The streets full of orange cones and cars blocking off entrances wasn’t for Madison’s never-ending construction this time, but instead to help set up for 10Fest, an event celebrating the Overture’s first ten years of existence. Typically overflowing in a sea of red towards Camp Randall, a large amount of Madison’s community was headed towards the Capitol this past Saturday. Downtown Madison was completely transformed, hosting a variety of events such as circus tents, aerial acrobatics, wagons, and many kid friendly activities.
The arts have been very important to the Madison community. Since the late 1920s, numerous theaters have been built to put local and national talent on display, and Jerry Frautschi is someone to thank for helping this continue. In 2004, Frautschi pledged $205 million to build the Overture Center for the Arts, renovating Capitol Theater and reinventing the space to create a much larger performing arts center.
The Overture was decorated floor to ceiling Sept. 27 with historical flags and drapery along with statues of well known circus performers such as a sword swallower, a giant woman, conjoined twins and a fire breather to name a few. The day was full of many different shows, ranging from swing dancing, movie screenings, live orchestral performances and an aerial acrobatic show.
Cycropia, a local aerial dance group, performed on the hour, every hour, throughout the duration of 10Fest. Glittery painted faces, ribbon threaded hair and rainbow striped leotards glided through the air as the acrobats swung on drapes and cylindrical objects hanging from their pyramid tower. The entire two to three minutes of each performance were extremely graceful, as if the performers were weightless.
“I love that the whole community is here. We can share this energy and aerial experience together,” said Linda DiRaimondo, a choreographer, dancer, and costume designer for Cycropia since 1998. “I think that 10Fest and events like this help keep the arts alive. It helps keep us vibrant and happy as a community.”
The Overture was surrounded outside by a variety of historical circus wagons from the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI. Covered in gold mirrors and cages, these wagons were quite a sight. In between each of the wagons were many art vendors and numerous activities for children to participate in like getting henna and their faces painted. There was also a TRY Circus, where kids could do some of the acts performed in a circus such as tightrope walking, aerial ribbon dancing and balancing on a giant cylinder. Occasionally, circus children would walk through the crowd on giant stilts dressed in animal costumes.
Madison community member Anastasiya brought her daughter Ilyana to 10Fest. “This is great. There’s something fun, easy, and entertaining for the kids,” she said. She thought that this was a fun activity to do in Madison along with going to the Farmers’ Market.
As the event continued on, many Madisonians filled the space where there wasn’t a live performance, circus act, wagon or kids activity going on. Obviously this event was very well organized and managed all thanks to the volunteers and staff. A man named Mitchell, one of the many members of Overture Security, worked the entire event.
“I think 10Fest is great because it brings people together and shows some Wisconsin history,” he said. “I like that all of the stuff here dates back to the 1800s.” When asked what was his favorite part he said that it would definitely be the live music.
Overall this event ran seamlessly and yet again showed off another side of Madison that we can be proud of. The Overture provides a fantastic venue to host the many talents that come through this city. Many touring TV shows, ballets, and concerts for children and adults come through here every weekend, all which can be found on www.overturecenter.org.
