Photo via Milwaukee Zine Fest - Instagram
Milwaukee Zine Fest 2023
Milwaukee Zine Fest at Milwaukee's Central Library in 2023.
Milwaukee Tattoo Festival
- April 11-13
- Baird Center
- 400 W. Wisconsin Ave.
The Baird Center will be filled with the sound of mechanical buzzing, as over 250 artists will be set up, a chance to get some ink “whether it’s your first or your 100th,” the event page says. Some artists will book in advance, others are taking clients on a first come, first serve basis. In addition to artists, vendors will also be selling tattooing supplies and art, and there will be a “tattoo of the day competition daily to show off the best tattoos made at the festival.”
Tickets are $27.50-$60, more info, including a list of artists, can be found at: milwaukeetattoofestival.com
Spoof Fest
- April 11-12
- Club Garibaldi’s
- 1599 E. Russell Ave.
Two days of cover bands that don’t take things too seriously, Spoof Fest features musicians playing with the work of The Talking Heads, Guns N’ Roses, Jeff Beck Group, and Better Than Ezra on day one, while day two features tributes to White Zombie, Pixies, Garbage, Beastie Boys, and the “Steve Griller Band.” Expect a lot of “spoofing, costumes, and humor” mixed in with the music.
The show starts at 7 p.m. both nights, with a $20 admission at the door each day.
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QWERTY Quarterly #8 Release Party
- Sunday, April 13
- Cork Wine Bar
- 1039 S. Fifth St.
QWERTY Quarterly is a zine produced by QWERTYFEST MKE (October 3-5 this year), a celebration of Milwaukee as the invention of the typewriter and QWERTY keyboard we still use today (the author of this column is one of the organizers). QQ features poetry, short articles, fiction, art, and fun pages, mostly by local contributors, with some guests. The release party for QQ’s spring issue will feature some typewriters set up for people to try; vintage store On and On MKE, located next door, will have some typers available for sale.
The event is 3- 5p.m. and is free to attend. Copies of the zine are $5.
Milwaukee Zine Fest
- Saturday, April 19
- Central Library
- 814 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Speaking of zines, Milwaukee Zine Fest is our longest running event that “celebrates and promotes zine culture, DIY creative literary work, small press publishing, and other independent, wonders in magazine-like format.” In an age of AI and deepfakes, it’s refreshing to see writing and art created by actual humans, with a chance to talk to them about their creations. In addition to dozens of zine creators from throughout the Midwest spread through Central Library selling their publications, there are workshops throughout the day.
The event runs 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and is free to attend. See milwaukeezinefest.org for more info.
Sh**ty Art Night
- Thursday, April 24
- La Gente Art Gallery
- 2478 N. Murray Ave.
The simple premise of this event is to “grab some friends and see who can make the worst work of art.” While you’re working on your awful masterpieces, you can enjoy “drinks, snacks, and fun music.” And remember, beauty (or lack of) is in the eye of the beholder.
The event runs 6-8 p.m. and is free to attend.
