Good Morning, Fitchrona!

Today we celebrate Ranch Dressing Day!

Where’s your go-to spot for the best homemade ranch dressing? We’ve heard that Sugar River Pizza serves up a garlicky, flavor-packed ranch—have you tried it? Let us know if it lives up to the hype or if there’s another hidden gem we should check out!

The Focus will be the highlight of your Monday morning - something you can enjoy in under 5 minutes with your coffee ☕︎ ! Let’s fill our cups!

-Liv - Fitchrona Focus Founder

LOCAL LOWDOWN

Help Shape Verona’s Future!

The City of Verona is updating its Comprehensive Plan, and your input is essential! This plan, updated every 10 years, serves as a roadmap for the city’s future, guiding decisions on housing, transportation, parks, community spaces, utilities, and more.

Where We Are Now: Phase 1

The focus of Phase 1 is to establish a dynamic community planning process that involves a wide range of local stakeholders and voices. By gathering input from residents, the city aims to gain a clear understanding of Verona today and the aspirations for its future.

Take the 5–10 Minute Survey Here – Your feedback will help shape the vision for Verona’s growth!

What’s Next: Phase 2

Summer 2025 – Winter 2026
Phase 2 will transition into a robust visioning process, where recommendations are refined and vetted with the public. The goal? To turn ideas into actionable steps that will guide Verona’s development.

Make your voice heard and be part of shaping our community’s future!

Sweet News: Open Kettle Farm’s Maple Syrup Open House!

Nestled in the hills just west of Cross Plains, in the town of Berry, Open Kettle Farm is a small, family- and friend-run maple syrup operation with a passion for producing some of Wisconsin’s best-tasting, all-natural syrup. With 90 acres of tapped land and over 900 maple trees, they produce 300-400 gallons of syrup annually, sold at local farmers markets around Madison. Their syrup is cooked using steam in large kettle batches—a process that maximizes efficiency while minimizing pollution.

Now, they’re inviting the community to experience the magic of maple syrup season at their 2025 Maple Syrup Open House!

Join owners Tim and Jan Noll for a behind-the-scenes look at how they tap, cook, and bottle their delicious syrup. Enjoy learning sessions for kids, 15-minute seminars on syrup production, and of course, free samples and hot drinks!

📅 Event Dates:

• Saturday, March 15: 9 AM – 4 PM

• Sunday, March 16: 10 AM – 3 PM

📍 Location: Open Kettle Farm, 5260 Otto Kerl Rd, Cross Plains, WI

Admission is free—just don’t forget your boots as it gets muddy!

Raise a Glass to Your Pet! Enter the 2025 Animals & Ales Photo Contest

Ever wanted to see your furry (or feathery or finned) friend on a beer label? Now’s your chance! Lake Louie Brewing is participating in the 2025 Animals & Ales U.S. Photo Contest, giving pet lovers the opportunity to have their pet featured on an exclusive beer label—all while supporting Veterinarians Without Borders.

📅 Contest Runs: March 3–17, 2025
🌍 Supports: Veterinarians Without Borders
🍻 How It Works:
1️⃣ Snap a high-quality pic of your pet.
2️⃣ Enter their photo via the brewery contest page (link in bio).
3️⃣ Spread the word! Each vote = $1 donation. The pet with the most votes wins!

The winning pet will be immortalized on a beer label by a participating brewery.

Cheers to pets, pints, and a great cause! All details here.

HAPPENINGS

There are too many events to feature here! Check out FitchronaFocus.com for all happenings!

View - and bookmark - our events calendar page to see full event details, including event times and registration information.

