Dane County
Sunday, October 9, 2022
Fun for the whole family! Join the Dane County Fire Chiefs and Madison Fire Department on State Street for the annual Dane County Fire Truck Parade! Downtown partners will host special family activities at the Top of State and after the parade, fire trucks from across Dane County will be on display along the Capitol Square. This wholesome family event, running for over 20 years, is a safe and fun way to enjoy downtown. Stick around after the parade to enjoy fire sales and firehouse specials at select businesses on State St.
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The parade starts at 1p on State Street & ends on Capitol Square!
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Scavenger hunt of fire safety items found in downtown businesses.
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Activities for families at the top of State Street from 12-2p.
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A fire themed downtown StoryWalk starts (and is posted for a month).
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Fiery food and spicy drink specials and hot shopping deals all day.
Follow along with all the fun on Facebook.
Brought to you by the Dane County Fire Chiefs Association and the City of Madison Fire Department.
Not able to come to the Parade? The Downtown StoryWalk for the fall is fire safety themed and a special way to explore downtown and to learn about Fire Prevention.The Story posts on this day and is up for one month.
State Street Scavenger Hunt @ State Street
This is a fun way to explore Downtown Madison AND learn more about fire safety. Visit area businesses and check out their safety features. Spot an exit sign? Mark it down. See a Fire Alarm? Record the address. It's easy to do and fun for everyone. Pick up a flyer at the Downtown Madison Information Booth or Visitor Center. Return forms until October 16 at the Downtown Madison Visitor Center (452 State Street). Winners will be chosen at random from completed forms. Prizes include gift cards from: Cooper's Tavern, Ian's Pizza, Chocolate Shop, The Soap Opera & Fontana Sports!
Download the scavenger hunt here.
Family Activities
Join us for family fun at the Top of State St 12 - 2pm, around the Fire Truck Parade!
Featuring:
- City of Madison Clerk’s Office – Important elections are coming up, are you registered to vote? Stop by their table to get all the information you as a voter need and make sure you’re ready to cast your ballot! Have an address change? No problem! They can get your information updated!
- Ma Paws and Me Rescue – Visit their table to learn all about this local dog rescue, how you can support their work, and all about their adoptable dogs! EXTRA SPECIAL! From 12-1pm, they’ll bring some of their puppies for a PUPPY PARTY!
- Madison Reading Project – Popping up with their Big Red Reading Bus at the Top of State St. Stop by to explore their wide selection of tempting books for your little ones and learn all about this amazing service getting free books in the hands of Madison’s kids!
- Wisconsin Science Festival – Explore hands on science with TWO activity stations run by science students from UW Madison! Will your little one play with chemistry or build with engineering? Find out at the Top of State St!
Extra special:
Madison Children’s Museum (100 N Hamilton St): Visit Madison Children’s Museum for a special activity in the Art Studio: Firehose Maker Space! Pop into the Art Studio 9am – 4pm to craft a necklace, wristband, or keychain from upcycled fire hoses. Free with museum admission. Recommended for ages 5 and up.
Fall StoryWalk®
Explore Downtown Madison while practicing active reading with the whole family on the Downtown Madison Fall StoryWalk®! Madison’s Central Business Improvement District is excited to bring this safe, fun, and innovative reading program to our downtown community throughout the year. Each quarter a new story will be displayed in downtown for a period of time.
Our StoryWalk® book is: “The Little Fire Truck” by Margery Cuyler and illustrated by Bob Kolar. Our book was selected by Madison Reading Project.
Find the map of the StoryWalk® here! You'll find stops at Colectivo's locations on both State St and the Capitol Square, Fontana Sports, Hawk's, Ian's Pizza, Madison Children's Museum, Madison Public Library (Central Branch), Overture Center, SuperCharge Juice Bar, Taiwan Little Eats, and Wisconsin Historical Museum.
The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Storywalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.
Special Deals at Downtown Businesses
Downloadable list of business specials.
- Alobudra Spiritual Apothecary (133 W Johnson St): Visit Alobudra for a special fire themed table full of spiritual goodies! You’re sure to find crystals, incense, herbs, tarot, and more!
- Ardorposh (444 State St): Hurray! Free gift with purchase over $50! While supplies last.
- Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Shoppe (468 State St):Visit their State St location for special themed ice cream! Grab a dipped waffle cone with red and orange sprinkles to go with your favorite flavor of ice cream!
- Clary’s Old Fashioned Gourmet Popcorn (105 State St): Don’t miss their fiery jalapeno cheese popcorn and red-hot cinnamon popcorn! Made fresh daily and the perfect snack to eat while enjoying the parade!
- Colectivo on State St (583 State St): Stop by to enjoy their smoky Mocha Mexicana, just $5!
- Colectivo on the Square (25 S Pinckney St): Stop by to enjoy their smoky Mocha Mexicana, just $5!
- Fontana Sports (216 N Henry St): Think campsite safety with Fontana – head instore to get 20% off on headlamps and lanterns!
- Ian’s Pizza (100 State St): Ian's Pizza will be featuring Smokey the Bandit! Smokey is one of their most popular slices. It will be available by the slice or you can place an order for a 12”, 16”, or 20” pizza. Smokey the Bandit starts with a base of BBQ Sauce, then gets topped with mozzarella cheese, BBQ Chicken, Cheddar, Bacon, and Ranch!
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Lucille
(101 King St): Head to the King St corner of the square for delicious fire house themed specials!
- “Fire on Ice Shrimp Cocktail” - poached shrimp, firecracker sauce, lemon - $18
- “Fire alarm” - Chili and herb pizza sauce, Calabrian sausage, deer creek habanero cheddar, smoked mozzarella, charred scallions, crispy shallots - $21/$27
- Up in Smoke cocktail: Illegal Mezcal Joven, smoked pumpkin Orgeat, dry Curacao, lime juice, baking spices. -$15
- Incendio cocktail: bacon fat washed Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, maple syrup, Disco Inferno Heat Tincture, bacon salt, jalapeno -$15
- Mackesey’s Irish Pub (317 State St): Their patio or inside front window are perfect for watching the parade. Come check out their beer on Fire Sale while enjoying one of their spicy turkey & pepperjack toastie, Italian stallion toastie, the chips & dip burger, the backyard BBQ burger, chipotle black bean burger or just add spicy mayo, banana peppers or hot sauce to anything to get FIRED UP!!! Might as well add bacon while you're at it.
- Sencha Tea Bar (224 State St): Warm up with a specialty spicy hot chocolate at Sencha’s NEW location on the 200 block of State St!
- The Soap Opera (319 State St): Your day of firetruck fun isn’t complete without a firefighter duck! Head into the Soap Opera to pick up this cute bath time favorite!
- Teddywedgers (101 State St): Don’t miss steaming hot and spicy traditional pasties (featuring traditional pasty filling with cheddar cheese and spicy giardiniera) and smoky chipotle chocolate crinkle cookies!
