😋 Your guide to the Taste of Madison

🔋 Look Out For More EV Charging Stations

• Dane County will receive $13 million in federal funding to expand electric vehicle charging stations. This funding comes from the Federal Highway Administration’s charging and fueling grant program and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
• Ninety-two EV chargers will be implemented across the county, bringing a total of 368 accessible ports. [WMTV]

📝 Community Meetings to Begin for MMSD

• Over the next month, the Madison Metropolitan School District will hold 11 in-person meetings to discuss the two referendum questions that will be on the Nov. 5 ballot. The first meeting will be today at Black Hawk Middle School/Gompers Elementary School.
• These meetings will provide an overview of the budget, what facilities currently look like, and the opportunity to fill out a survey and see what the district staff has planned. [MMSD, 🔒WSJ]

🛣️ Street Closures for Taste of Madison

• The streets on Capitol Square will close at 5 p.m. Aug. 30 for the Taste of Madison. They’ll remain closed until 2:00 a.m. on Sept. 2.
• The annual two-day festival brings dozens of food vendors to the Capitol Square Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 and this year, the festival has 90 vendors and some exciting new additions. To get the scoop on the event and what to expect, City Cast Madison host Bianca Martin spoke with Sara Klemme, the president of Madison Festivals. [City of Madison, City Cast Madison 🎧]

There are so many different gardens that are open to community access. To be exact, there are 4000 community garden plots on 47 acres throughout Dane County. We broke down a couple in different parts of Madison for folks to check out.

And when you’re done harvesting, learn how to turn your bounty into pickled and fermented goods to last all year round!

North Side

Troy Community Gardens located North of the 500 block of Troy Drive has 327 plots. To join, contact the registrar at [email protected] or (608) 313-5188. Registration is usually on the first Saturday in March at Lakeview Lutheran Church. In the meantime, you can also put yourself on the waitlist.

Black Hawk Middle School and Lindbergh Elementary also offer different community gardens. At Black Hawk Middle School there are 44 plots open to the community. Contact the garden registrar at [email protected] or 608-698-0577 to be added to the waitlist. As for Lindbergh Elementary, there are 20 family plots for rental. For more information or to register for a community garden plot, contact Yimmuaj Yang at [email protected].

East Side

The Atwood community garden is one of the oldest community gardens in Madison with 110 garden plots and youth programming with the Goodman Community Center. To be placed on the waitlist, send an email to [email protected].

Allis School Heritage Garden is on the school’s grounds. There are over 14 plots and if you are interested in using one, contact Carol Troyer-Shank at [email protected] or (608) 469-2678.

Eastside Garden, located at 8 Straubel Court, offers 30 plots for community members, including children's gardens with youth programming through the East Madison Community Center. For more information or to register for a community garden plot, contact [email protected].