Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA)
- After 105 years in borrowed and refurbished spaces, this center of cutting-edge art opened April 23 in a brand-new facility as part of the Overture Center for the Arts. Designed by influential Argentine architect Cesar Pelli, the facility boasts a 7,100-square-foot rooftop sculpture garden that accommodates 230 to 300 people. Its lecture hall seats 230 people. www.mmoca.org
Overture Center for the Arts
- Local businessman W. Jerome Frautschi spent $205 million to build this cultural arts facility. It contains the Overture Hall, a 2,251-seat performance hall; The Playhouse, a 350-seat theater that’s home for the Madison Repertory Theatre; MMoCA (the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art); three art galleries; and the Capitol Theatre, a 1,000-seat facility named for the city’s 1928 movie house that was graced by the likes of Mae West and Al Jolson. The modern version includes some of the original elements of the historic Moorish-themed movie house. www.overturecenter.com
Betty Lou Cruises
- This motor yacht cruise company offers groups of 20 or more miles of shoreline along Lake Monona or Lake Mendota. The outfit offers cruises day and night April through October. Groups can reserve a yacht or share one with other groups on board. Moonlight and pizza-and-beer cruises are available. www.bettyloucruises.com
Olbrich Botanical Gardens
- It was voted one of the Top Ten Inspiring Gardens in North America by Horticulture Magazine. Canaries, waxbills and coturnix quail fly freely in its Bolz Conservatory. Butterflies emerge from their drab chrysalises between mid-July and mid-August and flit around banana trees and lush orchids. Group tours are available for 10 to 25 persons. Three rooms are available for events from 10 to 275 people. www.olbrich.org