On the Road with Doogs and Friends at “La Fête De Marquette” in Madison

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - As part of our “On the Road with Doogs and Friends” summer series, NBC15 meteorologist Brian Doogs traveled to the Bastille Day festival “La Fête De Marquette” on Madison’s east side.

After three years away, the summer community celebration is back, and bigger than ever before.

Thursday was the first night of the event, but this music festival runs all the way through July 17 full of fun for everyone, from kids to adults.

Some new additions to La Fête De Marquette include a new music stage. Regular attendees are already familiar with the Sun, Moon and Family Fete stages, and this year a special new stage called the Lafayette stage was added for more guests to enjoy and stretch and more opportunities for artists to perform.

The festival is also equipped with parades, a wine garden and plenty of activities for kids and families, including two feature films on Friday and Saturday, a large ball-pit open all weekend long and hands-on art opportunities. There’s also a Karaoke sing-off for kids and teens ages 7-17.

Gary Kallas, the executive director of the Wil-Mar Neighborhood center who helps host the “Fête,” loves the energy it brings to Madison, but also makes sure all the money raised goes back to a good cause.

“Every single dollar we raise goes to fund the operations and services of the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center. We have summer camps for kids, we have emergency food services, services for seniors, we run a gambit on services for people. Every dollar we raise at Fête goes towards supporting those programs,” he said.

The party will be all weekend long in McPike Park on Madiosn’s east side, and you can check out the music line-up here.

Each Friday, First Alert Meteorologist Brian Doogs will travel to a new community to highlight a special summer event or festival. Next week, Doogs will showcase the Dane County Fair at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. Join us for “On the Road with Doogs and Friends” Fridays on NBC15 News at 4, 5 and 6 p.m.

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