What's on in Madison, United States through the year

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Lake Mendota ice season (20 Dec – 5 Apr (usually))

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Lake Mendota ice season (20 Dec – 5 Apr (usually))

Busy — Spring break in United States

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Lake Mendota ice season (20 Dec – 5 Apr (usually))

Busy — Farmers' market on the Square

• Opening

  Farmers' market on the Square

  15 Apr – 10 Nov · usuallySummer season opensCrowded

  Saturday mornings from mid-April to early November, producers only, and everyone walks the Capitol Square anticlockwise because that is the rule. It moves indoors for the winter and is not the same thing. Source ↗

Still on: Lake Mendota ice season (20 Dec – 5 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Farmers' market on the Square, World's Largest Brat Fest

• Festival

  World's Largest Brat Fest

  22–31 May · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Memorial Day weekend, free entry, hundreds of thousands of bratwurst sold for charity with bands on all afternoon. Unserious and entirely sincere, which is the city in one weekend. Source ↗

Still on: Farmers' market on the Square (15 Apr – 10 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Farmers' market on the Square, Concerts on the Square

• Opening

  Concerts on the Square

  20 Jun – 5 Aug · usuallySummer season opensCrowded

  Six Wednesday evenings when the chamber orchestra plays on the Capitol steps and the lawn goes down under picnic blankets laid out from mid-afternoon. Free, and the blanket-placing has its own etiquette. Source ↗

Still on: Farmers' market on the Square (15 Apr – 10 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Farmers' market on the Square, Concerts on the Square

• Festival

  Art Fair on the Square

  5–20 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  A mid-July weekend when several hundred artists ring the Capitol and the whole Square closes to traffic. The museum runs it, and the smaller fair on the streets off it is where the cheaper work is. Source ↗

Still on: Farmers' market on the Square (15 Apr – 10 Nov (usually)), Concerts on the Square (20 Jun – 5 Aug (usually))

Peak crowds — Farmers' market on the Square, Concerts on the Square

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Farmers' market on the Square (15 Apr – 10 Nov (usually)), Concerts on the Square (20 Jun – 5 Aug (usually))

Peak crowds — Farmers' market on the Square, Ironman Wisconsin

• Festival

  Ironman Wisconsin

  1–15 Sep · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedClosuresBook early

  The swim goes off Monona Terrace at dawn and the bike course shuts roads across the county for most of the day. Downtown hotels sell out a year ahead for a race that has run here since 2002. Source ↗

Still on: Farmers' market on the Square (15 Apr – 10 Nov (usually))

Busy — Farmers' market on the Square

• Nature

  Autumn colour

  1–28 Oct · usually

  Peak lands in the middle two weeks of October, and the isthmus does it well because you get the colour reflected off two lakes at once. The Arboretum and the Picnic Point walk are where everyone goes.

Still on: Farmers' market on the Square (15 Apr – 10 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Farmers' market on the Square, Thanksgiving break in United States

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Farmers' market on the Square (15 Apr – 10 Nov (usually))

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Lake Mendota ice season

  20 Dec – 5 Apr · usuallyRisk

  The freeze and thaw of Mendota have been recorded since 1855, which makes the ice here one of the longest climate records anywhere, and it is arriving later. When it holds, the lake fills with ice boats, skaters and fishing shanties. Source ↗