Be MKE: $3 movie and $6 Brewers tickets? Yes! A 'colder than normal' winter? No thanks.

Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·7 min read

Who we are. Where we go. What we need to know.

We're gonna need some background music for this intro. May I suggest "All Star" by Smash Mouth.

After years in Madison, Shrekfest is coming to Milwaukee for the first time. (Yes, there is such a thing as Shrekfest.)

It has contests. It has local vendors. It has live music. And, a screening of a movie — I'll let you guess what it is.

According to Shrekfest's co-founder and director Grant Duffrin, "everyone's favorite" contest is: Drum roll, please ... onion-eating.

Could I do it? Probably not. But would I want to? Also no.

I'm not really a big onion gal. My exceptions: Baked French onion soup, onion rings, Funyuns and French onion dip with potato chips.

Anyways, the fest runs from 3 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Humboldt Park, 3000 S. Howell Avenue. Here's just about everything else you could need to know about the event.

A photo from a previous Shrekfest in Madison. In 2022, it will be held at Humboldt Park in Milwaukee on Sept. 3.
A photo from a previous Shrekfest in Madison. In 2022, it will be held at Humboldt Park in Milwaukee on Sept. 3.

Let’s talk business

President Joe Biden will be visiting Milwaukee on Monday to celebrate Labor Day. He's planning to speak at the city's Laborfest to honor "the dignity of American workers," according to the White House. The visit comes as Biden's approval rating in Wisconsin is low. Midterm elections in the state are just over two months away.

The iconic Koz's Mini Bowl is being sold — and its taxidermy and four 16-foot mini bowling lanes (the longest continually running mini bowling lanes in the state) will be included. The bar, 2078 S. Seventh Street, went up for sale Thursday after 44 years of business with the Kosakoski family. "I'm just ready for the next chapter of my life," said Justin Kosakoski, the seller of the building and business. "It's a lot of emotions. We've built a legend here in Milwaukee. I just hope it continues as Koz's, that's my dream." His dad purchased the building and began the business in 1978.

Koz's Mini Bowl is up for sale after 44 years of business.
Koz's Mini Bowl is up for sale after 44 years of business.

The area's only remaining Polish restaurant will be closing. Polonez — which Aleksandra and George Burzynski opened in 1983 — will close on Sept. 25. The restaurant, 4016 S. Packard Ave., St. Francis, is known for its classic Polish cuisines, including bigos (hunter's stew), czarnina (duck-blood soup), pierogi and more. My personal favorite? The dill pickle soup. Polonez will continue with its Sunday buffet until closing. Starting Thursday, the restaurant will serve a limited menu buffet-style for those dining in or for takeout. Customers are asked to call ahead for particularly large to-go orders. The restaurant's new hours are 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, with the last seating at 7:45 p.m.

The Polish plate at Polonez restaurant featured potato pancake, pierogi, stuffed cabbage roll in tomato sauce, Polish sausage and red cabbage.
The Polish plate at Polonez restaurant featured potato pancake, pierogi, stuffed cabbage roll in tomato sauce, Polish sausage and red cabbage.

Pandemic rebound story: Potawatomi casino edition. The Potawatomi tribe's Milwaukee casino, 1721 W. Canal Street, won at least $388 million — and likely more than $400 million — from gamblers during the 12-month period that ended June 30. That's nearly $100 million more than it raked in during the prior 12-month period. In 2019 — the last full year before the pandemic struck — gamblers lost at least $406 million to Potawatomi slot machines and table games. While the casino's financial rebound is significant, it lagged behind that of other tribal casinos across the nation.

Out and about

What can $3 get you? McDonald's (shoutout $1 $2 $3 Menu), a couple of items at The Dollar (or should I say Dollar Twenty-Five) Tree — and on Saturday, a movie ticket. Saturday is National Cinema Day, and most theaters in the Milwaukee area and beyond are celebrating by offering $3 tickets for all movies showing that day. Note: The tickets do not include applicable local taxes or third-party ticket fees. Here's which movie theaters around here are participating.

Marcus Theatres, which operates the Majestic Cinema in Brookfield among scores of others in Wisconsin, is taking part in National Cinema Day, offering $3 movie tickets on Sept. 3.
Marcus Theatres, which operates the Majestic Cinema in Brookfield among scores of others in Wisconsin, is taking part in National Cinema Day, offering $3 movie tickets on Sept. 3.

Whether you like it — or not, Summefest's three-day format will continue in 2023. America's largest music festival will return to Maier Festival Park June 22 to 24, June 29 to July 1 and July 6 to 8. General-admission tickets and artist announcements will be available in the coming weeks, according to a Milwaukee World Festival news release.

