FRIENDS OF OLIN-TURVILLE

Olin & Turville Parks

Located on the shores of Lake Monona, with stunning Capitol views, Olin and Turville Parks together form one of Madison's most beautiful, accessible natural assets. Facilities in these two parks accommodate a broad range of outdoor activities, from the quietest to the most active. Olin Park has a public boat launch, beach, soccer field, playground equipment, a restored historic pavilion that can be reserved, and trails for walking, jogging, and biking. Adjacent Turville Point Conservation Park is a quiet, wooded preserve where you can retreat into a contemplative nature walk or a moon-lit cross-country ski tour.

FREE FOOT-Loose Dances Return to Olin Park Pavilion for 2026

Change of tune! Looks like we have a little more time to enjoy the wonderful dance floor in historic Normal Hall (the building we've incorrectly been calling the Olin Park Pavilion). Madison's Parks Division has delayed its renovation project for a while, so we now can have a spring FOOT-Loose Dance Series.

So join us every Wednesday this May for two hours of dancing fun, from 6 to 8 PM, in historic Normal Hall. Each dance session will include instruction suitable to all levels - from beginners to advanced. The instruction will be followed by an open dance period for all to enjoy, either as a participant or just an observer. Each dance group provides musical accompaniment - often live! And the dances go on rain or shine, since we'll be inside.

Here's the line-up for this May:

Wednesday, May 6th: Madison Irish Set Dance - Beginner-friendly dancing in groups of eight
Wednesday, May 13th: Madison Tango Society makes this sensual Argentinian dance form easily accessible to beginners and experienced dancers alike.
Wednesday, May 20th: Dairyland Cowboys & Cowgirls get their boots on and scoot their way across the pavilion dance floor in fun-to-join line dancing
Wednesday, May 27th: Madison Contra Coop - easy-to-learn traditional American folk dancing

So get your dancing shoes on and join FOOT this spring for an fun evening (or two or more) of free dance instruction and dancing at Normal Hall (Olin Park Pavilion). Hope to see you there!

2026 Spring FOOT-Notes

Olin Pavilion (Normal Hall) to remain open for 2026

Madison Parks Division initially informed FOOT that Normal Hall (the Olin Park Pavilion) would not be available for all of 2026 due to necessary correction of moisture issues in the crawl space below the pavilion floor. Those repairs have now been postponed to 2027, so we have one more season to enjoy the wooden dance floor in Normal Hall (the building we've long been referring to incorrectly as the Olin Park Pavilion).

So in addition to the events below, we will hold a spring FOOT-Loose Dance Series (see above) and are working on a fall concert series for the last three Thursdays in September. Stay tuned!

Other activities we have planned for 2026:

June 7: Gratitude in Nature (9am-12pm)

Join us on this summer Sunday for a free outdoor yoga session, a visit with the goats who will be chomping down brush in Turville Point Conservation Park, and clearing invasives while reseeding with native plant ‘seed balls.’ Since the yoga sessions will have limited slots, you will need to sign up at the Parks Division website.

August 9: Ride the Drive (10am-2pm)

Join thousands of Madison cyclists who have made Ride the Drive one of our city’s biggest summer events. This year’s route hasn’t been set yet, so we can’t tell you where to look for the FOOT tent (and our free FOOT-Cookies), but we’ll keep you posted as planning proceeds. For last year’s event, which got cancelled due to bad weather, FOOT had a band lined up to play. Hopefully we can do the same this year!

And More…

With likley loss of Normal Hall use in 2027, were exploring other options for FOOT activities in the parks, and we would like your input! Some ideas we have are a nature-themed family movie event, an acorn harvest, and constructing goat-proof cages around new oak trees (see photo).

Please let us know if any of these activities interest you, and what other activities you’d like to see us plan for in 2027. We’ll try our best keep things interesting and engaging in our two wonderful parks!

FREE FOOT-Loose Dances Return to Olin Park Pavilion for 2025

Join FOOT every Wednesday this September for two hours of dancing fun, from 6 to 8 PM, in the historic Olin Park Pavilion. Each dance session will include instruction for that dance style suitable to all levels - from beginners to advanced. The instruction will be followed by an open dance period for all to enjoy, either as a participant or just an observer. Each dance group provides musical accompaniment - sometime live! And the dances go on rain or shine, since we'll be inside the historic pavilion with it's wonderful wood dance floor.

Here's the line-up for this September:

Wednesday, September 3rd: MadCoCo - Madison's long-standing contra dance group will enjoy teaching you this simple folk style that is easy to learn.
Wednesday, September 10th: Madison Tango Society makes this sensual Argentinian dance form easily accessible to beginners and experienced dancers alike.
Wednesday, September 17th: Madison Folkdance Unlimited brings multiple styles of European folk dance traditions to life and shares their steps with you.
Wednesday, September 24th: Dairyland Cowboys & Cowgirls get their boots on and scoot their way across the pavilion dance floor in fun-to-join line dancing.

