With Joey Chestnut as a competitor, the Wisconsin State Fair cheese curd-eating contest is about to get serious

At noon on Saturday Aug. 11, in the Associated Bank Amphitheater of the Wisconsin State Fair grounds, the cheese curd eaters will begin their impressive cheese intake. The event will last approximately six minutes ending in a total prize package of $4,000.

Joey Chestnut

Among the competitors will be San José, California’s world champion Joey Chestnut, who has been a winner of Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. He broke his own world record this Fourth of July, eating 74 hot dogs over the course of 10 minutes.

Darron Breeden from Virginia, Andrew Kogutkiewicz from Racine, Gideon Oji from Georgia and Matthew Raible from Illinois will also be some of the highly ranked competitors.

“Success will need to be earned at The Wisconsin State Fair Cheese Curd Eating Championship,” Major League Eating emcee Sam Barclay stated. “Hand speed will be key, capacity will be a challenge — and every eater’s ability to overcome their dairy tolerance will be put to the ultimate test.”

This is the first time a world record will be set in cheese curd eating.

Back in 2005, the Common Council passed an ordinance requiring anyone selling a motorized scooter in the city to obtain a signed statement from the buyer indicating that the buyer is aware of the strict limitations on where these scooters can be operated.

The startup, Bird recently raised $300 million in their latest funding round and the company is valued around $2 billion. Earlier this month, San Francisco banned Bird scooters until they obtain permits. They’re also mandating a cap on the number of scooters allowed. In Nashville, the city is looking at lifting the ban later this summer, pending approval. Earlier this week, Bird also launched in Baltimore.

Soon, Uber and Lyft plan to get into the scooter business. If the trend of these scooters like Bird keeps growing nationwide, will Milwaukee change their mind?

“The quilts in Commemorating His Purple Reign: A Textural Tribute to Prince best represent the many and varied elements of creative ideas and techniques that have brought quiltmaking out of the sphere of functional domestic crafts to stand alongside the more universally recognized art forms, such as painting and sculpture, as a valid means of artistic expression. The imagination and ingenuity in the quilt community is extraordinary. The selected works were chosen based on strong composition, color, and construction technique. In addition, the work had to speak to the life, spirit, and music of Prince.” -Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi

Marliss Borenz Jensen

Fall In Love 2Nite

One of the pieces in the show was made by Marliss Jansen, a Minneapolis-based quilter who used to design costumes and dye fabrics for Prince and his backup singers. Over the years, Jansen saved the fabric samples. When she saw an open call for the exhibition, she created a work using the material.

If you’re truly devoted to celebrating Prince through every art form there is, you’ll want to experience this tribute.

U2 redefines the fourth wall

U2 has been at the forefront of the music industry for decades. This is partly due to the fact that the iconic Irish rock band has worked with the same creative director—Willie Williams—since 1982.

“That’s probably the reason why U2’s stage sets are some of the best, because they’ve had that continuity of practice in saying this is an art form we want to develop,” designer Es Devlin said in a recent interview.

In 2014, Devlin joined Williams and Stufish Studios to create U2’s 2015 iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour. Earlier this month, they unveiled the companion eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour for 2018.

Last week, I went to Chicago for the first of two shows at the United Center where U2 completely redefined the fourth wall by incorporating augmented reality into their stage design. 

U2’s eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour

The night began with a giant glacier melting in the middle of the arena. No one actually got wet though, as the glacier could only be seen through an augmented reality feature on the tour’s smartphone app. This technology truly shined during the opening song, when my phone showed a huge avatar of Bono towering above the singer, whose performance was being replicated by the avatar.

At first, the selection of Robert Indiana to design the floor of the Milwaukee Exposition and Convention Center and Arena, or MECCA, was controversial because the artist was from New York and openly gay.

But, when the people saw his floor unveiled in 1977, the masterpiece was adored.

That’s only part of a much longer story and history, though. There’s so much that ESPN did a short documentary on it in 2014, featuring Robert Indiana and the people who bought the court after the Bucks moved arenas. You can watch the short film, “The Floor That Made Milwaukee Famous,” here.

So where is Indiana’s MECCA floor today? Find out here.

Neil just released a video featuring the official nightmare for each of the 50 states. Wisconsin’s nightmare is a doozy: “Julie Andrews yells at you to shut up.”

For those living in Illinois, your nightmare is “multiplying crying babies.” Minnesota’s is “a surgeon pouring Spaghetti-Os into your chest.”

You can check out all of the nightmares in the cheeky video below.

