Despite the bitter cold, things are heating up in Milwaukee, at least in terms of local events. Among other things, February kicks off the start of Black History Month and offers Milwaukeeans opportunities to get together and celebrate that history.
Adam Carr from the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service shares some of the many community events happening this month in the city.
Here's the top 5 events happening this month:
1. Grand Re-opening of America's Black Holocaust Museum
The first event Carr highlights is the grand reopening of America's Black Holocaust Museum. The event will take place on Feb. 25, starting with a ribbon cutting at 9 a.m. Carrs says the museum has been pouring every bit of expertise and wisdom into the newly developed museum.
"I'm so excited for all of the visitors to that museum. Especially [for] students that will be able to be part of something we're not good at in Milwaukee or in the Midwest, which is a really challenging conversation about race and racism through the history of this country."
2. Club Noir Release Party
The next event on the list is the Club Noir Release Party, which will take place at Between Two Galleries, 423 W. Pierce Street, on Feb. 12, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Club Noir is a book by Milwaukee local poet Kavon Cortez Jones and Cortez Jones himself will theatrically perform his narrations about Milwaukee.
"It is a book that imagines a hypothetical cafe nightclub on King Drive. So Kavon sort of invented this space an in his words,'It's were Black and brown folks come to be human without the oppressor.' I bought it five years ago when he published it and he said, 'You know what, it's time to do a release party," Carr says.
3. Milwaukee Mayoral Candidate Forum
It's no secret that Milwaukee is currently looking for its next mayor. On Feb. 9 from 7 to 9 p.m., Milwaukee residents are invited to go to Turner Hall to hear the seven candidates discuss important issues during the mayoral election forum.
Listen MKE is one of the hosts, and Charles Benson from TMJ4 and James Causey from the Milwaukee Journal Sectional will moderate the forum. It's free and open to the public but registration for in-person attendance is required.
"Sometimes I think primaries don't fly quite as high on the radar for people, but this is really going to determine who will then be able to become Mayor of Milwaukee. So it's a critically important event, we are going to be able to get to hear from this pretty wide open field of mayoral candidates."
4. Fourth Annual “Phobruary” in Silver City
Pho is a soup that is typically known to be Vietnamese, but it's also common in the Laos and Thailand community. Milwaukee has a substantial Hmong and Laos population.
Every February, restaurants in the Silver City Neighborhood do this promotion called "Phobruary" where participating restaurants offer a bowl of pho for $5. This year, Tai Barbecue and Vientiane Noodle Shop are participating throughout the month.
"There's nothing that warms the heart and the body like a big delicious bowl of soup. I'll say on a personal note, when I need comfort. I just live a few blocks away from these restaurants. That's where I go. I call an order for pho," says Carr.
5. For the Love of Parks and Sake With Tarik Moody
This event will take place at Lincoln Park and is a collaboration between the Milwaukee Parks Foundation and Tarik Moody, digital director of strategy and innovation at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, who is also a certified sake professional.
On Feb. 12, from noon to 1 p.m., 20 people chosen at random will be able to attend a sake taste testing event with Moody.
"If you're interested in a sake, a sake tasting event with Tarik Moody, who is a just world class guy who's been investing in his adopted home of Milwaukee, and want the chance to learn more about the Milwaukee Parks Foundation and how to support our parks—this is an event for you," says Carr.
