Why Madison, Wisconsin Is Awesome

SunBrightSparrow wrote this post about my college town, and I LOVE IT. She even gives a shout-out to my former place of employment, Indie Coffee, which has the best chai latte in the world. —A Midwestern Sparkitor

Madisonians are a quirky bunch. And yes, being a Madisonian is different from being a Wisconsin…ite? Wisconsonian? Wiscanian? Madison is like a little island of its own, and the rest of the state is the ocean made of corn stalks. But before I say anything else, let me say, on behalf of my city: NO, I don’t live on a farm or own a cow or eat way more cheese than anyone else. Okay?

Here are some of the many things Madisonians know and love:

Protesting Things

There’s nothing a Madisonian loves more than some good, old-fashioned political outrage. We enjoy making signs, signing petitions, making up chants, and camping out in government buildings like people in other places enjoy pool parties and carnivals. Sometimes we have good reason…and sometimes we just feel an urge to rhyme “democracy” and “hypocrisy.”

Brat Fest

A staple of Madison life. And it’s not brat fest, like with bratty kids. It’s brat fest, short for bratwurst. Pronounced like bra. With a t. What is it? Well, there are a bunch of brats. And we eat them. And that’s about it.

Hipster College Students

It’s a college city (UW-Madison, wooo!) which for some reason means there are hipsters everywhere. They wear big glasses, and vests, and sort of play guitar. And they will find you.

Biking

We have some intense bikers here. And no, I don’t mean guys-with-beards-and-tattoos-and-leather bikers, I mean Tour-de-France kind of bikers. The kind of bikers who see you walking your bike up a 75 degree incline hill in August and yell, “That’s what first gear is for!” Seriously.

Weird Theater

Okay, maybe this is just me…but it seems like Madison has a surplus of alternative drama thingamajigs. For example, there’s the Young Shakespeare Players, who do uncut Shakespeare plays. UNCUT, as in “Holy crap, this play is taking forever.” Then there’s Broom Street theater, which does plays by people written here. One was all-nude. Another was about razor blades. You get the idea.

Sports, I guess

I’m not really the one to ask. But apparently we have sports here, and people play them. And people go to watch people play sports, and wear a lot of red and white…and after that I’m out.

Coffee Shops

Starbucks is just way too mainstream. I guess. Or people just really need coffee. Either way, in addition to all the Starbucks that most places have, we have about a million alternative places. Indie Coffee, EVP Coffee, Coffee Bytes, Mother Fools’ Coffee, the Froth House, Michelangelo’s Coffee…It goes on. My favorite is Barriques “Coffee and Wine Cave.” They have a kind of tea called “Iron Goddess of Mercy.” ‘Nuff said.

Any other Madisonians out there?

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