Madison’s Central Business Improvement District: Maxwell Street Days summer sidewalk sale celebrates 35 years of great shopping bargains, fabulous food and great music, July 16-18, 2010

MEDIA CONTACT: Mary Carbine, BID Executive Director, (608) 512-1340, mcarbine@visitdowntownmadison.com

MADISON, Wis. (June 21, 2010)—The 2010 Maxwell Street Days Summer Sidewalk Sale will take place on State Street in downtown Madison, Wis., from Friday, July 16 through Sunday, July 18. Hours are Friday-Saturday 8am to 6pm, and Sunday 10am to 5pm. For information (including where to stay, park, shop, dine, and things to see and do), see http://www.maxwellstreetdays.org or call (608) 512-1342

This annual sidewalk sale and community event showcases Madison’s unique State Street and Capitol Square shopping district. More than 100 shops, boutiques, galleries and restaurants—many locally owned—offer terrific bargains on clothing, jewelry, gifts, artwork, food, drink and more in this festive, family-friendly event. Participating shops and restaurants include longtime Madison favorites such as Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream (est. 1962), The Fanny Garver Gallery (est. 1972), Fontana Sports Specialties (est. 1972), Gino’s Restaurant (est. 1963), Nick’s Restaurant(est. 1959), A Room of One’s Own Bookstore (est. 1975), Sacred Feather (est. 1975), The Soap Opera (est. 1972) and State Street Brats (est. 1953), along with unique new shops and restaurants participating for the first time this year, such as Driftless Studio: Nature Gallery & Gifts, Lands’ End Canvas, Logan’s Madtown, Sweet Impressions, and Taste of Tibet. For a complete list of participating shops & restaurants (more still to be announced!) see http://www.maxwellstreetdays.org.

Live musical entertainment will be provided all three days courtesy of the Madison Folk Music Society and Madison Songwriters Group. Performers include six musicians from Chicago including Stereo Sinai, a duo of former UW Madison students, Alan Sufrin and Miriam Brosseau; Wisconsin favorites, Skip Jones, Tom Kastle, Steve Schad, Jim Schwall and Stephen Lee Rich. Local groups include KG and the Ranger, SubVocal, Banned Wagon, and talented teenagers, Macyn Taylor from Waterford and Isaac Stafstrom, a student at Madison West High School. Macyn returns for the 4th year and Isaac was the recipient of a Madison Folk Music Society scholarship. Macyn and Isaac will be featured on WORT radio’s Mud Acres with Chris Powers, Friday, July 16th at 11am. Stay tuned to http://www.maxwellstreetdays.org in weeks to come for announcement of full line-up and schedule.

Maxwell Street Days is the perfect centerpiece of a summer weekend getaway to Madison, where you can shop ‘til you drop, and then relax on the shores of Lakes Mendota and Monona, dine at one of more than 80 downtown restaurants, catch a show at the Overture Center for the Arts, or visit the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art or the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Monona Terrace and Convention Center.

For 35 years, Maxwell Street Days has provided bargains, culinary delights and music for more than 30,000 annual attendees. Why is there a “Maxwell Street Days” on State Street? Maxwell Street in Chicago, Ill., was home to a famed outdoor market and “urban bazaar” from 1871 to 1994. In 1975, Martin’s, a Madison, Wis., clothing store and tailor shop, founded an outdoor sidewalk sale to showcase the State Street shopping district, starting Madison’s very own “Maxwell Street Days” tradition.

Maxwell Street Days is organized by the Greater State Street Business Association (GSSBA), with support from Madison’s Central Business Improvement District (BID).