Get Your Copy of the August 2024 Issue

Sequins and Summer

Years and years ago, I went to see Liberace at Radio City Music Hall. Knowing that I enjoyed kitsch and spectacle, a friend recommended that I check him out. I entered skeptical and exited convinced. I remember nothing about what he played. What I do remember are blinding rhinestones and sequins, numerous costume changes, and that he arrived onstage via a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce. Totally wowed by the performance, I purchased a set of bars of soap in the shape of a grand piano as a souvenir. I needed a kitschy remembrance of this over-the-top event. 

I hope that Tom Kertscher’s story about Liberace’s origins in West Allis (page 84) spurs support for some sort of public recognition of the city’s most flamboyant son. And whatever they do, I hope there is plenty of glitz and glam involved. 

After reading Archer Parquette’s feature about Camp Minikani (page 92), I can’t help but feel that I missed something fundamental in my upbringing. I never attended camp, so I don’t know what it is like to be caught in a canoe in rough water with only a log as a paddle, and I don’t know the satisfaction of navigating this harrowing experience successfully. It seems like campers gain a positive sense of self, learn team spirit (that one-for-all-and-all-for-one feeling), and find the ability to assimilate with a group of strangers. That would have come in handy when I was a college freshman, but I could still use these tools! Camp Minikani, hear my plea – I’ll be the world’s oldest camper!

Here we are in the last month of summer (let’s not quibble about the calendar date when fall officially begins). What better time for a tailgate? Our package, starting on page 72, gives you guidance on how it is done, Wisco-style. Plus, there are lots of stories about all the good times to be had in an asphalt lot with some beer and brats, and a bunch of friends. 

So gather your crew and make the most of the warm weather. It won’t be long until the leaves are turning and life becomes serious business again. 

Carole Nicksin, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher
carole@milwaukeemag.com, @CaroleNicksin

In the Issue:

Features

• Temple of the Tailgate: Park the SUV, raise the back gate and bring out the grill; it’s time to tailgate. Our dive into Wisconsin’s tailgating scene covers how and why devotees do it – plus some ways to take your parked party to the next level.
• No Love for Liberace: West Allis’ most famous progeny – the flamboyant, massively successful showman Liberace – has neither a statue nor street nor even bench named in his honor in his hometown. What’s up with that? 
• A Place of Beginnings: Summer camp is where young people often find their true selves, and that formative experience is no more potent than at the long-running Camp Minikani in Hubertus.   
• The Big Story: MIAD President Jeffrey Morin is closing in on 10 years of transformation at the independent art and design college in the Third Ward.

Your 414

• Fest: This big boat party celebrates Milwaukee’s favorite bridge.
• People Places Things: A hefty set of earthshaking speakers, a recent grant supporting local theater for disabled artists, Bronzeville Week and more. 
• Close Up: Performer Taylor Flows teaches hundreds how to spin hoops and eat fire.
• Shop Local: Six essentials for a summer’s-end refresh
• Arts/Industry: Artists create and experiment in the Kohler factory in this residency running 50 years strong.

The Dish

• View: The Downtown skyline looks mighty fine from this cocktail lounge’s patio.
• Tidbits: A hundred years of cream puff love, Brandywine’s intimate, communal dining space, and other dining bits and bobs
• Review: Dissecting Bay View’s Room Service, one of 2024’s hottest new spots
• Chart: What do a lot of local chefs have in common? They’ve worked at a Bartolotta-owned restaurant.
• Remembrance: Paying tribute to Peggy Magister,  a pioneering restaurateur

Insider

• Mental Health: A key expansion of the county’s services
• Business: Meatpacker Strauss shutters metro Milwaukee factory.
• Vermin: We need to talk about Milwaukee’s rats.
• Update: Checking in on the reconstruction of a fire-gutted Downtown church

Explore

• Botanical gardens: A magical place that brings beloved children’s books to verdant life
• Sand dunes: Four Midwest parks to visit and what to know before you go
• Mountain biking: Think of this as Off-Roading 101.