Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A cornerstone of local culture is the
Overture Center for the Arts
(201 State St., 608/
258-4141,
www.overturecenter.com
)
, home to myriad performing venues.
The University of Wisconsin's
Vilas Hall
(821 University Ave., 608/262-1500) has
two theaters presenting university dramatic and musical productions throughout the year.
The long-standing
Broom Street Theatre
(1119 Williamson St., 608/244-8338,
www.broomstreet.org
)
is the Midwest's oldest year-round experimental theater group.
THE POLKA
Wisconsin loves polka dancing.
Wisconsinites possess a genetic predisposition to polka, established by statute as the
state'sofficialdance.Giventhestate'sheady19th-centuryinfluxofEasternandCen-
tral European immigrants—the highest concentration in America at the time—it's
only natural that the peasant dance would take root here. Some cultural historians
claimWisconsinharborsmorespeciesofpolkathananyplaceelseintheworld.Polka
music emanates from across the AM dial. At weddings, one polka per hour is virtu-
