Fond du Lac events through April include food, sturgeon specials and a few downtown firsts
FOND DU LAC – Even if the weather's not nice, Fond du Lac residents can have a good time this winter and spring.
Fond du Lac's lineup of events for the next few chilly months include newly created ones from the minds at Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership, plus returning favorites across the city and opportunities for entertainment or to fill up on beer and food specials, from chili to chocolate.
Whether you're looking for something to do alone, with a friend or as a group, here are some events to check out in Fond du Lac so far, from now through April.
January offers opportunities to shop or hang out
Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership's Winter Market will continue from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays through Feb. 25 at 16 E. Second St. Vendors offer Wisconsin-grown produce, plants, baked goods, art and other handmade items.
This Saturday marks downtown's first-ever Soup Walk from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a number of soup samples at participating businesses such as 18 Hand Ale Haus, the UPS Store, Hotel Retlaw and The Main Pub.
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Throughout the month, Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership is leading the Jan-YOU-ary initiative, for which the partnership features its downtown businesses that can help customers achieve their resolutions for the new year, whether in mind, body or spirit. The full list of businesses involved is available on the partnership's website, and one is featured daily on the partnership's Facebook page.
January events at the Fond du Lac Public Library, 32 Sheboygan St., include the new Dead Good Book Group for teens and adults to discuss mystery, suspense, thriller and true crime books at 6 p.m. Thursday, and children will have the opportunity to read to a therapy dog with the Paws to R.E.A.D. event from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
February in Fond du Lac means sturgeon and beer
The Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts will team up with The Cellar District for the first-ever family-style farm to table dinner starting at 6 p.m. Feb. 3 at The Cellar District, 40 E. Division St. Diners can sit down to a meal with the farmers that contributed to it as a way to get to know where their food comes from and the effort behind it.
A cocktail hour will start the evening at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. featuring curry meatballs, salmon spread, braised brisket, mashed potatoes and winter root vegetables, all with music entertainment from Sam Luna and Friends.
The price is $60 per person, and reservations can be made through thelmaarts.org, by calling 920-921-5410 or visiting the center, 51 Sheboygan St.
Brew Fest, Fond du Lac's winter answer to Oktoberfest, will feature more than 200 brews from 30 Wisconsin craft breweries starting at 4 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds Expo Center, 520 Fond du Lac Ave.
Participating breweries include Appleton Beer Factory, Knuth Brewing Company of Ripon, Fifth Ward Brewing Company and Fox River Brewing Company of Oshkosh, Ope Brewing Company of West Allis and Public Craft Brewing Company of Kenosha. The event will also offer wine, mead and cider from Wisconsin businesses such as Ziegler Winery, Hidden Cave Cidery and Off Balance Meadery.
Lederhosen will be encouraged, with a prize on the line for best-dressed.
Tickets are $45 for general admission and can be purchased at local Brick House and Craft City Bottleshop & Taproom, as well as hometowntickets.com. VIP and VIP Gold tickets are available only at hometowntickets.com. Proceeds from this year will benefit the Fond du Lac Community Theatre.
Sturgeon Spectacular kicks off the sturgeon spearing season Feb. 10 with the Wisconsin Snow Sculpting Championship and a kick-off concert with Sam Luna & Friends 7 p.m. at the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts.
Feb. 12 events include curling, horse-drawn carriage rides, a community bonfire and Snow Land for the children, all at Lakeside Park. Ice carvers will create sculptures across the downtown area throughout the day.
Local businesses will have specials for sturgeon spearing's opening weekend, including Sturgeon Snicker Doodles at Annie's Fountain City Café, 72 S. Main St.; the Lake Winnebago-themed Winnecoco hot cocoa at Gathered Roots, 15 N. Main St.; and the Sturgeon Potion cocktail featuring blackberry brandy at Wendt's on the Lake, N9699 Lakeshore Drive, Van Dyne.
Downtown Fond du Lac's 14th annual Chili Crawl will also coincide with the Sturgeon Spectacular from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 11, giving participants an opportunity to try 13 different chili concoctions for $10 throughout a downtown tour and vote for their favorite.
Last year's top voted chilis were Brick House for restaurant chili and Korneli’s Bar — for the third year in a row — for home-cooked chili. Tickets are available at downtownfdl.com.
Coinciding with this event is a brand-new one focused on dessert. Also on Feb. 11, downtown visitors can participate in the city's first Sweet Stroll, tasting different sweet treats from 13 participating businesses, some of which will overlap with the Chili Crawl. Tickets for the Sweet Stroll are also $10, available at downtownfdl.com.
The THELMA also will kick off its Great Hall Concert Series that evening with Copper Box's free show at 7 p.m. in the center's Great Hall.
The next concert in the series is Dueling Pianos at 6 p.m. Feb. 18. General admission is $20 for members and $25 for non-members, with options to reserve tables for two or four people, and also add dinner to the show. Tickets are available under the event listing at thelmaarts.org.
Fond du Lac Community Theatre's production of "Disenchanted!" will change the perception of tiara-wielding princesses to royal renegades. It runs at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16 through 18 and 2 p.m. Feb. 19 at Goodrich Little Theater, 72 W. Ninth St.
The show is directed by Cody Lindau, with music director Hannah Koechel. Tickets are available at hometowntickets.com.
Mark your calendars for these other spring events
The St. Patrick's Day Parade will kick off at 3 p.m. March 11 from the corner of East Rees and North Main streets, traveling south on Main Street to Veterans Park.
Following the parade, anyone of age can stick around the downtown area for live music, green beer, Irish food and giveaways at the St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl. More details and specials will be revealed as the event gets closer.
Fond du Lac Community Theatre will give the first Wisconsin and first in-person performance of "A Crooked French Affair" March 23 through 26 at Goodrich Little Theatre.
The story, written by Fond du Lac playwright Kim Ryule, follows Perry as he struggles to pitch and then put on his play, a dramatic romance set in the royal court of Louis the 15th, against all odds. Tickets will go on sale in February.
The Easter Egg Walk will return downtown April 1, inviting children of all ages to collect Easter eggs filled with candy and prizes from various downtown businesses. Tickets will be available starting March 6.
The first downtown Beer & Seltzer Crawl will take place April 15. Watch the Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership website and Facebook page for more information as it becomes available.
The Great Hall Concert Series at the THELMA will continue through May. Prices will vary, available through individual event listings on thelmaarts.org. The shows in the series are as follows:
Davina and The Vagabonds, March 3
Tae & The Neighborly, March 10
Pegasis, March 24
Salsa Manzana, May 5
Kyle Megna and The Monsoons, May 12
Cathy Grier & The Troublemakers, May 19
Did we miss an event? Contact Daphne Lemke at dlemke@gannett.com to let us know.
This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Brew Fest, Sturgeon Spectacular highlight upcoming Fond du Lac events
