Cover story:
Serenity now
Sometimes you need to find a place to get away. And it’s possible to do that right in (or near) Milwaukee. Find out where to go to take in the view, go fishing or watch frogs hop on lily pads.

Shannon Solberg, 24, of Milwaukee, is a special projects manager for the United Way in Waukesha County. Her favorite urban oasis is McKinley Marina. "I love to sit on the rocks and watch all the boats and birds," she said. And no, Shannon didn’t attract all these butterflies on her own. The Milwaukee Public Museum provided some that it preserves for displays.

downtime
Mexican Fiesta Internacional Only strong mouths survive the jalapeno-eating contest at Mexican Fiesta Internacional.
Learning Latin A book and tour explore the sounds of Latin rock pioneers such as Jorge Santana and his band, Malo.
Threeview Ristorante Bartolotta on Downer Avenue replicates the restaurant’s Wauwatosa location.
Meet the bartender Angie Erstad of the Wicked Hop.
Exposure Irish Fest and more.

how we live
But does it work? Little gadgets can make big promises. But when it comes down to it, do these things do the job? mke checks out a few for you.
Bottoms up The newest trend in flower arranging: turning it upside down.
For the kid who thinks Baby Gap was so last year Freckle Face hits the Third Ward.
Be first at Crate and Barrel, help out MAM Crate and Barrel at Mayfair Mall offers a sneak preview to benefit the MAM.

in the know
Profile: Paul Amitai You might think an artist like Paul Amitai has it made, but his goal for now is to break even.
When I was 30 Ferne Y. Caulker of Ko-Thi Dance Company was a mother, dancer and professor full of energy and ambition.

online features
RSS feeds These RSS feeds make it even simpler to stay up-to-date throughout your week. Mix-and-match exactly what you want from MKEonline.com.
Summer fugitives MKE chose four local festival lovers to help guide you through the summer. Meet them.
Festivals abound MKE has opened the summer festival floodgates with two special online sections that include photo galleries, maps, schedules and surprises.
MKE Exposure Archives of all of our past exposure photo galleries, plus a bunch that were never in print.
MKE blogs
MKE blog directory: 1000 voices