Celebrate Milwaukee’s Juneteenth with the Northcott Neighborhood House, one of the nation’s longest-running celebrations commemorating the liberation of enslaved people. Angela Fitzgerald meets longtime residents to discuss the historical significance of Juneteenth and the vibrant community spirit that drives this annual gathering.
Explore Bayfield with the Mushroom Man, Arne Martinson! Through his Northern Mushroom Tours, Martinson opens visitors’ eyes to the wonders of fungi. From the iconic red-and-white Amanita muscaria (yes, the mushroom emoji on your phone) to the delicate purple amethyst deceiver that glows after a rainfall, Martinson helps people discover colors and forms they never expected to find beneath the Northwoods canopy. Along the way, he shares stories of mushrooms that bleed milk, others that can make you sick, and a few that are simply breathtaking to behold.
Next, stop and ponder some art with curator Phoenix S. Brown. Before her current role at the Bronzeville Center for the Arts, Brown curated exhibitions at two of Milwaukee’s most iconic estates: the Charles Allis Art Museum and the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum. At the Allis, she carried forward Sarah Ball Allis’s vision to “inspire, delight, and educate,” transforming the mansion into a platform for contemporary artists, particularly those from marginalized communities. Brown worked to reinterpret the city’s opulent past, creating spaces for all Milwaukeeans…