DeVita, directs. Read Gwendolyn Rice's review here, and find tickets for this week's performances (8 p.m., Sept. 2; 6 p.m., Sept. 4; 7:30 pm, Sept. 8) at americanplayers.org.

Adem Tesfaye Band album release, Friday, Aug. 2, High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.: Songwriter and guitarist Adem Tesfaye landed back in his native Madison fairly early on during the COVID-19 pandemic and ended up staying. That's been a happy situation for local music listeners, who have once again had the chance to hear Tesfaye's unique mixture of funk, blues, hip-hop and rock from local stages on a regular basis. Tesfaye and band will unveil a new album at this show, a preview of which emerged in March in the form of the single “Pressure,” featuring Tesfaye and bandmates Lacouir Yancey (bass) and Joe White (drums). Guests for this concert include Jah Boogie, Doses, TC Thomas and Black Poet Society.

Baby Tyler, Friday, Sept. 2, Mickey's Tavern, 10 p.m.: Baby Tyler is most often a solo punk-rock recording project by Tyler Fassnacht (of Proud Parents and Fire Heads), but this show will feature a full band incarnation playing noisy delights from the Baby Tyler catalog. With Watermelon, a Chicago punk trio playing fast and super short songs; and DJ Mascara Snake. (Scene pro tip: Fassnacht's solo singer-songwriter project TS Foss also plays a show with accompaniment this month, Sept. 12 at the Bur Oak, on an excellent bill also including Dusk's Julia Blair and a solo set by Graham Hunt.)

Paoli Art in the Park, Sept. 3-4, Paoli Park: Paoli's art fair is back for the first time in two years and newly organized by the Southern Wisconsin Art Guild. But what you really need to know is this juried fair is yet another great reason to go to Paoli, a scenic hamlet with historic buildings housing shops and restaurants. It's also a popular bicycling destination from Madison. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday; more info at paoliartinthepark.org.

The Dig In, Saturday, Sept. 3, East Side Club, 2-8:30 p.m.: This Labor Day weekend blowout in the backyard at the East Side Club is coordinated by Free Dirt, a Madison trio mixing country soul, rock and mordant humor to great effect on albums like June's Spaghetti & Mothballs. The Dirtsters put together a stellar lineup of similarly musically unpredictable outfits including Educational Davis, Def Sonic, Redshift Headlights and the Nick Brown Band, plus between-set spinning from WORT-FM host The Other Mr. S and others. And cornhole, because, backyard.

Taste of Madison, Sept. 3-4, Capitol Square: Small plates from more than 70 food vendors ranging from small producers and food carts to caterers and restaurants. It's a food heaven all the way around the Square. and a great chance to check out vendors that can otherwise be hard to find — like the West African caterer Keur Fatou, or La Casserole, another catering business, that serves Togolese food. Or check out new bites from old favorites like The Old Fashioned and Lombardino's. The hours are 2:30-8:30 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sunday, and bands play on multiple stages both days; see the full schedule and vendor list at tasteofmadison.com.

Ben Mulwana, Saturday, Sept. 3, Cargo Coffee-East, 6:30 p.m.: Born in Uganda, Ben Mulwana is currently a Wisconsin resident, and building a following in the music world with a gently emphatic, soulful vocal style and strong songwriting. Mulwana's most recent release is the single “The Outside,” which slowly builds to an anthemic resolution. With Dana & the Joanis, aka singer-songwriter Dana Perry and drummer Jenna Joanis.

King Khan & BBQ, Saturday, Sept. 3, High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.: Arish Khan and Mark Sultan's long-running garage duo project (Khan plays guitar, Sultan guitar and drums, and both sing) became a surprise pop culture sensation over the winter of 2021-22 when the song “Love You So” from their debut album became an unlikely dominator of TikTok videos. Their shambolically surrealist concerts (and subversively humorous-to-scatological lyrical concerns) have never been able to fully conceal their core of pop songcraft and joyful rock 'n roll; now the world knows. With Miranda & the Beat, Roboman.

Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, Sept. 4-11, Festival Barn, DeForest: The 33rd edition of the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival is titled “Twilight Etchings,” an introspective title that composer and co-artistic director John Harbison says reflects his interest in light and shadow as well as a nod to the last strains of the festival. That's particularly relevant as this will be the final fest in its current incarnation as a fall event series, with shows taking place at 4 p.m. on Sept. 4 and 10-11 and 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 7. Find ticket and program information at tokencreekfestival.org and read more in Sandy Tabachnick's season preview at isthmus.com.

Mad City Ski Team, Sundays, through Sept. 4, Law Park, 5:15 p.m.: Heading to Law Park to see the Mad-City Ski Team perform their incredible balancing acts is a must at least once every summer. All volunteers, the skiers perform free most Sundays to Labor Day weekend, The team has won 11 national championships, one as recently as 2019. Bring a chair and your best cheering voice. And if you sit close to the lake, prepare to get splashed. And it's all free, happening most Sundays through Labor Day weekend. 

Atomic, Sunday, Sept. 4, Audio for the Arts, 8 p.m.: The jazz quintet Atomic is on a brief U.S. leg of their farewell tour, and the last stop is right here in Madison, hosted by BlueStem Jazz. The Norway-based group's compositions meld jazz and classical concepts with free improvisation in a dizzying, at times disconcerting fashion. Seats are very limited; find ticket info at bluestemjazz.org.

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.