• Monday, March 10th

  • 📖 Kindergarten Registration: Two-Way Immersion Program Applications Due @ VASD

  • 🍺 10 am - Blood Drive @ Lake Louie Brewing

  • 🎬 6 pm - Independent Film Makers @ COPA

  • 🎵 7 pm - Music Industry Night with Smart Cookie (Bring Your Own Instrument or borrow one to Jam) @ COPA

• Tuesday, March 11th

  • 🎨 3:30 pm - Spring Art Showcase: Eternal Cycles @ Promega

  • 🥃 6 pm - Celebrate All things Peat & Love: Ardbeg Single Malt Scotch @ Waterford Wine Fitchburg

• Wednesday, March 12th

  • 🍷 Big Cheers for Bigs - BBBS @ Flight Wine & Bourbon Bar

  • 📖 12:30 pm - Play Group with Playful Acorns (Must Register) @ Belleville Library

  • 📖 5:30 pm - TEAMs: Training @ Education for Aspiring Managers — Communication & Delegation @ UW Extension & Fairshare CSA Coalition (Virtual)

  • 🥃 6 pm - Succulent Flight Board @ Doundrins Distilling

  • 📖 6:30 pm - Evening Book Club - All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby @ Fitchburg Library

  • 🎵 7:05 pm - Live Music: Elizabeth Mary @ Paddy Mac’s

• Thursday, March 13th

  • ❓ Wild & Witty Trivia Night @ Lussier Heritage Center

  • 🍷 Double Dutch Sourdough Pop-Up @ The Wine Reserve

  • 📖 9 am-4:30 pm - Intro To Indigenous Agronomy: Agronomy Foundations Field Training @ Ho-Chunk

  • 📖 10 am-5 pm - Agrace’s Dream Dress for Less @ East Towne Mall - Former Express Store

  • 🍫 4 pm - Teen Chocolate Tasting @ Verona Library

  • 📖 5 pm - Read To A Dog @ Fitchburg Library

  • 🍽️ 5 pm - Fancy Pants Dinner with Chef Michael Hanna @ Seven Acres Dairy

  • 🍺 6 pm - Speed Meeting @ Delta Beer Lab

  • 🎭 7 pm - Fair Verona Shakespeare @ Verona Area Community Theater

• Friday, March 14th

  • 🎵 Live Music: Taylor & Von @ Lake Louie Brewing

  •  🎨 4 pm - CRAFT-ernoon! @ Fitchburg Library

  • 🥂 5 pm - Acai & Bubbly Event @ The Alpine

  • 🎵 6 pm - Live Music: Cherry Pie @ Loxley

  • 🌕 6:30 pm - Full Moon Night Creature Search @ Lussier Heritage Center

  • 🎵 7:30 pm - The Ultimate QUEEN Celebration with Yvan Pedneault @ Oregon Performing Arts Center

• Saturday, March 15th

  • 🐶 10 am - Yoga with Puppies @ Fred Astaire Dance Studio

  • 📖 10 am - Educational Raptor Presentation from Hoo’s Woods

  • 💪 10:30 am - Family Fitness Day (Free) @ Guidepost Montessori at Verona

  • 🎨 2 pm - Artist Talk with Paulina King @ Abel Contemporary Gallery

  • 🎵 2 pm - Live Music: Lake collective @ Bailey’s Run

  • 🚲 4:30 pm - Bike Maintenance Class @ Revolution Cycle

  • 🎵 6 pm - Bird Dog Blues @ Loxley

  • 💃 7 pm - Coppelia @ Dance Wisconsin

• Sunday, March 16th

  • ⛺ 10 am - Camping Knots 101 Workshop @ Lussier Heritage Center

  • ☘️ 10 am - 2nd Annual Drifty St. Practice Day @ Driftless Social

  • 💪 10:30 am - WERQ Dance Fitness Class @ Lioness Fitness

  • 🎵 1 pm - Live Music: Ben Castner @ Lake Louie

  • ☘️ 1 pm - St. Patty’s Drag Bingo @ Hop Haus Fitchburg

  • 🌱 2 pm - Native Garden Learning Hub @ Lussier Family Heritage Center & Dane County Parks

MAKER FEATURE

This week’s maker feature is Roann Mathias.
Verona, WI

From Calligraphy to Canvas: A Local Artist’s Journey

An artist and educator with a studio in Verona, she brings a rich background in calligraphy, watercolor, and photography to her abstract paintings. Originally from New Orleans, she developed an early love for color and nature, later drawing inspiration from her travels across the U.S. and Europe—especially ocean and mountain landscapes.

