Apr 11, 2018
In this episode of Brandstorm, we welcome Andy Silverman, one of the co-founders of Milwaukee Day. Andy discusses how a joke amongst friends has exploded into a mammoth annual celebration of hometown pride through fun and service.
Milwaukee Day
The date of April
14th (or 4/14), is perfect for recognizing Milwaukee, home to the
414- area code. Andy’s brother Toby originally voiced the
correlation between the date and the area code about 8 or 9 years
ago on social media, leading Andy and some of his friends to
purchase an official Milwaukee Day URL that very day and begin
dreaming up the idea. A year later, commemorating the next April
14th, Andy starred in a short video, unofficially declaring the
holiday. It went viral soon after, thanks to Milwaukee television
anchor Ted Perry, who broadcasted the video on the FOX 6 evening
news. Since then, the annual event has snowballed into a large
goodwill effort to explore and experience Milwaukee’s vast history,
raise funds or awareness for local charities, take in live, local
music, and to do whatever one deems appropriate in celebration of
the city. Andy says the Milwaukee Day movement comes from a sincere
love for his hometown and embracing everything that makes Milwaukee
unique.
Assistance From Local
Businesses
For several years, the Milwaukee Day
organizers have received sponsorships from local businesses to keep
ticket prices low for those attending. Andy says his team is lucky
to not only be working with these companies, but that the same
organizations are often the first to reach out to them. As more
companies have come on board and created their own events, it has
lessened the load for the Milwaukee Day team, making the day more
about inspiration and less about execution.
Fun Events and Discounts on Milwaukee
Day
Here are just a few of the gatherings or special
deals you can take advantage of on Milwaukee Day. More are listed
on their website, found below.
- The Official Milwaukee Day Party at Company Brewing, sponsored by Gruber Law Offices and WMSE, features live music from Tigernite, Midwest Death Rattle and Zed Kenso. Company Brewing is also releasing a limited Milwaukee Day Ale.
- The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts Open House will showcase art exhibitions, film screenings and live performances from over 100 award-winning graduate students and faculty.
- The Harley-Davidson Museum is offering free admission to anyone wearing clothes emblazoned with the word "Milwaukee."
Celebrating Milwaukee Through
Service
While Andy and the Milwaukee Day team love
driving traffic to their sanctioned events, part of their mission
is also to bring awareness to positive causes. This ranges from
park clean-ups to non-partisan voter registration to raising funds
for area public charter school Escuela Verde. Andy says that
Milwaukee Day is a great reason to give people guidance on how they
can help out their community.
Getting Noticed Both Locally and
Nationally
On top of receiving annual recognition from
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and the City Common Council, Milwaukee
Day recently garnered national attention when it was spotlighted as
an answer on the television gameshow Jeopardy!. Andy is
proud that this mention came seemingly out of nowhere with no one
on the Milwaukee Day team having any connection to the show.
Clearly, the passion for Milwaukee Day is no longer limited to just
Wisconsin!
Contact Milwaukee
Day:
Website: www.milwaukeeday.com
Email: milwaukeeday@gmail.com
Twitter: @MilwaukeeDay