T-Pain performs at the UScellular Connection Stage during Summerfest on Sept. 2, 2021.
T-Pain performs at the UScellular Connection Stage during Summerfest on Sept. 2, 2021.

Don’t go hangry

All the way back in June, we talked about how a new riverfront restaurant, The Bridgewater Modern Grill, is coming to Milwaukee's Harbor District. We have an update on that: The operator, Benson's Restaurant Group, has hired two key staff members and also disclosed more about the menu, much of which hinges on a custom Jade wood-fired grill. Steve Gustafson, previously of the Third Ward's Kimpton Journeyman hotel, will be the executive chef, and Rik Acken, who's been the general manager at some of the restaurant group's past and present eateries, will be the GM. Now, let's talk food. The oak-fired grill will be used for items like roasted oysters, trout, steaks, chicken and veggies. There will also be king trumpet mushrooms from local grower Mushroom Mike that are marinated, grilled and seared with tamarind glaze and served with sunchoke puree and carrot greens; salads; ribs; and a Wagyu beef burger cooked smash-patty style, topped with coal-roasted shallot, sherry reduction, Gruyere cheese and roasted-garlic aioli on brioche. The restaurant's wine list that's expected to feature about 90 bottles will focus on single-estate wines from around the world. The restaurant, at 2011 S. First St. in the new River 1 complex, is expected to open in mid-October along the Kinnickinnic River.

The outdoor dining area at the future Bridgewater restaurant at 2011 South 1st Street in Milwaukee on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022. The Marcus Corp's Benson's division restaurant, in the River 1 development, is expected to open in mid-October 2022.
The outdoor dining area at the future Bridgewater restaurant at 2011 South 1st Street in Milwaukee on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022. The Marcus Corp's Benson's division restaurant, in the River 1 development, is expected to open in mid-October 2022.

Here are the talkers

Apparently the upcoming winter will be snowy and "colder than normal" in southern and eastern Wisconsin. That's according to the annual forecast by the Old Farmer's Almanac. Yeah, that's gonna be a no from me. Just how accurate are the almanac's winter predictions? During its 231 years of making winter predictions, the Old Farmer's Almanac says it’s had about an 80% accuracy rate. And how does the almanac come up with its long-term weather predictions? It employs three scientific disciplines: solar science, climatology and meteorology.

JMatt, a popular Milwaukee TikToker and senior content strategist, founded and runs a local, social media-focused community — called HashtagMKE — to bring content creators, influencers, social media enthusiasts and many others together to network, troubleshoot, share ideas and collab offline and in person. And there's a pretty good chance you've already "met" the group's founder. Maybe you saw him judge this summer's Red Bull Flugtag in Milwaukee, used one of his GIFs (which have over 260 million views) or are one of the more than 181,100 TikTok followers who've watched him explore and highlight the restaurants, food, events and unique experiences Milwaukee offers.

An Aug. 2019 HashtagMKE social at Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel in Milwaukee.
An Aug. 2019 HashtagMKE social at Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel in Milwaukee.

Starting Sunday, Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon — who's from Eau Claire — will host his first radio show, “Song Chest Radio Hour." It will broadcast exclusively through WYMS-FM (88.9), aka Radio Milwaukee. Here's more on the show.

I'll see your ghosting and breadcrumbing and raise you this. "Mark - your friendship means the world to me - let's not wreck it". Someone paid $100 to get that fan message on the scoreboard during Monday night's game between the Brewers and Pirates. Sure sounds like Mark got friend zoned — and in front of an entire stadium. Of course the Twittersphere got a hold of this, and there was an outpouring of support for Mark — even from Christian Yelich. He tweeted: "Down 2 in the 8th inning, the dugout looked up, saw this, and said “let’s win one for Mark”. We got you man."

Speaking of the Brewers, they announced that they'll be offering massive ticket discounts to celebrate the 100 millionth fan in franchise history. The club's "Thanks a (Hundred) Million" ticket offer will feature $6 tickets for the terrace or loge bleachers with an additional $6 concession/merchandise value loaded onto the ticket, for any September or October weekday (Monday-Thursday) home game, on sale from 10 a.m. Wednesday through midnight Thursday. Here's how to score that offer.

Milwaukee Brewers fans cheer ahead of Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Brewers fans cheer ahead of Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

Be MKE,

Hannah

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To see what I'm up to around the city, follow me on Instagram @hannahhopekirby. Always keeping it pretty profesh over on Twitter @hannahhopekirby. Be MKE love or comments can be sent to hannah.kirby@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Be MKE: $6 Brewers tickets? Yes! Colder than normal winter? No thanks.