Contact: Rita de Merit
Email: rita@newaukee.com
Phone: 414-273-1386
Program Alignment with Westown Farmers’ Market & River Rhythms along with the 4MKE Initiative Aims to Deepen Revitalization Efforts in the District
Milwaukee, Wisc. May 21, 2015 — NEWaukee is proud to announce the 2nd annual Night Market, a monthly open-air market that offers a wide variety of experiences for people of all backgrounds and ages on West Wisconsin Avenue between 2nd and 4th Streets. New this year are the programmatic and artistic collaborations that aim to connect the Westown Association Farmers’ Market and River Rhythms along with the Creative Alliance Milwaukee’s 4MKE Initiative to further expand upon the exciting momentum in the downtown’s western neighborhood.
NEWaukee founded the Night Market in the summer of 2014 with the goal of creating a free, vibrant, safe and interactive place in downtown Milwaukee for people to experience culture at night. The program features art and craft vendors, technology installations, food trucks, live art creation, performances, local music, a beer garden and interactive non-profit booths like the Wisconsin Humane Society’s Puppy Pit.
This year, the Night Market runs on West Wisconsin Avenue from 5 to 10 p.m. on the following Wednesday evenings: June 17th, July 22nd, August 19th, and September 16th. Westown’s River Rhythms takes place in Pere Marquette Park weekly on Wednesdays, June 10th to August 26th from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Westown’s Farmers’ Market occurs in Zeidler Union Square every Wednesday June 3rd to October 28th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Also new this year, Creative Alliance Milwaukee plans to activate a portion of the city-owned surface parking lot in an effort to establish a long-term development plan for this critical property along West Wisconsin Avenue. This daily activation will be an iterative, evolving space featuring “lighter, quicker cheaper” infrastructure and programming for the next two to five years. “Our intention is to position this parcel of West Wisconsin Avenue as a public square and a location for creative activities,” explains Maggie Kuhn Jacobus, President and CEO of CAM.
The physical proximity of the concurrent programs happening in Zeidler Union Square, Pere Marquette Park and the city-owned lot at 4th Street and Wisconsin Avenue will be highlighted through temporary chalk art displays, musical performances, paper lantern light installations and guided walking tours during NEWaukee’s Night Market.
“Westown has always been the place to be on Wednesdays during the summer,” said Angela Damiani, president of NEWaukee. “For 20 years, the Westown Association has hosted a delightful farmer’s market and one of Milwaukee’s famous free concert series. These programs have established a strong and vibrant culture; we hope that the monthly Night Market expands upon the public’s positive experience in Westown.”
Finding intentional points of connection for all three organizations’ programs and revitalization efforts is top of mind for organizers. Each group serves as Creative Placemaking Subcommittee members of the Wisconsin Avenue Milwaukee Development Corporation. “This collaboration is powerful as the potential impact of each organization’s production grows exponentially when they unite,” said Steve Chernof, president of the WAM DC. “Milwaukee only stands to gain from the joining of these efforts.”
For more information about the Night Market, please visit: www.newaukee.com.
For more information about the Westown Farmers’ Market and River Rhythms, please visit: www.westown.org.
For more information about Creative Alliance Milwaukee’s 4MKE Initiative, please visit: www.creativealliancemke.org.
