5 Things to Know About Bottle Hill Day

Bottle Hill Day is here, which means thousands of people will be in Madison's downtown for the borough's annual street festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Rock climbing, a petting zoo, four stages of music and a car show with a performance by a steel-bending strongman are in store.

There also will be a beer garden, plenty of food for sale, hundreds of vendors, and a Family Fun Zone with inflatables at Central Avenue School.

The festival is organized by Madison's Downtown Development Commission.

Here are 5 Things to Know About Bottle Hill Day:

1. It's rain or shine, and the weather looks fine. National Weather Service forecast is mostly cloudy with a high near 78, calm wind. Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Light wind.
2. There are things to see and do all day. A petting zoo at the Madison Presbyterian Church--new this year--is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Madison Mayor Bob Conley will compete against mascots from local colleges in a foot race at noon. The beer garden on Lincoln Place is open from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.  There's a frontier guard re-enactment planned at the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts, and free rock climbing on Green Village Road. The Madison Car Show starts at 9 a.m. You can see a map of the festivities here.
3. Get ready for some great music. There are four stages, including one for Madison students, with acts scheduled all day. You can see a full lineup of the performances here.
4. Don't be surprised when you encounter closed roads or traffic delays. Vendors and organizations, of course, will be setting up before the event starts at 10 a.m. and still breaking down after 5 p.m. "Expect traffic delays in the business district," Madison police advise. Central Avenue, Lincoln Place and Waverly Place will be closed.
5. Fireworks! Drew University plans to cap the day with a fireworks display at 9:15 p.m.  The seating area at Tilghman Field will open at 8:30 p.m. Madison community members should plan on walking to campus and entering via the Lancaster Road entrance.