Spring in Madison, WI: farmers markets, film, blooms, street sweeping and ice-out

The Dane County Farmers' Market returns

As of November 2026, the Dane County Farmers' Market hadn't posted 2027 dates. In 2026 the Saturday market on the Square ran every Saturday from April 11 through November 14, 6:15 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. The Wednesday market, on the 200 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., ran April 22 through November 4, 8:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. If 2027 follows that pattern, expect mid-April, but check dcfm.org for the real start. See our farmers markets guide for neighborhood and suburban markets, which mostly start in May.

Wisconsin Film Festival, April 8 to 15, 2027

The festival's website says its 29th edition is scheduled for April 8 to 15, 2027. The most recent festival ran at seven theaters. Venues, schedule and ticket details for 2027 weren't posted when we checked, so use the festival's site for those. See our movies guide and festivals calendar for more.

Spring blooms at Olbrich and the Arboretum

Bloom times move with the weather, so treat all of these as approximate.

• Arboretum, Longenecker Horticultural Gardens. The Arboretum's "what's in bloom" page estimates cherries in early to mid-April, magnolias, crabapples and lilacs in April and May, and rhododendrons and azaleas from mid-April into May.
• Arboretum, Wisconsin Native Plant Garden. Hepatica and pasqueflower bloom in April, bloodroot, trout-lily and Virginia bluebells in April and May, and trillium and shooting star in May. The Arboretum says native plants generally bloom earlier in the gardens than in natural areas.
• Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Olbrich says its wild tulips bloom in stages: the earliest, *Tulipa humilis*, in mid-April and *Tulipa batalinii* in early May. Its spring bulb walk date "will be determined by the weather and the bulbs," and Olbrich advises checking its site in mid-April. Olbrich has also held a Spring Flower Show in its Atrium in March; 2027 dates weren't posted. Outdoor gardens are free and open daily, according to Olbrich. The Bolz Conservatory charges admission, with free hours on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

More on both in our gardens guide.

Street sweeping

The Streets Division says spring cleanup begins "as soon as weather permits, generally in March," and can last up to six weeks, with crews aiming to sweep every street twice before spring rains. In 2026, evening sweeping started March 8. Night sweeping runs 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and daytime sweeping runs Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Many streets have Clean Streets/Clean Lakes signs that prohibit parking once a week for a four-hour window, from spring until early December. Follow the posted signs, because violations can bring a ticket, and on Post and Tow streets cars can be towed before sweeping. Streets without those signs have no fixed day; from May through October the city aims to sweep each street about once a month. Never put trash or recycling carts in the road. Questions go to streets@cityofmadison.com.

Brush and yard waste pickup

Brush. The city says curbside brush pickup returns in spring 2027, with dates expected in February or March 2027. You look up your set-out dates by address on the city's brush collection page. Brush must be 18 inches to 8 feet long, stacked with cut ends facing the same way, on the terrace or grass edge, not in the street or on the sidewalk, and at least 5 feet from trees, cars, poles, mailboxes and hydrants. Don't mix it with yard waste or put it in bags.

Yard waste. Spring yard waste is a separate, short season. In 2025 it began the week of April 13 with two chances, one in April and one in May, and in 2026 the final spring set-out came in May. Set-out dates vary by address, and crews usually come during the work week after your set-out date. Check the city's yard waste page for 2027 dates. There's no curbside yard waste pickup in summer; after curbside collection ends, the city points people to its three Streets Division drop-off sites, so check hours before you go. See our trash and recycling guide.

When the ice goes out

The Wisconsin State Climatology Office keeps the ice record for Lakes Mendota, Monona and Wingra, with observations going back to the mid-19th century. For Mendota, it lists the earliest ice-out as February 27, 1998, and the latest as May 6, 1857. The 2025-26 season shows Mendota open as of March 13 and Monona as of March 11. The office notes that its rules for calling a lake open were handed down by tradition and involve some subjectivity,.

Baseball and soccer

Neither team had announced 2027 schedules when we checked.

• Forward Madison FC. The club's 2026 season opened March 14 on the road. Its first league home match at Breese Stevens Field was May 29, which the club described as later than usual because of new turf. Don't assume the same for 2027.
• Madison Mallards. The Northwoods League team's 2026 schedule began Monday, May 25, Memorial Day, with its final home game on August 8.

For more, see our sports guide.

Runs and birds

See our running guide for spring races. For birds, our birding guide covers where to watch migration, free guided walks and the library's binocular backpacks.