Madison at 150

Madison will celebrate its sesquicentennial this year.

A party on Sunday, April 9, at Monona Terrace to celebrate Madison's 150 years is one of the highlights planned for a yearlong celebration of the city's sesquicentennial.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz was to announce full details of the festivities ahead at a press conference this afternoon, but so far it appears that the weekend of April 8-9 will be the centerpiece, with a formal commemoration event the evening of Friday, April 7, tours and other events on April 8, and the main party from 1 to 6 p.m. on April 9.

I have received an advanced copy of the plans for Madison's celebration. Highlights of the festivities include:

10:00 am - Anti nuclear energy activists will celebrate Madison's distinction as a nuclear free zone at the UW Nuclear Reactor Laboratory.

11:15 am - Kathy Falk will announce the celebration is really 'for the children.'

Ongoing - Ed Garvey will be angry about something betraying the LaFollette legacy, over which he has sole authority.

2:00 pm - After the hide-and-go-seek competition, Paul Barrows will emcee a wet T-Shirt contest. Grand prize is $77,000.

3:15 pm - Don Morton will conduct a youth football clinic and try to sell their parents insurance at the same time.

3:20 pm - Mayor Dave will name Fred Risser the official city fossil. Risser will then give a 45 minute speech and share his memories of the debates regarding the location of the second and third State Capitol Buildings. The crowd will politely listen.

4:10 pm - Conservatives on campus will attempt to sing the national anthem, they will be shouted down.

4:15 pm - Thommy Thompson revs up crowd, vowing that "Next Year we're going to Miami!"

Ongoing - Bob Welch will survey the city to finally get an answer to how many square miles are actually surrounded by reality.

Midnight - After the festivities conclude, long lines will form outside Parthenon and Labamba. Meanwhile students from UW Oshkosh and the University of Minnesota will burn several downtown taverns to the ground.

The next day....The tavern owners will be cited for violations of the city's smoking ban.