Every month, Adam Carr from the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service joins Lake Effect to talk about community events in Milwaukee. As the weather continues to shine brighter and more Milwaukeeans get vaccinated, more opportunities to come together around the city are happening.
The list includes a wide array of things to enjoy, both virtually and in-person, this April.
1. Making Rent: A Conversation About Eviction Prevention And Tenants Rights
A virtual conversation hosted by New414, a collaboration between the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and Wisconsin Watch. The event will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, April 7.
A panel of housing and community experts, moderated by Carr, will discuss frequently asked questions faced by renters in challenging and urgent circumstances.
“We’re going to be discussing the kinds of roadblocks that renters face, especially right now through the pandemic,” he says. “This event is gonna be really to help answer questions that are burning questions on people’s mind.”
2. In Search of a Benevolent Kind of Blue Art Exhibit
Created by artist Mutòpe J. Johnson, this exhibition is focused on Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood. The exhibit will be open April 8 to May 13. Located in the UWM Union Art Gallery, Johnson’s work will be available online and in-person for UWM student, faculty and staff.
“Mutòpe’s depictions of Bronzeville, a lot of what used to be Bronzeville in Milwaukee has since been torn down, he really makes it come back alive with his work,” Carr says.
3. Alice’s Garden Community Work Day
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 10, Alice’s Garden will be holding its first community work day of the 2021 growing season. Located near the intersection of North 20th Street and West Garfield Avenue, the urban farm invites people of all ages to come together and help prepare the soil as spring arrives.
“Bring garden gloves, reusable water bottle and tools — they’ll also have plenty of tools there, and they’re really just going to get the garden ready for the growing season,” he says. “It’s just a beautiful place to soak in the city and be with other people.”
4. Neighborhood Community Cleanups
Winter can leave behind trash and other garbage around the city. As the weather continues to improve, neighbors will be putting together community cleanups to collect and dispose of that garbage.
On Saturday, April 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Near West Side and Washington Park neighbors are meeting up at Tiefenthaler Park. Pete’s Pops on the Near West Side will also be doing a cleanup on April 17 at 10 a.m. and each participant will get a free popsicle.
Milwaukee Riverkeeper will be hosting cleanups at over 70 locations across the city on Saturday, April 24, participants will all get a free t-shirt.
“I love cleaning because I think sometimes my life is about creating abstract units of good, so I love doing cleanups, I love looking at some grass then looking at it 10 minutes later and seeing it totally clean,” Carr says.
5. Amplify: First Stage’s BIPOC Play Series
Starting April 16, First Stage will begin its Amplify series, which will bring to life three plays from BIPOC playwrights that center on a young person’s point of view — thus, amplifying the voices of these artists and young people throughout our community, Carr says.
The first play titled Copper Horn In Water, was written by Ty Defoe and is based on traditional Anishinaabe storytelling. It will be performed by students from Milwaukee’s Indian Community School and be streamed April 16 to May 16.
“I’m fascinated just reading the description of it, ‘North is a curious underwater creature who has earned their copper horns, a coming-of-age ritual that gives these young creatures power underwater,'" he says.
