MILWAUKEE — With the spring-like weather over the weekend, several events in downtown Milwaukee brought out thousands of people.
Saturday morning, a sea of gold and blue could be seen outside Fiserv Forum for the Marquette men’s basketball game against St. John’s University.
While the Golden Eagles fell short to the Red Storm (86-84), many came out to support Senior Day.
Marquette senior Mary Murray and her other senior friends attended the buzzer-beater game to celebrate their last fleeting moments as college students.
“I think that one of the best parts about Marquette is our community here is something that keeps people coming back, whether they’re alumni, or they’re students going to these games,” said Murray.
Meanwhile, down the block, Copper on King prepared for Milwaukee’s annual Shamrock Shuffle.
This was the first time Copper on King was participating in the Shamrock Shuffle. The bar opened last May.
Lyle Novy is a bartender there, but he’s worked several Shamrock Shuffles.
“We did have a Marquette game happen right beforehand. So, we have a little bit of time to do a little clean-up and a little chaos control before everything happens,” said Novy.
The 16th annual event sold out. Every year, it benefits local charities.
Thousands walking the streets of Milwaukee decked out in green paid homage to the holiday.
One Shamrock Shuffler said, “As I have Irish heritage in me, St. Patty’s Day is an amazing time!”
For some, it was their first time participating in the event.
“It’s a blast. That’s the best part about it is being around everyone, especially all your friends. It gathers everyone,” said Tommy Rouse.
Farther south at the Baird Center, nearly 20,000 gathered for this year’s Anime Wisconsin, which hit record numbers.
Organizers said the event keeps growing every year.
“Which shows the popularity of anime here,” said Luke Marsden, Anime Milwaukee director of communications. “But also, the community that it builds.”
”People show up and they bring out a friend, and then they bring a friend and then, next thing you know, we’ve got groups of seven, eight and nine people coming together,” he added.
Samuel Matenaer of Fredonia has attended the convention five times. This year, he dressed up as “Bonnie the Bunny” from Five Nights at Freddy’s.
“Just seeing everyone here. Everyone is so talented with all their costumes. It’s really cool to see the craftsmanship,” said Matenaer, as he explained his favorite part about the convention.
These three events, although very different, shared one thing in common: uniting a community by bringing together friends and family.