For 15 years, she worked professionally in calligraphy, designing greeting cards and teaching workshops across North America. Her work was featured in Somerset Studio Magazine, Letter Arts Review, and Cloth Paper Scissors. In 2013, she earned an MFA, which led to teaching art history at a community college and a shift toward large-scale, gestural painting. Today, her work blends abstract expression with lettering—sometimes visible, sometimes woven into the composition’s energy.

Just before the pandemic, she relocated to the Madison area to be closer to family. In November 2021, she opened her studio, bringing her dynamic artistic vision to the local community. Keep an eye out for her work—her journey is as vibrant as her brushstrokes!

Subscribe to her newsletter and receive 20% off your first order!

Find Roann Mathias - @roannmathias & on her website.

Know a local maker who should be featured - submit here!

CHECK IT OUT

The week’s Check It Out business is Blossom Pet Salon
Verona, WI

Blossom Pet Salon offers compassionate care in a tranquil environment so that pets can relax into a trusting relationship with their grooming team. We are committed to providing the best care possible to all of the pets who come through our doors. Our team prioritizes your pet's psychological wellbeing as well as the physical, ensuring that grooming becomes an easeful and comfortable process for all involved. We value quality, from the products we use to our grooming techniques, we are committed to acting in the best interest of your pet at every step. Our team consistently receives continuing education on grooming techniques and animal psychology. It is important to us that we partner with you to explain the care your pet receives and to have a trusting relationship that values open communication and honesty with the shared goal of your pet's well-being. We can groom to fit your needs, from short trims on your little Shih Tzu to long fluffy styles on your Goldendoodle. We can even groom your poodles, sporting dogs, and terriers to breed standard. We offer services many grooming salons do not such as carding, hand stripping, and hand scissoring, in addition to options for service add-ons, so that your pet can receive the care they truly need. When you get a groom at Blossom Pet Salon, you can be confident that you are truly getting a high-quality groom.

Find Blossom Pet Salon - @blossompetsalon & on their website.

Have a place that we should check out? Submit it here.

NEIGHBORHOOD DEAL

This week’s Neighborhood Deal is from Doundrins Distilling.

🍪🍸 Sugar Cookie Martini – Just $7 on Wednesdays! 🍸🍪

Indulge in the deliciously sweet Sugar Cookie Martini! Made with smooth vodka, amaretto syrup, white chocolate, and cream, this cocktail tastes just like a frosted sugar cookie. Stop by on Wednesdays and enjoy this fan-favorite for only $7. Don’t miss out—sip, savor, and treat yourself!

🏀 March Madness is Here—Score Big & Support Local! 🏀

Special Section - March Madness

Selection Sunday is almost here, which means it's time to get those brackets ready! Whether the picks are based on stats, mascots, or pure gut instinct, a 24" x 36" foam board bracket from Signs by Caitlin is the perfect way to track the madness.

Why grab one?
✅ 24" x 36" sturdy foam core – No flimsy paper brackets here!
✅ First round filled in after Selection Sunday – Skip the setup and jump straight into the action.
✅ Available for both Men’s & Women’s tournaments – Twice the excitement, twice the fun!
✅ Perfect for any space – Ideal for offices, classrooms, or home viewing parties.

Price: $25.00
 Pickup: Boards will be ready the week of March 17th from the shop in Verona, WI!

These brackets were a slam dunk last year, and due to popular demand, they’re back

 Pre-order yours here now before the buzzer sounds!

Furry Friend of the Week

Introducing: The newest section of the Fitchrona Focus! The Furry Friend of the Week is brought to you by Brown Paws Rescue. Each week, we’ll feature a new friend in need of a good home.

Meet Rita, the sweet Texas pup looking for her forever home! She’s a playful companion who loves kids, gets along with other dogs, and is fine with confident cats. Currently fostered in Waunakee, Rita is ready to start her next adventure with you! Don’t miss out on this adorable girl!

Apply to adopt her today at brownpawsrescue.com #412177DS

THANK YOU!

Thanks for reading the Fitchrona Focus today! If you found something useful, please share it with someone who loves ranch pizza and is stoked for March Madness!

Was The Focus forwarded to you?

Submit An Event or Promotion

Suggestions or Ideas For Future Newsletters