Brews, Bistros, and Bonfires at the Botanical Gardens 2021

One cool September evening, my husband let me know we were lucky enough to get tickets to the sold out event at the botanical gardens here in town. We’ve talked for awhile now about taking a nice saturday afternoon to visit the location for the first time, but this fell into our lap. With some trepidation, I agreed to go. I like being able to plan a little farther ahead than six hours!


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The good news is that it was a beautiful night. The sun had just gone down when we arrived at the backup parking lot for the event, and we walked to the botanical gardens without chairs or a picnic blanket to watch the concert. We are two people of simple needs: food and beer. We had every intent to walk the whole of the gardens hunting down the sample vendors rather than sit down to watch a lot of the concert.

Before we even entered the welcome center, I regretted not coming to see the gardens sooner. They’re so beautiful in the late summer that I’m sure spring and summer can’t be beat. They had a plastic recycling art display throughout the grounds-- which will be there through the end of September. The grounds are a wonderful backdrop to this type of event. Standing in line waiting for beer samples is made more bearable by a fascinating location.

I was surprised to find that the only brewery I knew of when I arrived was Third Space. Many of those present were from the Door County region-- yet another Wisconsin staple my husband and I have yet to experience.  Each vendor came to play with their best offerings on the table, and I had little trouble putting down every sample I could. Several had their Octoberfest beers out. This is the only spot I struggled. I’m very picky about Marzen style beers. My husband, however, is not. He took what I didn’t really enjoy.

We showed up a little too late to get a box meal from Mackinaws on our arrival, so the food offerings for late comers like us were slim. The option is there for those intending to picnic during the concert to bring in their own meals, but we didn’t. One of the only food sample stands available during the event was Bountiful Boards, a Revolution Market resident, and we made sure to pop in and say hello.

​We’ve never got to any of the Revolution Market events where Bountiful Boards is on the grounds, so I had very little idea of what to expect beyond what I see of their social media. I hoped for their handmade mozzarella after seeing them hold a class at the market, and we were blessed with it on their sample table. The ladies running the table were friendly and knowledgable, and it served as a great introduction to their offerings. We’ll keep an eye out for future events with them for sure.

The event is made more pleasant if you attend with friends. I had the pleasure of doing so with several of my husband’s coworkers, and the night continued beyond the boundaries of the botanical garden. Still, this one night will have me keeping a close eye on the events going on at the Botanical Gardens to get the full experience-- including the Mackinaws meal boxes.

Heartache Tonight, an Eagles Tribute band, played through the evening starting just before the end of the beer sampling. We heard them during our last lap of the main concourse, and if hunger weren’t part of the drive to seek another venue, we would have regretted leaving behind a picnic blanket to take in the night. Brews, Bistros, and Bonfires checked off every box but the food for us-- and they may very well have been our fault for not getting in sooner!

Visit the Botanical Gardens calendar page frequently to see when the next one is scheduled and enjoy a night on the field.

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