Madison officials have long labored to keep the Mifflin Street Block Party from turning the street into a “beer garden,” but this yearâ??s celebration will likely have one with the cityâ??s blessing. The 41st annual party, nearing final approval, is set to have a sponsor for the second straight year, two music stages, portable toilets, vendors, and, for the first time since 1995, a city-approved beer garden. The fete is a UW-Madison student tradition to celebrate the end of the school year, but it has bedeviled police and city officials because of its focus on alcohol and history of trouble. This year, officials hope to reduce alcohol use at the party by monitoring its flow. The idea is that sponsors and the police have more control at the beer garden than at house parties that rage along Mifflin Street.
Office of Strategic Communication