Willy Street Co-op Mural Dedicated

Graffiti artist/activist tapped as part of ongoing neighborhood art project

“The Siamese Twins”, a mural painted on the Willy East Co-op by Brazilian Graffiti Artist Panmela Castro.

A large mural, covering the entire west side of the Willy Street Co-op East, was dedicated July 6 with a reception in the courtyard of the Co-op building along Jenifer Street. “The Siamese Twins” mural is one phase of the Marquette Neighborhood Association (MNA) Art and Culture Committee’s Public Art Concept, an ongoing project in coordination with the City of Madison Arts Coordinator that will populate the Willy Street Corridor with various art projects.

The Committee commissioned Brazilian graffiti artist Panmela Castro to design and paint the mural. Many in the neighborhood may have already seen her work earlier this year on the side of the Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse permission wall. Castro grew up in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro and soon established herself in the Rio arts scene, going by the graffiti name Anarkia.  Continue reading

Willy Street Co-op Expansion Pays Off

Co-op profitable two years ahead of schedule

Perfect weather made for a great opening night to La Fete de Marquette 2012. Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble, plus Sarazino got the crowd dancing.

The first day of La Fete de Marquette was a nice mix of community, fun, and music. It was the perfect night to start a 4-day music festival with temperatures in the mid-70s, no wind and clear skies. The Willy Street Co-op held their annual membership meeting on the grounds, offering a free dinner to members, while also reporting on the state of the Co-op 18 months after opening Willy West in Middleton.  Continue reading

La Fete de Marquette is Magnifique

Four day music festival growing with style

La Fete de Marquette, July 12-15, 2012 in the Marquette Neighborhood.

The seventh annual La Fete de Marquette, celebrating French music and culture, begins today (July 12) at the corner of South Dickinson and East Main Streets. While Pere Marquette did traipse through these lands in the 1600s (see Portage, Wisconsin), the relative lack of a historical French connection to the Marquette neighborhood will not stop them from holding a really cool party for Bastille Day.

The free four-day event is one of the “Big Four” Marquette neighborhood summer festivals and is a fundraiser for the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center.

Continue reading

The Best Goat Salami in America

Underground Meats goes whole-hog with local hand-crafted charcuterie

Inside The Cure Box at Underground Meats.

I discovered Underground Meats much in the same way the name suggests: not screaming from a sign or on a loud TV commercial but by word of mouth and a chance encounter on the patio at Mickey’s. There was beer, really tasty brats, and then there, in the corner; some kind gentlemen offering salami samples, including something I had never seen or tried: Goat Salami.

It’s really not that mysterious. Underground Meats is part of the Underground Food Collective (UFC), which is a group that focuses on all kinds of different artisan food projects. UM focuses on dry-curing sausages and whole muscles as well as producing some fresh sausage. The operation is a nod to the days when local production of foods was more prevalent.  Continue reading

Eastside Farmer’s Market Debuts

The Eastside Farmer’s Market made it’s 2012 debut in the parking lot of the Immanuel Lutheran Church across from the Wil-Mar Neighborhood center (953 Jenifer Street) on an eventful Tuesday this week. Earlier in the day Kathleen Falk voted at Wil-Mar in the Wisconsin Recall Primary and then moved to the parking lot to address the press as preparations for the market were underway.

A quick canvass of the vendors showed a nice mix of farm and garden-fresh produce, cheese, honey, potted plants, and even chemical-free lamb. The weekly market, sponsored by Wil-Mar and the Willy Street Co-op, will be held each Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. through December 18.