So get your dancing shoes on and join FOOT this fall for an fun evening (or two or more) of free dance instruction and dancing at the Olin Park Pavilion. Hope to see you there!

2025 "Ride the Drive": Cancelled due to bad weather - sigh...

Please stop by the FOOT tent in Olin Park to pick up your free FOOT-Cookie on Sunday, August 10th, as we help celebrate Madison's Ride the Drive event. This is the first year FOOT has participated in the Ride and we look forward to seeing lots of familiar and new faces as we promote our beloved Olin and Turville Parks to a wider Madison audience. The Drive will commence at Olin Park, proceed along John Nolen causeway, past Law Park, down Willy St., to terminate in McPike Park. Lots of vendors, food and activities all along the way. Should be one of the best RtD events ever!

Turville "Summer Birds" Walk: Sunday, August 10th, 1:30 PM

Join other bird lovers for some fun Group Birding at Turville Point! Meet at the end of the Turville Point parking lot (lot should be open even with Ride the Drive going on). Bring water and bug repellant; no bathrooms in Turville.

Follow cool shady woodland paths through restored oak openings past the hilltop prairie and along the Lake Monona shoreline. Going birding with a group is a great way to find more birds. More experienced birders in the group can help beginners spot hidden birds and learn to identify them by sight and sound. Try using the free Merlin app to use AI to listen for birds and help suggest what birds might be around you. Bring water, repellant, and binocs or a camera if you have one. Post comments and pictures on the Friends of Olin-Turville (FOOT) Facebook page and join the group to help support this wonderful Conservation Park in the heart of Madison! Free, welcoming, healthy, fairly accessable, family and kid friendly, educational, no registration required, no pets. Kids under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Second Sunday Every Month Bird and Nature Adventures at Turville Point Conservation Park are co-sponsored by Madison Parks, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, Wild Ones and Friends of Olin-Turville (FOOT). See the partner group websites and Facebook pages for more activities! Contact 608-698-0104

Sunday, June 1, 2025: Goats & Yoga in Turville Point Park

Join the Madison Parks Division and FOOT this Sunday to celebrate Nature Everywhere Day with a program of FREE fun events in Turville Point Conservation Park. There will be two 2-hour sessions, with each session including:

Enjoy an hour of outdoor yoga: led by Devonna Peters, instructor at the Monona Terrace sessions.
Meet and learn about Turville's grazing goats: Paul Quinlan, Conservation Resources Supervisor for
the Madison Parks Division will lead the discussion.
Volunteer to help battle invasives: Learn how to identify and remove burdock and dame's rocket - two
abundant invasive plants growing in Turville Point.

The two sessions will be:

10:30am to 12:30pm
12:00pm to 2:00pm

Be sure to register here for this fun, FREE event. Registration required due to limit on yoga class size.

If participating in the yoga, be sure to bring a mat. Yoga will take place during the first hour of each session; goat talks will start after each yoga session. Meet at the entrance to Turville Park off the south parking lot (enter by the Olin Ave. stop light).

So bring the kids to meet the kids (and nannies) and celebrate Nature Everywhere Day!

Free Concerts in Olin Pavilion each Wednesday in May, 2025

FREE concerts return to the Olin Park Pavilion this May on Wednesdays from 6 to 8 PM:

-- Slipjig with Daithi Wolfe - Irish 'trad' music on Wednesday, May 7th

-- Ramblin' Kind - a western swing band on Wednesday, May 14th

-- The Whiskey Farm - a danceable favorite on Wednesday, May 21st

-- Mark Croft duo - Americana with fiddlin' on Wednesday, May 28th

Bring the family, bring a picnic - chairs and tables provided. Since the pavilion is sheltered, all concerts will proceed rain or shine. But let's hope for really great spring weather! The Pavilion is located within Olin Park at 1156 Olin-Turville Ct, Madison, WI 53715

Most recent FOOT meeting was January 16, 2025

Six of us gathered in person at Tom DeChant's home on Thursday, Janurary 16th for a FOOT meeting. Key topic of discussion were:

1) Review of attendance and donations at our fall dance series.

2) Discussion of future spring and summer FOOT activities, including a Dark Sky/Starry Night event; a Kid-Friendly movie night; summer yoga sessions; and a Kids for Kids instructional session when the goats return to Turville.

3) Presentation of UW freshman engineering project guided by Prof. Katie Kalscheur that developed a goat-proof 'cage' for the young oak trees planted by FOOT members. Group agreed to try to fund 7 additional cages with help from Madison Parks Division. Volunteers needed!!

Folks on our email list automatically receive meeting FOOT-Notes, and FOOT-Notes are also archived here on our website (eventually!)

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