Sure, the depressingly cloudy skies and the plummeting temps made Friday evening feel more like October than August, but that didn't put the kibosh on lakefront fun. As we arrived at the Friday Fish Fry and a Flick ("Mad Max" and "Easy Rider") at Discovery World, we could see the Masterpiece car show out on Veteran's Park and the wine tasting event just across the road from us at Milwaukee Art Museum.
I ran into Joe and Jennifer Bartolotta, who were trying their hands at outdoor bowling -- this event has everything, food, beer, bowling, movies and more. Joe told me that the event has been a massive success so far with at least two of the four evenings drawing in the thousands.
Due to the weather, it looked like the turnout on Friday was considerably smaller than that. But the crowd was a nice mix of folks. There were hipsters, older folks, little kids and just about every other demographic, too.
We made it a family outing, but for dinner only, since the films are almost never kid-friendly. The event however was super kid-friendly for us. My little one had so much fun dancing on the grass that at least one diner came over to thank us for providing them such good entertainment.
The movie is free (tip: when it gets really crowded, remember that the screen is transparent, so you can watch -- albeit with the picture in reverse -- from out on the breakwater) and the fish fry is just $9.95.
You can also get a whole steamed lobster for $17.95. Two cans of Pabst run $5, but don't make the same mistake I made. Just ask for two Pabsts. If you ask for the tall boys, it's two for $6 -- still a darn good deal.
The folks at The Pabst Theater co-organize the event with Discovery World and Bartolotta Restaurant Group. The food starts at 6 and the movie begins at dusk. Four more events are scheduled this season: Aug. 28, Sept. 4, Sept. 11 and Sept. 18.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
