After the brutal, no-contest victory over Austin Peay last Saturday, Badger fans deserve a mid-autumnal break. And there is no better way to do so than by heading down to a historic Madison neighborhood this Saturday, located just behind Camp Randall, for the 33rd annual Monroe Street Festival. To help ring in October the Monroe Street Merchants Association has been bringing together community businesses for over three decades, organizing a day of sidewalk blowout sales, live entertainment and also family friendly fun. Carol “Orange” Schroeder, co-owner of Orange Tree Imports on Monroe Street, Chair of the MSMA and Chair of the festival every year since its inception, says there are numerous reasons University of Wisconsin students would find it worth their while to journey over to the event and likely fall in love with the unique atmosphere of Monroe Street itself.
“The Madison Theater Guild is having a costume sale, and Mallatt Pharmacy is well-known for their costumes, so those are two wonderful pre-Halloween shopping opportunities,” Schroeder said. While Ragstock and Goodwill are already stocking their shelves for Halloween, a highly-celebrated holiday here in Madison, it seems those wanting to avoid buying a tired, last-minute outfit may find better luck in finding a jaw-dropping costume at the Monroe Street Festival to wear to Freakfest or just a freaky night out. “It’s a great way to get some bargains. There are some clothing stores in our area that do specialize in clothing for young women, and so getting bargains from participating stores like A Stone’s Throw that do a lot of outdoor clothing, clothing that I think they would find very appealing… I definitely think that there will be deals that they’ll be glad they came over for. Lots of possibilities for impulse shopping.”
Although they put on a holiday-themed event in the winter and a “Chocolate Walk,” this event is by far Monroe Street’s biggest of the year, spanning the full length of the street. Making an appearance will be a local funk, jazz and blues band called The Four Lakes Five, a garage band made up of young people by Monroe Street Fine Arts, a Gyspy Swing Group called Flo et Christo, an Irish Dancing troupe and a stilt walker, among many other performances. The Henry Vilas Zoomobile will be coming with their mascot, Leo the Lion, and the Monroe Street Public Library will be hosting a book sale, an enormous fundraiser for the library and a great source of inexpensive reading material for students.
“It’s always fun to see the kids out enjoying themselves, and as the co-owner of Orange Tree Imports it’s a really good day for us because it gives us a chance to put merchandise on sale that hasn’t sold as quickly so we have room for all the new things that are coming for Christmas,” Schroeder said. “Especially if it’s good weather it’s just really fun to go up and down the street and see people getting to know their neighbors, going to stores they haven’t seen before, getting food from tons of local restaurants… Down at Mallatt Pharmacy at the far end of the street, they’re doing a community cookout to benefit the Animal Care Fund at Lakeview Veterinary Clinic, that’s their next door neighbor. So you can tell it’s got a really good family feeling to it and a very friendly event.”
This neighborly cohesiveness was the exact goal Schroeder had in mind when she and other Monroe Street leaders constructed plans for the very first Monroe Street Festival, and the event has only grown and progressed from there.
“My original impulse back when we started the festival was to get the individual Monroe Street businesses to cooperate on a joint promotion and also get to know each other because, 33 years ago, we realized that neighboring businesses didn’t really have opportunities to get in contact with each other,” she said. “One of the things that we really pride ourselves on is that we don’t really view ourselves as competitors but we view ourselves as cooperating to bring people to our neighborhood and to all of the shops… It’s a really good feeling.”
The Monroe Street Festival, happening all day tomorrow, is held rain or shine, but in the past has only encountered bad weather a handful of times. Schroeder expects those in attendance to encounter even more fun and delight than they bargain for.
“If they’re shoppers, I’m guessing they’re going to go home with some really great buys, and otherwise it is a great autumn day to be out enjoying one of Madison’s oldest neighborhoods.”
