After almost a half-century the Milwaukee Brewers have made it back to the World Series, and the city is rallying behind them. A monumental occasion such as this requires something Wisconsin does best, a killer block party, and the Third Ward Beer Garden is throwing it.
From noon-11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24, the Beer Garden and its partner the Historic Third Ward Association are shutting down Menomonee Street between Broadway and Milwaukee for this baseball-themed bash. Local food trucks are set to gather at Catalano Square where large screens will stream the game, and the beer garden is serving special Brewers-themed cocktails.
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The Third Ward Beer Garden was approached by the team at FOX One, FOX’s sports livestream application, after seeing the watch parties the beer garden was hosting during the regular season. Owner of the garden, Dave Hock, said he received a call a few weeks ago asking if they could host their podcast Foul Territory, live in Catalano square if the Brewers made it to the World Series.
“Well, sure enough, we’re in the World Series and FOX is coming with this big set up from Los Angeles,” Hock said, a longtime Brewers fan.
The live tapings of Foul Territory, happening Friday and Saturday from 5-7 p.m., will feature former Brewers All-Star pitcher Corey Knebel, MLB outfielder Kevin Pillar and national broadcaster Alanna Rizzo. FOX One is also hosting a Relive Live experience in the square. Setting up a mock living room filled with retro furniture, iconic Brewers memories, signed baseballs, bobblesheads and more, fans have the chance to step backward into the old world of baseball.
Hock and his team are also hosting a World Series ticket giveaway on Friday night. Anyone can enter from noon-5:15 p.m. when the name is drawn. The winner gets two tickets to that night’s game and will be shuttle bussed to the stadium for the 7 p.m. game time.
“We’re really excited about that,” Hock said. “Lots of buzz going on down here in the Third Ward and I think it’s reverberating… I think a lot of people are going to be coming to watch this and there’s going to be great energy.”
Fans are also getting the chance to experience sports broadcasting live from the park with the Bill Michaels Show. Michaels, known for his work on Wisco Sports Zone, is underscoring the event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with his familiar sports talk and analysis of the Brewers historic season.
“I’m really excited that the beer garden’s part of [this],” Hock said. “It’s a place to mix and mingle and we got an awesome set up with the TVs for the game watch… It’s also going to help show off the Third Ward as an area for people to come down. We want people to mingle around, hit the rest of the Ward, see some of the other bars and restaurants [and] also do some shopping.”
To quote Bob Uecker’s broadcast partner Dwayne Mosley, “Milwaukee, you have a World Series!”