1. Bands and (Cold) Brews – Monday, April 23, 7:30-9 a.m.
   Kick off your week with a hot (or cold) cup of Pilcrow coffee and some live music courtesy of Milwaukee’s own Abby Jeanne.
2. Becoming a (Boss) Lady – Monday, April 23, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
   After your morning of coffee and tunes, scoot on over to Northwestern Mutual for an inspired lunch with boss lady Megan Man, Group Creative Director at Learnvest. She’ll share words of wisdom on how she grew a design org from 6 to 60 in two and a half years.
3. Laughing Lunch – Tuesday, April 24, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
   Laughing Taco, 4 comedians to make you laugh and a pretty cool space to hang out in (though we may be a little biased).
4. Political Open Mic – Wednesday, April 25, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
   Dive deep into different aspects of Milwaukee’s education system – the highs and the lows. Hear from people on the left, right and center on their ideas for improvements. Good City Brewing is hosting so if things get dicey, there will be beer.
5. Creative Mornings: Game – Friday, April 27, 8:30-10 a.m.
   If you’ve never been to Creative Mornings, what are you waiting for?! This monthly treasure puts the TG in TGIF. This month’s theme is “Game” and the CM team is bringing in game designer Peggy Brown.

This list is chronological and does not reflect an actual ranking of anticipated fun by the author.

Also, all of these are free events. There’s a lot more going on during YPWeek 2018, but some sessions ask you to pony up some coin. For a full list, click here.

The liquidation process in all Bon-Ton stores begins on Friday April 20 and is expected to run for approximately 10 to 12 weeks. These going out of business sales include all the open Bon-Ton storefronts and their online shops for Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s and Younkers.

The Boston Store is the last major department store standing in the Grand Avenue Mall. For more than a century, Boston Store called itself “The Heart of Milwaukee” in the middle of what used to be a line of bustling retail on Wisconsin Avenue.

But, for our city, this location is more than a department store. It’s also home to its headquarters. The closing will make a larger impact here where Bon-Ton has over 700 employees at the downtown offices.

The times are changing for the retail industry and for department stores. And though the challenge just got bigger, we’re looking forward to seeing what the new Grand Avenue mall owners plan to do to revitalize the space and create new jobs.

A century in the making, 100 Seasons is an epic, 16-month celebration of the Packers’ rich history, which will be capped by the franchise’s 100th birthday on Aug. 11, 2019. A wide variety of events and activities will kick off over the next several months, with fans and community members invited to join in the numerous festivities.

Beginning in June, Lambeau Field Live will take the Packers on the road. This traveling interactive exhibit on the past and present of Lambeau Field will visit five locations around the state: Summerfest, the Northern Wisconsin State Fair, EAA AirVenture, the Wisconsin State Fair and Taste of Madison. The exhibit will include a Packers Hall of Fame, alumni meet-and-greets and a virtual reality display.

Later in the summer, timed to coincide with the beginning of training camp, fans are invited to Lambeau Field for the Packers Experience festival. It will be a four-day, free fest for fans of all featuring live music, a replica team locker room, USA Football kids’ clinics, Packers alumni question-and-answer sessions, photo stations and prizes.

The Packers Experience will begin Thursday, July 26. Fans can join all the free festivities on:

• Thursday, July 26: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Friday, July 27: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Saturday, July 28: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Sunday, July 29: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Packers Experience will also feature a theater playing a 12-minute excerpt from the new documentary, “Legacy: 100 Seasons of the Green Bay Packers.”

“Legacy” is a 10-part documentary series, featuring one- or two-hour films with each one dedicated to a decade of Packers history. The films will include never-before-seen footage and brand-new interviews with current and former players, telling the story of the Packers from the very beginning.

Additional portions of the documentary will be available on Packers.com and featured on game days this fall. “Legacy” will be completed in full in August of 2019, with the entire series available to view later in the fall of 2019.

A limited-edition 100 Seasons book will be published in 2019 and serve as a definitive history of the Packers. It will tell the story of the franchise from its birth in 1919 through the 2018 season and will include historic, engaging photographs.

100 Seasons will conclude with the Packers’ 100th birthday on Aug. 11, 2019.

The 100 Seasons celebration is now officially underway, with more information available on Packers.com/100 about each special event as the dates approach.

The indoor space, which will be named The Ivy House, is being redesigned to expose the cream city brick walls and windows that were covered up by the building’s previous owners. They said it will feature a modern and industrial aesthetic mixed with greenery, including ivy growing up the walls, and natural lighting to create a contemporary atmosphere.

The venue will also feature an outdoor space with a bar area, called Fernweh, that will be open to the public during summer months. Fernweh– a German word for wanderlust, or the urge to travel– will feature live performances by local artists and bands. It will remain open for the public even during private events in the venue’s main room.

They’ll also be working with food trucks and caterers for the events, since they won’t be offering house-made food.

Stay tuned for more info about events happening at this new space.