Guests are interested in what sorts of things there are to do in Milwaukee during their visit and since Covid, the question turns to what is open and on these days. The other night some friends and I ventured out to a relatively new venue in Milwaukee called The Story Hill Firehouse. This is a old bungalow style firehouse in Milwaukee’s Story Hill neighborhood (about 7 miles away from The Muse) that was converted to a lovely wedding type venue in 2019. As part of her creative pivot during this last year, owner Janelle Meyer-Brown, a professional event and wedding planner has created a series of events for the summer at Story Hill Firehouse. The free event that we attended was called Wine Down Wednesdays and consisted of musical entertainment by Cameron Webb and his band singing Soul music’s legends Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, and many others. There was also a wine-tasting add-on ($25 for 4 wine tastes with very creative snacks) put together by Gary Ozuna of Bartenders On The Go. A cash bar for other drinks and empanadas by Lola’s food truck were also available. We sat outside at a table and listened to hopping music – Cameron is a very fun and funny performer who is clearly very talented – and enjoyed our food and wine. A quick tour of the inside of the firehouse – all beautifully remodeled for a very tasteful and elegant wedding/commitment ceremony/vow renewal venue – was a nice surprise, especially with clever inclusion of a few elements from the former firehouse. Put Story Hill Firehouse on your list to check out if you are looking for gathering space for up to 200 people…it is a delightful venue! Anyway, on Wednesday night it felt amazing to sit outside on a warm evening listening to great music and enjoy an evening with friends like in the “before days.”
The live music lineup for Wine Down Wednesdays for the rest of the year is:
6/9 Olen Franklin Experience
7/7 The Listening Party
8/25 The Mixed Tape
9/15 Chris Haise
10/20 Matt MF Tyner
11/10 Marcya Danielle
12/8 Barbara Stephen and Peter Mac Duo
Shows are from 6:00-8:30 p.m. at the Story Hill Firehouse. 407 N Hawley Rd, Milwaukee. If the weather isn’t suitable to sit outside, the the inside of the firehouse is open for seating. If the weather is great, plan on bringing your own chair for seating on the lawn in the courtyard. These events are free but due to Covid, a ticket must be reserved at www.eventbrite.com/e/wine-down-wednesday-the-firehouse-tickets-143910426961. Probably the easiest way to find out who is playing and reserve a seat is to like The Story Hill Firehouse on Facebook.
Now – if that doesn’t sound fun enough, Janelle has also got Thursday Night Live events with live music by the J Ryan Trio, comedy shows on Saturday nights, Boozy Yoga in the Yard, a popup piano bar on some Fridays, a summer small business market and finally and night market in September. Details for all of these events can be found on their website storyhillfirehouse.com.
Treat yourself to some fun if you are lucky enough to be visiting on any of the days of these events. You won’t be sorry!