Wisconsin Union’s buildings, markets and cafes to close temporarily due to extreme cold temperatures
Due to the University of Wisconsin-Madison canceling classes and suspending non-essential operations, the Wisconsin Union’s Union South and Memorial Union, will be closed from Jan. 29 at 5 p.m. through Jan. 31 at noon.
All events previously scheduled to occur in Memorial Union and Union South during this period are cancelled.
All dining services including outlying markets and cafes are closed as of 3 p.m. Jan. 29 through Jan. 31 at noon.
The Wisconsin Union’s Winter Carnival will return Jan. 31-Feb. 3 with many new events and activities, such as yoga on Lake Mendota.
Additional new events this year include: hot chocolates from around the world, gingerbread house-making, virtual reality scuba diving, origami-making, live performances by electric bassist Josh Cohen and folk band The Tillers with fiddle champ Georgia Rae, custom trail mix-making, and more. Guests will also be able to enjoy classic Winter Carnival events.
The Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Publications Committee (PubCom) will host a Fall 2018 Launch Party Dec. 12 from 7-9 p.m. in Great Hall at Memorial Union to celebrate the launch of the latest issues of its publications as well as the work of the students who make these possible.
This event is free and open to UW-Madison students, faculty and staff; as well as Wisconsin Union members and their guests.
In observance of Veterans Day, the Wisconsin Union team will hold an event on Nov. 12 at 9 a.m. in Memorial Union’s Main Lounge.
The Veterans Day event will include remarks at 9:30 a.m. by the Student Veterans of America UW-Madison Chapter President Sean Jackett, UW-Madison Veteran Services Coordinator Joe Rasmussen, and Wisconsin Union Director Mark Guthier. The event will also include free refreshments on a first come, first served basis and is open to the community.
On Nov. 6, at 8 p.m. in the Marquee Cinema at Union South, Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Society and Politics (SoPo) Committee will host live analysis of the midterm election results with experts that will put the outcomes into context and discuss their potential implications for Wisconsin and the country.
After being stored for six years during Memorial Union construction, the Wisconsin Union team will unveil reinstalled Paul Bunyan murals by artist James Watrous in Memorial Union’s Paul Bunyan Room Oct. 5 at 5:30 p.m. as a part of Gallery Night.
The event, which is open to the public, will begin with the debut of the returned murals followed immediately by remarks by Wisconsin Union Director Mark Guthier.
The Wisconsin Union team held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the future Tong Family Marina Sept. 15 along the Memorial Union lakefront, marking the beginning of the replacement of a 40-year-old pier system used by the Union’s Wisconsin Hoofers and Outdoor UW.
The donor-funded, new pier system will enhance safety, increase boat storage efficiency, allow for the creation of a new park, and provide more on-land space for programming. The new pier system is expected to debut in summer 2019.
The Wisconsin Union’s annual student welcome events Sunburst Festival and SUNSET SLAM will take place 7-10 p.m. Sept. 1 and 2, respectively, and feature new activities along with the return of campus favorites.
Peter and Janet Tong, through the Tong Family Foundation, have given a million-dollar gift towards the construction of the Hoofer Marina Project, a new pier system along the Memorial Union lakefront.
The Project will transform the lakefront with improvements in safety, accessibility and sustainability and will benefit thousands of Hoofer Sailing Club members each year.
The Wisconsin Union will name the marina the “Tong Family Marina” in honor of the family’s generosity and the Tong family’s love of spending time on the water.
Union Council, the governing body of the Wisconsin Union, in consultation with the family of Porter Butts, voted Aug. 6 to rename the Porter Butts Gallery in Memorial Union and to acknowledge his professional accomplishments through an interactive kiosk in another permanent non-programming location. The art gallery will be renamed the Main Gallery.